Parent comment is likely more evoking a bit of a https://xkcd.com/2030/ response, aka humour.

SignalK is neat. As you note not all protocols are suitable for all use cases, but marine sensor networks where most signals are in the realm of 1-10Hz it definitely has its place.

If anything needs to run a server to communicate with anything else, especially if wireless is involved (which often is the case with more modern forms of radar, gps etc. because of ease of wiring and installation) is a recipe for disaster if you're relying on interfacing with existing instruments for navigation.

Simply firing up cli for troubleshooting and debugging of any kind should not be "expected behavior" at sea.

> If anything needs to run a server to communicate with anything else,

What's a server? Do you have servers in a NMEA2k environment?

> Simply firing up cli for troubleshooting and debugging of any kind should not be "expected behavior" at sea.

No one said that arcane troubleshooting and debugging should be needed after integration of a system. I mean, NMEA2K certainly never makes one fiddle around and play with things aimlessly to make stuff work /s

> especially if wireless is involved

Most common way wireless is involved here is to get the information off-boat or to a tablet for convenient review of trends.