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The promise of "all available devices will be supported" gave me hope for including more Zigbee devices into to my home as Vera was not a good option for Zigbee devices.
Despite the support for new devices is extremely slow, the implementation of Zigbee has a lot to wish for and it seems a low priority at Ezlo I managed to include 22 of my 23 Zigbee devices as generic. But after 2 years of devices still missing attributes and randomly/every controller reboot loosing connection to the controller and had to be power cycled to connect again, and some even dropping off the network completely without any reason, I decided to give up.
The positive outcome of all this:
I bought a Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus and installed Zigbee2MQTT and never been happier.
Suddenly the pairing were no pain and took a few seconds per device, all my devices were recognized, all capabilities of the devices were exposed and it never misses a signal to/from a device ever.I'm surprised how stable and configurable my new setup is. I can set device parameters, offsets, send messages handled by the bulbs them self like effects, broadcast for groups, transition time for power on/off. I can handle debounce for MQTT messages, do OTA firmware update on devices and much more! Most of this is probably standard for the common branded hubs like Hue etc but I never had one so this is new to me.
A big plus for me is the MQTT part of Zigbee2MQTT as I'm migrating as much as possible to MQTT.My Ezlo Plus is now serving as a modified WiFi access point to my network and only have the VistaCam 1203 Doorbell still connected for evaluation. Time will tell if I ever move my Z-wave devices to it.
Conclusion:
I could really recommend both the Sonoff 3.0 USB Dongle Plus and Zigbee2MQTT to anyone going the same path! -
So cool to find the forum of all the banned vera gurus!
I've had a Vera Plus for about 6 years now, and have had a fairly problem free time with it compared to many other stories. The last years have however been lacking in progression in many fields i'd like to explore, so now i'm looking closely at Openluup.
Other systems have been tested as well, but i find that the community and plugins made for vera is kind of special, and something i'd like to contribute to as well. (getting older and not wanting to change to new stuff probably plays a part too!)So, my stab at opeluup starts with an HP Chromebox 1 i got for free. Its a fairly powerfull thing, but as google wants to sell new ones, its now EOL.
I wiped it clean and installed debian, as it seems to be the closest thing to raspberry which many use for openluup.Openluup installed fine, and i got the vera bridge working fairly well by bothering ppl at the vera forum with questions. Its now running OK, but there seems to be an issue with Icons?
f0e29622-0397-4b84-819c-f1b632daab41-image.png
Also at the devices tab:
2892faff-a3ee-4f21-9db8-2a03f604fc74-image.pngI did the "GetFiles", and I see the /icons/ is populated, but no icons. In the luup log says that its trying to GET the icon, but returns no packages.
2020-09-15 17:04:30.818 openLuup.server:: GET /cmh/skins/default/img/devices/device_states/dimmable_light_off.png HTTP/1.1 tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8 2020-09-15 17:04:30.819 openLuup.server:: request completed (0 bytes, 0 chunks, 0 ms) tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8I do have a UZB stick on the way, but before i go down that road i'd like to be sure that the installation is stable and sound.. Do I have all the nessecary packages/background processes? I did install cjson which helped on some things..
Also fairly new at linux in general, so bear with me. 😉
Roadmap:
Get the openluup/AltUI running smoothly
Transfer Z-wave devices
Transfer 433 devices (RFXtrx plugin)
Transfer Zigbee devices (Vera or mabye ezlo plus? zigbee stick?)more questions will follow!
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In a quest to further stabilize my Vera before I'll move to Z-Way+openLuup or something else later this year (I'm tempted to go the Home Assistant route, since all my friends are here, apparently), I've spent a couple of days removing HTTP calls from the system and I'm now fully using the UDP sender @akbooer has written in the past, to push all variables (and custom events/request as well) to my MQTT broker, then to some code doing the actual work.
Responsiveness seems to be at its maximum now, and stability has improved. There's still a lot of code locally on my Vera, but it's mainly doing variables comparison/scenes, while all notifications and heavy logic are now running in my linux box.
So, maybe, not insisting on the sockets and just use the same UDP server is the way to go for me.
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Well here we go. A slow, considered migration from Vera to something (I hope) more reliable.
Hopefully we'll end up with a decent documented process for people as right now I'm still not quite clear 🙂
Starting point:
I have a 'mature' Mios set up running on an extrooted Vera Plus with roughly 100 devices, both physical and virtual
Integration with Alexa both voice control and TTS
iPhones for Geolocation
Volumio devices for music playing around the house.
I have no user defined scenes, all automation is run from Reactor.My impetus is final dissatisfaction with the quality of UI7 software delivery and operational rigour (for full disclosure I am a senior IT Operations leader with circa 20 years experience delivering properly stable systems, so I probably have un-realistic expectations 😄 )
So initial steps:
Raspberry Pi 3 B+ (I think this is my 5, and 6th Pi in total. I may have a problem) Raspbian OpenLuup VerabridgeThat I think is stage 1
C
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...but I now only have house mode scenes left on Vera. All other automation is by Reactor and Switchboard / Alexa routines.
WAF may be low tomorrow if it doesn't work 😄
C
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I am a Electrician. I installed hundreds of smart devices for others prior to having my own home automation. In 2013 I bought a new house and decided to make it smart. I did some homework and settled on Z-wave and VeraPlus.
My installation comprises of
25 Z-wave dimmer/switch inserts
3 Z-wave door sensors
10 sonoff devices(basics,TH16 and Mini) ,
4 Tuya(lamps and RGB strips) ,
6 shellys(connected to motion sensors and 2 controlling dead DIY bolts )
3 Amazon Dots(gen2)
2 Broadlink (RMPro's)
4 DIY RF Venetian Blinds
2 Multi button DIY remotes
1 NVR
1 Network drive/Media server/ftp server.
1 smart thermostat heating and hot water
4 wired 240v/battery Aico smoke and heat detectors (connect to zwave via Relays)
1 robot hover.
1 Siren
Node-red server running on android.
Testing openluup on android.
Automate App running on andorid Boxes/phones.
All tv's are connected to android boxes.
No windows PC.
Debian running on android box.
Plugins Reactor, AlexaTTS, Switchboard and Virtual HTTP Switch.I can control all of my devices from anyone of these platforms Vera/OpenLuup, Node-red, Automate(phone/tv box) or Alexa.
All devices have a standard/manual switch for anyone to control, and can be controlled even if my VeraPlus stopped working or internet out. My system is stable and may get a luup reload every couple of weeks.None of my sonoff's or tuya have been flashed. I found Shelly very late into game and will be using these more now i found them, as they offer local control.
I have some coding knowledge from the 90's, but have never worked in the industry.
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Well, if I see further, it's because I stand of the shoulders of giants. I've got where I got because of the experts here. I started about 15 years ago with some really basic X10 stuff. When we moved in 2011 for some reason it simply would not work in the new house, so z-wave was the thing. Vera lite then Vera Plus.
I'm a child of the 70s. I want the car on the drive to be KITT and my lounge a cross between the bridge of the enterprise and the Lars farm on Tattoine.
Not there yet, but with about 250 devices (virtual and real) things are fun (when they work!)
The absolute killer app for me is Alexa bi directional speech. To the extent that I've walked into hotel rooms and said 'Alexa turn the lights on....'
I'm within a spit of never buying another control and doing everything via Alexa and Reactor (had to drop that in)So that's pretty much me.
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Let start maybe something useful for others. Maybe it will give you some idea!
Here's a summary of my setup!
I'm having :
VM#1 that runs openLuup VM#2 that runs Zway 1x raspberry that I use to connect the RaZberry board using socat/ser2net to send "raw data" to the VM#2, this setup allow me to have all my stuff in the data center in the basement while having my zwave antenna on the first floor and send back the data! A couple of pine64 and raspberry around the house, most of the pine64 are use for "smart display" around the house that show data from various source (will post picture later). I have also a raspberry that I used for openSprinkler in the "Shed" Each room in the house + Garage + on the patio is having a SONOS speaker that I use for music of course but that I use with the TTS to send some notification around the house based on the presence!For example, I can welcome people on the front door based on motion detection + IP camera motion!
I decided a long time ago that all "sensors" will be handle by the DSC alarm. Currently I'm having over 40 sensors in/out divided in 5 partition (main/2nd floor, basement, office and shed and a partition for non-alarm sensor)I connected my DSC using the DSC plugin from Vera to handle all that traffic that of course is send to openLuup!
On the zwave network, I would say that I'm having every room in/out done!
I'm using also this setup to welcome kids in the morning based on motion detection in each room and I have some time-based reminder using TTS mostly for the kids.
We also "named/called" our Home, SARAH, based on the TV Show Eureka that means "Self Actuated Residential Automated Habitat".
** openLuup handle ALL the logic, I have no scene and logic in Vera and Smarthome/Zway
More to come...
That's our main screen in the center of the house!
IMG_20200428_110740.jpgInside the main screen, I'm having a bunch of stuff, like 2 Veraplus, and a RaZberry and of course a pine64 for the screen!
IMG_20200428_110755.jpgThat's an uncomplete setup in the kitchen for screen #2, need to finish the "wood" part!
IMG_20200428_110846.jpgThat's the touch screen monitor in the basement, so kids can use the Sonos app to play some music in the basement! The wood part is done, need to finish some "paint"!
IMG_20200428_110824.jpg
My Home Automation Journey
Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup And now to HASS - PerH
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So cool to find the forum of all the banned vera gurus!
I've had a Vera Plus for about 6 years now, and have had a fairly problem free time with it compared to many other stories. The last years have however been lacking in progression in many fields i'd like to explore, so now i'm looking closely at Openluup.
Other systems have been tested as well, but i find that the community and plugins made for vera is kind of special, and something i'd like to contribute to as well. (getting older and not wanting to change to new stuff probably plays a part too!)So, my stab at opeluup starts with an HP Chromebox 1 i got for free. Its a fairly powerfull thing, but as google wants to sell new ones, its now EOL.
I wiped it clean and installed debian, as it seems to be the closest thing to raspberry which many use for openluup.Openluup installed fine, and i got the vera bridge working fairly well by bothering ppl at the vera forum with questions. Its now running OK, but there seems to be an issue with Icons?
Also at the devices tab:
I did the "GetFiles", and I see the /icons/ is populated, but no icons. In the luup log says that its trying to GET the icon, but returns no packages.
2020-09-15 17:04:30.818 openLuup.server:: GET /cmh/skins/default/img/devices/device_states/dimmable_light_off.png HTTP/1.1 tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8 2020-09-15 17:04:30.819 openLuup.server:: request completed (0 bytes, 0 chunks, 0 ms) tcp{client}: 0x55eca8d90cb8I do have a UZB stick on the way, but before i go down that road i'd like to be sure that the installation is stable and sound.. Do I have all the nessecary packages/background processes? I did install cjson which helped on some things..
Also fairly new at linux in general, so bear with me.
Roadmap:
Get the openluup/AltUI running smoothly
Transfer Z-wave devices
Transfer 433 devices (RFXtrx plugin)
Transfer Zigbee devices (Vera or mabye ezlo plus? zigbee stick?)more questions will follow!
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This is a bit of a puzzle.
- How did you install the system initially?
- Were there any error messages at that time?
- What were you doing when you got that log message?
Also, what do the devices look like on openLuup's console Devices page?
http://openLuupIP:3480/openLuup?page=devices -
Just another thought. This might be a permissions problem. Are you running the system under a different account from the one you used during installation?
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I just installed debian, and then followed the installation guide for openluup.
No errors as i can remember, no.
The log message is from a shift from home to "devices", and is one of many. I assume its how its trying to build the appearance?Openluup devices:
Permissions in linux is something i have little clue about. I have one admin user and one root user as far as i know. Pretty sure i installed using Sudo.
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strangely, i am having the same issue on a fresh install on a Pi.
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Do you guys see the icon files in your openLuup installation folder under the subfolder /icons?
Could be that somehow they did not get downloaded properly from the vera or that the vera now on newer firmwares is storing them in a location where the openLuup installation script is not grabbing them properly? -
Quite likely a permissions issue. Look at a full directory listing of cmh-ludl/ cmh-ludl/icons using the shell command (possibly from AltUI of openLuup Command Line UI)
ls -l iconsgiving something like:
For me, this is OK, since openLuup on this machine (unwisely) runs under the root account.
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@akbooer said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Quite likely a permissions issue. Look at a full directory listing of cmh-ludl/ cmh-ludl/icons using the shell command (possibly from AltUI of openLuup Command Line UI)
ls -l iconsgiving something like:
For me, this is OK, since openLuup on this machine (unwisely) runs under the root account.
that is exactly it. in mine it's running as pi, so i changed it. all good now
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all of mine are there, but is 0 bytes except for 2 or 3 files.. So how do i fix this? How do i set permissions so it can download the files properly?
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https://linuxize.com/post/chmod-recursive/
sudo chmod -R 777 /etc/cmh-ludl -
Isn't that one in the install guide? Anyway, i did that, and GetFiles still didnt get the icons.. So i transferred them manually, and now i have icons after a browser cache clear.
Next hurdle is RFX plugin. I tried once, and failed. Mabye the permissions stopped med back then..
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Ok, so RFX Plugin is installed and working. Anyone here have it? Mine shows
Firmware Type: false Firmware Version: falseother than that its working.
Also tried to hijack the sensors by changing ID and parent ID. It worked, but the statistics (shown in "Temperature and Humidity Sensor Data") are from the remote unit..
Any tips to making a script that hijacks all sensors?
Then I could exclude the RFX from verabridge, and be one step more along.. -
@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Also tried to hijack the sensors by changing ID and parent ID. It worked
Did it, really?
I'm not familiar with this particular plugin, but this is very unlikely to be something that you would want to do for any device. What problem do you see this as fixing?
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@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Firmware Type: false Firmware Version: false
Sounds similar this issue. Have a read through the next few posts at that link; may be same.
It would be good, if we could encourage TinMan to place the USB RFXtrx code on GitHub; so any changes could be kept track of.
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Ref the icons, you might want to have a read of my thread 'What I did on my holidays'. I ended up transferring mine manually using command line tools.
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@akbooer said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Also tried to hijack the sensors by changing ID and parent ID. It worked
Did it, really?
I'm not familiar with this particular plugin, but this is very unlikely to be something that you would want to do for any device. What problem do you see this as fixing?
If this could be done with a script, i won't have to find, and name about 50 433 devices (including child and group devices)..
The 3 sensors i tried works fine, but i don't know how the device parameters are stored in the system.. I did this earlier between RFX'es connected to the same unit as well, back then i didnt have to change the device ID, just the Parent ID..
@a-lurker said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
@PerH said in Another transition from Vera to OpenLuup - PerH:
Firmware Type: false Firmware Version: false
Sounds similar this issue. Have a read through the next few posts at that link; may be same.
It would be good, if we could encourage TinMan to place the USB RFXtrx code on GitHub; so any changes could be kept track of.
Same issue, same person.
No conclusion other than inserting ToString(), which removes the symptom, not the problem..
I read your post, and ended up doing the same thing.. i have icons now.
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so - if i were to try something like this:
for (all devices) do if device.IDparent = 11 then device.IDparent = 72 device.ID = (next free dev.ID number) end if end forHow would that be done in lua with the openluup device list?
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You’re trying to clone the device, as well as giving it a new parent? Do you know if that’s necessary?
All the usual luup calls for creating child devices are available to you.
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Not knowing the system - i'm trying to reassign the device to a new parent.
I tried just changing the parent, but then VeraBridge corrected the variable change on reload.
When i changed the deviceID as well, a new VeraBridge device popped up on reload. I can live with that, when i've reassigned all the 433 devices to the local RFXTRX, i'll just mask out the Vera RFX in vera bridge.As i don't know the usual luup calls, i was hoping to cut the corner by asking you guys?
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If this is a bridged device, then you’ll have to make the changes on Vera. The openLuup bridge simply reflects the configuration that it sees on the Vera. Anything (except action commands, device name, etc.) sent to the device locally will get overwritten on the next update.
