Can I do this with this plugin (multi-fan controller)?

[sirmeili]

I am curious if this plugin will allow me to do the following:

I have 3 SMC (Structured media cabinets) that I want to add fans to.
I would like these to be controlled likely by temp (could be on the arduino side or HS side).
I would like the temp to be reported in HS and possibly the fan status and/or RPM.

Now, I know that I could do most of this with an Arduino and I have no issues coding it myself. What I thinkinking this plugin will help me do is get those values into Homeseer (tamp, fan status). At this point I would prefer 1 arduino do all the work (2-3 temp sensors with 2-3 fans. Fans powered externally from arduino). IF this works though, I have some other fans I would like to also automate in a similar fashion in my Rack and in my equipment room.

So will this do it, or should I try and make my own plugin to handle the communications and just use the arduino for all the logic?

[logbuilder]

I am using the plugin in a pretty standard way. It is just a node that reports status on sensors and the plugin updates the status ofHS devices. For me it was important that this be done over wifi.

Your project certainly seems possible with Arduino and the plugin. I think you are right in thinking the plugin should mainly manage the HS devices. All the real logic can be in the Arduino. You are going to need analog ports. The original UNO has plenty of analog as well as digital ports. Put an ethernet shield on that.

The plugin has two types of sketches for the arduino. One just sends status changes from the pins (input sensors) to the plugin which updates HS devices. There are also output pins which let HS control certain things on the arduino. Neat thing about this sketch is that it requires zero coding. The plugin actually produces a sketch for each node.

The second type is the API mode sketch. I haven't used it but my impression is that it is basically a framework (library) for interacting with the plugin and the devices. Hopefully someone familiar with it will speak up and tell us more about how API works. I suspect it is the version you might find most helpful.