HS3 Linux with Remote Z-Wave Interface Setup Guide

[blackbear]

I've made the conversion from Vera to HS3 over the past month or so. In that time, I have gleamed quite a bit across a number of sources that I wanted to share with the community in a single guide as it may help a lot of other people new to Homeseer if they want to do a similar setup

My Setup:
This setup has been rock solid with zero issues. This diagram is the setup I'm running (HS3 running on Ubuntu VM and a Remote Z-Wave interface (HS SmartStick+ connected to a Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3) B+ using SER2NET to expose the USB interface to the network). This allows me to host my HS3 server within my network equipment closet and have the RPi Z-Wave device anywhere in the house (since I have the whole house wired for ethernet). For those that don't have wired ethernet, this setup should still work for WiFi networks (just imagine the dotted lines connecting the objects below being wireless connections).



Step 1: Install HS3

1. I used this fantastic guide by to get my HS3 running on Ubuntu 18.10.
2. Reboot the Ubuntu server (missing from the linked guide).
3. Load the initial webpage: http://find.homeseer.com/findhomeseer/
4. Install the HS3 license
5. Modify any additional configuration settings you want

My server specs (probably overkill for now, but I have big plans for this setup):

• 4 vCPU
• 8 GB Memory
• 20 GB HDD

Average CPU usage is <5% and Memory usage is around 2-3 GB at any given time (I have 10 plugins running currently with about 20 devices).

Step 2: Install Raspberry Pi 3 OS (Raspbian Lite)

Hardware: I chose a 16GB MicroSD card. IMPORTANT: Raspberry Pi 3 B+ needs a Class 10 or higher grade card.

1. Install NOOBS on the MicroSD card using this Raspberry Pi tutorial
2. Insert the MicroSD card and connect the Smartstick+ USB, Ethernet cable (if you have one), HDMI monitor, keyboard, and mouse to the RPi3 and power it on.
3. Once the RPi boots to the install menu, select Raspbian Lite from the list of OS choices (it may take a minute or so to display the full list). Follow the prompts to install the OS (I chose all defaults except I set my local timezone).
4. Once the RPi has finished installing the OS, reboot it.
5. Login (default username/password = pi / raspberry)
6. If you don't have the RPi connected via an ethernet cable and instead need to use WiFi, now is the time to connect it.
   1. Open the Config Menu:

      sudo raspi-config

   2. Select 2 Network Options
   3. Select N2 Wi-fi
   4. Choose your country
   5. Enter the WiFi network's SSID
   6. Enter the WiFi network's passphrase
   7. If it works, you should get a success (and no error message). If it didn't work, check the SSID and passphrase.
   8. Exit the config menu
7. Enable SSH
   1. Open the Config Menu:

      sudo raspi-config

   2. Select 5 Interfacing Options
   3. Select P2 SSH
   4. Select Yes
   5. Exit the config menu
8. Change the default password:

   passwd

Step 3: Setup Static IP for the RPi3
You want to make sure the RPi always has a static IP address so the HS3 server can find it on the network. If DHCP is used, the address will periodically change and the HS3 server will lose connection to the RPi3. You can either set a static IP in the DHCP server like I did or you can configure the RPi to have a static IP.

After you configure the static IP, reboot the RPi:

sudo reboot now

Step 4: Install ser2net on the RPi3
ser2net allows COMM ports (such as serial and USB) to be exposed to the network through a TCP port. This makes it really easy for the HS3 Z-Wave plugin to connect to the RPi3 and use the Smartstick+ Z-Wave interface remotely (anywhere in the world if you want).

1. Log back into the RPi's SSH interface (remember to use the new static IP address you set).
2. Run the following command to install ser2net:

   sudo apt-get install ser2net

3. Now we need to determine the "device address" of the USB port where the Smartstick+ is located. ser2net uses this to map to a network port.
   1. Run the following command:

      dmesg | grep tty | grep USB

   2. The "device address" will start with tty (default should be ttyACM0).
4. Edit the ser2net.conf file and map the USB device address to a network port. I used port 4000 (doesn't really matter as long as it is above 1024).
   1. Open the /etc/ser2net.conf file:

      sudo nano /etc/ser2net.conf

   2. Move the cursor all the way to the bottom of the file
   3. Add the following line of code beneath everything else:

      4000:raw:0:/dev/ttyACM0:115200

      • NOTE: The format is <TCP port>:<state>:<timeout>:<device>:<options>
      • You can understand the fields more in the ser2net man page
   4. Save and Exit (Control + X, then Y)
5. Restart the ser2net service:

   sudo systemctl restart ser2net

Step 5: Install and Configure the HS3 Z-Wave Plugin

1. From the HS3 webpage, go to Plugins >> Manage.
2. Expand Additional Interfaces >> Lighting & Primary Technology.
3. Select the HomeSeer Z-Wave plugin and click Download and Install (just below Additional Interfaces).
4. Once it's installed, enable the plugin.
5. Once the plugin has enabled, go to Plugins >> Z-Wave >> Controller Management
6. Click Add Interface
   • Name: (whatever you want to name it)
   • Interface Model: Ethernet Interface
   • IP Address: <static ip address of the RPi3>
   • Port Number: <ser2net port> (Mine was port 4000)
7. Click Add
8. Click the Enable box (it should successfully connect to the RPi3!)
9. Expand Z-Wave Networks and Options
10. Rename the network to whatever you want

This is what my setup looks like:


Step 6: Add Z-Wave Devices

1. From the HS2 webpage, go to Plugins >> Z-Wave >> Controller Management
2. Expand Z-Wave Interfaces
3. From the Actions dropdown, select Add/Include a Node
4. Click the Start button and then press the Programming button on the Z-Wave device itself. You should see activity in the dialog box. If you do, congrats! It works!

Hopefully this guide will help some newer folks out there if they want to do this sort of similar setup. If you have any questions, feel free to reply or reach out to me.

One side note about the security of this approach - since the USB of the RPi is exposed to the local network without authentication, I have it in a separate subnet/VLAN along with some other home automation/security related devices. Very few devices on my network can access this "security" network.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Pete]

Thank you Ryan for the granular post!!

Can I do a copy and paste of your post over to the DIY section of Homeseer as here it will get buried over time?

Here have been utilizing an RPi2 with a GPIO ZWave dot me card for a few years. The POE RPi2 is in the attic is doing multiple functions at this time with:

1 - ZWave GPIO card
2 - SDR NOAA satellite downloading
3 - 1-Wire network to MQTT using Node Red

Here updated laptops over to Ubuntu 18.10, desktops over to 18.04 at this time. Homeseer 3 boxes are running Ubuntu 18.04. Kodi boxes now are running 18.10.

[blackbear]

Certainly Pete. Feel free to copy this wherever it is best suited. I just couldn't find a good home for this info on the forums since it crossed several different topics. Can you send me a link to where you copy it so I know for future reference?

Yeah, I noticed your setup from a lot of your posts I came across in my searches. I used some of your posts for some decision making, future planning, and to help understand how things work in HS3, so thank you!

[Pete]

Yes over will copy it over to here ==>

https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...-area/how-to-s


and ask Mark to make it a sticky maybe...

Started just copying and pasting...need to adjust the formatting a bit...

https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...de#post1272738

[Pete]

Stuck a bit at formatting the copy and paste...will get back to it later...

Only issue now is indents on step 5 and step 6

[rcrules]

Ermagherd, this so cool!! I tried it this morning and it works great. Thank You!

[sirhcz]

Does it also work with an UZB or Z-Stick (EU region)?

[zwolfpack]

Yes, the UZB interface is identical to that of the SmartStick+.