Need to replace Z-Net with a Aeon Labs stick

[mikee123]

I am having lots of problems with my zwave network (unresponsive devices, long delays etc). I have ruled out the zwave PI, I did go back to .190 but that did not help, so I've gone back to .249. I had switched off a lot of my modules to rule them out. Now I need to rule out my Z-Net. I have a spare Aeon Labs stick. Whats best to move my devices (68 nodes) over for testing purposes ? Can I backup the Z-Net and restore to the Aeon Labs ? Or import from the Z-Net ? Ideally if my Z-Net is ok I want to go back to it after I have tested it.

[jvm]

First, rather than switching interfaces ...

• Have you tried the "Restart THIS Interface" function in [Plugins] -> [Z-Wave] -> [Actions] menu first? If not, try that first.
• Sometimes the Z-Wave routing / device database seems to get corrupted. In the past I've been able to "fix" my network by deleting that database (HomeSeer will then automatically rebuild it). To try this:

1. First do a HomeSeer system backup and note where you store the backup. This is critical.
2. Shut down HomeSeer.
3. Delete the file Z-Wave2.db file which is found in HomeSeer's "Data" folder (on windows, that is found at: C:\Program Files (x86)\HomeSeer HS3\Data\Z-Wave).
4. Then restart Homeseer. If you have only Z-Wave Plus devices, that is all you should have to do.
5. If you have "older" Z-Wave devices or a mix of Z-Wave Plus and older Z-Wave, you need to optimize your network: (A) Run "Optimize a Network, No Return Route Changes" followed by "Test Node Connectivity on a Network"; (B) Repeat (A) until the testing stage shows that all nodes can be reached (this make take up to 3 cycles); (C) Then run "Fully Optimize a Network" once. If you have only Z-Wave Plus devices, run the "Test Node Connectivity on a Network" function to test the connections (you may need to try this a few times as HomeSeer rebuilds its ZWave2.db routing database).
6. If everything checks out, you got lucky; else, restore your system using the backup created in step (1).

But to Answer your original question ...

You will need to first check that each interface supports both backup and restore. My understanding is that some interfaces only support backup -- this always seemed odd to me (why would you have a backup if you can't restore), but you'll want to check this. I believe the Z-Net does support both, but my memory is that the Aeon Labs stick may not.


Look in the [Plugins] -> [Z-Wave] -> [Actions] menu - if there is both a [Back Up this interface] and a [Restore a Network to this Interface] option there for your interface, you know it supports both.


1. Do a backup of your Z-Net using the "Back Up this interface" function and note the name of the file it creates.
2. This would be a good time to do a full backup of HomeSeer from the [Tools] -> [Setup] -> [General] menu!
3. Add your Aeon Labs stick using the [Plugins] -> [Z-Wave] -> [Add Interface] function.
4. After the Aeon Labs stick has been added, check if it supports both backup and restore, if it doesn't, then you won't be able to use it so you'll have to go back to the Z-Net interface.
5. Un-check the check box for your Z-net interface and power it down (unchecking disables it from HomeSeer, but if it is still powered, it will still be sending radio to your network).
6. From your Aeon Labs' stick's [Action] menu, select "Restore a Network to this Interface" and restore the backup of your Z-Net's interface that you created in step 1.
7. That should be all you need to do. If it fails, you should be able to return to the Z-Net by disabling and removing the Aeon labs stick and then re-enabling / re-powering your Z-Net.

[mikee123]

Thanks for your very comprehensive post. I have restarted the zwave interface multiple times. It always fixes the issue, sometimes for an hour, if I'm lucky 3 or 4 hours. Given how my network behaves, it seems to be busy, that I think is the issue. When issuing commands, I can sometimes see that there are 'stuck' in cmd Q, I can see the cound go uo, then a minute later lots of things turn on/off and the queue reduces. But even if the queue is 0, the network seems to be busy as commands get stuck and or be completely unreachable. I have tried backing up and restoring the network, and optimized a few nodes after. That worked for a few days before it got worse again. I have turned the power off to a few nodes at a time to see if there might be a faulty one causing problems, but the network still locks up. I have not managed to power down and test all nodes, some are a bit trickier do power down. I have a mix of older and zwave+, about 25 to 30 of my 68 nodes are zwave+. I have never tried deleting the zwave2.db file, I'll try that tonight. I also have the button to reset zwave data, but have no idea what that does so never touched it.
With regards to moving over to the Aeon labs, I thought thats what I needed to do. Just one thing, If I do that, wouldnt I try to pair my nodes with 2 controllers ? And if yes, I thought you could only pair with 1 controller. Also, if I do that and go back to the Z-Net, dont I have to erase the Aeon labs somehow ?

[drparker151]

Aeotec has their own backup and restore software.

[mikee123]

Aeotec has their own backup and restore software.

That probably means that I cannot restore to it from the Z-Net

[drparker151]

I'm running the Z-stick on my SEL. In the actions under the Z-wave plugin there is not an option for restore. There are options for;

Import Node info from controller and scan devices
Receive Network from another controller

Not sure how well these perform and if they will work, I've never done it.

[mikee123]

Thats more a last resort option then, as it it doesnt improve my situation I would want to go back to Z-Net. Is there anything compatible with a Z-Net restore ? I think they stopped selling the Z-nets in Europe

[jvm]

Another thought -- if you are using Windows, there is a new .489 beta posted that I am running. Its referenced here: https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...r-on-460/page6

I'm also using the latest beta Z-Wave plugin. The .489 beta seems to improve on some queuing problems with HS and has made my system much more responsive. You might want to give it a try before you go through the more difficult problem of changing interfaces.

[jvm]

With regards to moving over to the Aeon labs, I thought thats what I needed to do. Just one thing, If I do that, wouldnt I try to pair my nodes with 2 controllers ? And if yes, I thought you could only pair with 1 controller. Also, if I do that and go back to the Z-Net, don't I have to erase the Aeon labs somehow ?

No, you don't want to pair with two controllers. In theory, Z-Wave allows multiple controllers, but its actually quite difficult to implement in practice. Its better to restore your network to a new controller - the new controller, with the restored network, will take on the ID of the old one and your nodes should not "see" a difference.

[mikee123]

Another thought -- if you are using Windows, there is a new .489 beta posted that I am running. Its referenced here: https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...r-on-460/page6

I'm also using the latest beta Z-Wave plugin. The .489 beta seems to improve on some queuing problems with HS and has made my system much more responsive. You might want to give it a try before you go through the more difficult problem of changing interfaces.

I did another zwave backup and restore. 26 Hours and its still running... not sure it will last though. I had a look at the .489 beta. I think the improvements with queuing are just for event callback though ? Or would that be for zwave too ?

[sparkman]

AFAIK .489 has no queuing related changes, but only improved debugging capabilities to allow troubleshooting of the dropped event callback queue issue.

[mikee123]

Thats what I thought from reading the post. So I'll leave that alone for the moment and hope my system stabilizes... Last night I did have a few errors in the log, but all devices executed the commands, but some with delays. But no other errors since

Jan-10 22:48:29

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Kitchen Plinth lights middle

Jan-10 22:47:29

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Kitchen Plinth Lights Micro

Jan-10 22:45:29

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Bedroom Red bedside lights

Jan-10 22:42:48

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Thermostat HVAC AC Mode

Jan-10 22:36:36

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Garden Outside tree

Jan-10 20:50:36

Z-Wave Error

(2) Sensor Multilevel Report for type Relative_Humidity received, but the corresponding device Node ID cannot be found.(2) Node/Instance=98/-1

Jan-10 20:21:22

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Thermostat HVAC Lounge TRV mode

Jan-10 20:00:01

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Kitchen Plinth lights sink

Jan-10 20:00:00

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Lights Kitchen Plinth Lights Micro

Jan-10 19:42:23

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: Thermostat HVAC Study TRV mode

Jan-10 19:15:59

Z-Wave Error

Failed sending Z-Wave command to device: AV Lounge Tablet charger lounge

[jvm]

AFAIK .489 has no queuing related changes, but only improved debugging capabilities to allow troubleshooting of the dropped event callback queue issue.

You may be right - I had seen something on the forums that .489 addressed some queuing issues, but that may have all been conjecture - maybe its coincidence that some of the problems I was having (including queue overflow messages int he log) improved or disappeared when I installed .489 -- perhaps the install fixed an issue somewhere else. Its anybody's guess as to why, but nonetheless, HS3 is working better for me now.

[mikee123]

If I have issues again I might give .489 beta a try. Where can I find the .458 msi in case I want to go back ?

[sparkman]

You can still download it here: https://homeseer.com/updates3/SetupHS3_3_0_0_458.msi