Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Adding a z-net

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Adding a z-net

    I have a z-net with about 70 devices installed. A few months ago I started experiencing odd issues with new nodes being added at node numbers that are already in use. I have to be very careful (doing a lot of backup and restores!) and most times that I add a new device it causes all sorts of issues that can sometimes take hours to clean up. This is a problem i have been fighting for about 6 months. Something is systemically wrong, but I just cannot diagnose what it is - every time i think i have it cleaned up it will go haywire again if i try to exclude or add a new device.

    A thought came to me that perhaps now - while my z-net is stable and the the homeseer DB and z-net device list are matching with all expected devices in place - that I should add a new z-net and never touch the old one again. My thought is that after adding a new z-net, every device I add would be added to that device and perhaps I could bypass the issues I have been having with the one that is currently in place.

    If there are two z-net devices in use by homeseer do they use separate databases, etc for devices? Is it possible that adding a second z-net could solve my problems with adding new devices?

    Thanks for any advice.

    #2
    It will be the same database, so the only place they are different is in the z-net's z-wave interface itself. Have you created a z-wave controller backup file or taken a look at the most recent one? They are located in the \Data\Z-Wave sub-folder and have a .ZWave extension. Open it in a text editor and then confirm that all the nodes you have are included. In that case, I would reset the the z-net by going to the Z-Wave plugin's Controller Management page and then picking "Restore a Network to this Interface" in the Z-Wave Interfaces section.
    HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
    Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by sparkman View Post
      It will be the same database, so the only place they are different is in the z-net's z-wave interface itself. Have you created a z-wave controller backup file or taken a look at the most recent one? They are located in the \Data\Z-Wave sub-folder and have a .ZWave extension. Open it in a text editor and then confirm that all the nodes you have are included. In that case, I would reset the the z-net by going to the Z-Wave plugin's Controller Management page and then picking "Restore a Network to this Interface" in the Z-Wave Interfaces section.
      Thanks - I have done this so many times i have lost count - generally after adding a new device and having it overwrite an existing device. My procedure for adding a new device is to backup homeseer, backup the z-wave controller, and do a node list and save it. That way, if i add a node and it overwrites something I can recover. I would say that about 1 out of every 4 times I add a device it uses a node number that is already in use. Sure wish i could figure out how/why or some way to work around it.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by grahamk View Post

        Thanks - I have done this so many times i have lost count - generally after adding a new device and having it overwrite an existing device. My procedure for adding a new device is to backup homeseer, backup the z-wave controller, and do a node list and save it. That way, if i add a node and it overwrites something I can recover. I would say that about 1 out of every 4 times I add a device it uses a node number that is already in use. Sure wish i could figure out how/why or some way to work around it.
        Sorry, when you said backup/restore I assumed you meant backing up and restoring all of HS, not the z-wave interface. Have you also reset your z-wave database file after doing so (from the z-wave plugin's page)?
        HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
        Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by sparkman View Post

          Sorry, when you said backup/restore I assumed you meant backing up and restoring all of HS, not the z-wave interface. Have you also reset your z-wave database file after doing so (from the z-wave plugin's page)?
          I appreciate the help - Yes - once I figure out that it has overwritten a node the best way to recover is to restore the z-wave backup, and then reset the z-wave database. Then I attempt to add the device again - sometimes it works, other times it will overwrite nodes again. I'm not sure why, but it seems to pick on node 19 the most - it overwrites that one most of the time. I'm thinking about removing that node to see if that help - but this is clearly grasping at straws.

          Comment


            #6
            One other thing to consider is that the z-wave interface board in the z-net is faulty. Since you are thinking of buying another z-net, you could restore your current z-wave backups to it and see if it behaves better.
            HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
            Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by sparkman View Post
              One other thing to consider is that the z-wave interface board in the z-net is faulty. Since you are thinking of buying another z-net, you could restore your current z-wave backups to it and see if it behaves better.
              Yeah I might try that.

              Comment


                #8
                FWIW - - I got a new z-net last Friday. I took the old one out and restored the network onto the new one and continued to have strange Z-wave issues so it wasn't due to a faulty z-net. I then erased the old znet and added it in as a secondary controller. This worked for a few hours and then went totally haywire. I tried adding/excluding a few nodes while it was configured in this way and it caused all sorts of issues - excludes in particular would cause a 30-40 minute task of trying to rescan all nodes for some reason and this ended up with multiple devices per node - a total mess. So I restored everything back to how it was with the single z-net, erased the old znet again and added it in with a different network name. I then excluded all high traffic nodes (power meters, water meters, things that report lots of data every 1-10 seconds) from the old network and added them into the new network. The system has been rock solid ever since (knock on wood). So - my conclusion so far is that the 70 devices I had including a few that report a large amount of data was simply overwhelming the abilities of one z-net. I had found other posts that indicated that adding a separate znet with a different network name was appropriate at 100 nodes or more - I think i'd be more inclined to do it at 60. Time will tell.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I think the high amount of polling is likely the issue. FWIW, I have 111 nodes on one z-net and things are reliable. I do have quite a few devices sending regular power updates, but typically use at least a minute between updates.
                  HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
                  Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X