Trying to migrate from HS3 Zee S2 to HS4 PiHub

[diesnon]

Hello,

I am trying to migrate from a Zee S2 running HS3 to a new Pi Hub running HS4.

I followed the directions provided by HomeSeer support to backup my HS3, then restore it on my new HS4. But one week after opening a support ticket, there has been no progress. They've had me try a few things, they modified my backup file to make it smaller, etc.

But every time I try to restore, there are only two devices in HS4. It's as if the restore does absolutely nothing.

There must be something basic that's getting missed.

Can anyone offer any suggestions for something to check to figure out why the restore is doing nothing?

It's been very frustrating not being able to get any real solutions...

[Rupp]

I'd recommend upgrading your older unit to HS4 and then try using this backup to upgrade. Personally when I updated to HS4 I rebuilt my entire system. It took a few weeks but both systems ran just fine side by side and I ended up with a clean start.

[Eman]

Do you understand a bit of Linux? If you do, do you have 2 devices at hand at the moment? (The below may also assume the new HS4 device has at least 32 GB disk space)

SSH

• For the working device (HS3) use the backup tool and once done (your Zip should be found in /usr/local/HomeSeer/html/backups
• I don't want to repeat this step but let's try : On a Windows system download and install MobaXterm tool to help you see the files as you work on them. drag the latest zip (backed up) on the desktop.
• SSH into the second device (HS4) and drag the Zip you saved on the desktop earlier to the white space in MobaXterm ssh user space. And at the command-line # Type sudo cp -r /home/xxx/11_23_2020-22_24_46.zip/ /usr/local/HomeSeer/html/backups/
• (xxx...?? could be homeseer as the user)
• Now in HS4 UI settings locate the backup/Restore tool and if the Zip can be picked up and already installed your previous plug-ins, you should be able to restore your previous setup to the new system.

Should that fail, you may need to extract one zip (contained in the main backed up zip) at time. The contents of the main Zip are as in the image below :



Note : The date of your file will be deferent.




Eman.

[diesnon]

Thanks for the reply Rupp. What would be needed to upgrade the older unit to HS4?

My concern would be that if the upgrade didn't work, I would no longer have a working system. At this point, I've lost confidence in HS4, and I don't think I can count on getting real support if/when something goes wrong.

My old HS3 system works okay for the most part, and I'm hesitant to try and upgrade the software on it and then be forced to start from scratch.

I really don't want to rebuild from scratch.

[diesnon]

Thanks Eman. I am very comfortable with Linux.

I've already created the backups in HS3 using the steps at this link: https://docs.homeseer.com/pages/view...ageId=26476913

I then used the restore instructions to restore backups in HS4 using the steps at this link: https://docs.homeseer.com/display/HS...store+a+Backup

Is that different than what you're suggesting to do from the command line?

[Eman]

Thanks Eman. I am very comfortable with Linux.

I've already created the backups in HS3 using the steps at this link: https://docs.homeseer.com/pages/view...ageId=26476913

I then used the restore instructions to restore backups in HS4 using the steps at this link: https://docs.homeseer.com/display/HS...store+a+Backup

Is that different than what you're suggesting to do from the command line?

In the first link you seem to be backing up Z-wave if am reading it right. You need the system backup/restore (on HS3 Backup and on HS4 Restore) tool to restore entire system

So to make sure you're not missing anything, inspect your Zip with the 7-Zip tool to see the contents of the main Zip



Eman.

[diesnon]

Thanks Eman.

The last step creates a zip file that I downloaded to my laptop. That zip file does contains the other four zip files as in the screen shot you posted - Config.zip, Data.zip, html.zip and scripts.zip.

One of the HS support people said they were able to successfully restore one of my backups to a system there. So the backup files seem to be fine.

Maybe there's some undocumented step I'm missing, maybe some assumption the support people are making, I don't know.

I specifically asked about the two hubs having different Z-Wave network IDs, but was told I could restore Z-Wave to the new hub after all my devices are restored. Is it possible the restore is ignoring all the devices because they belong to a different network? Do I need to restore Z-Wave (and the the network ID) first?

[Eman]

The only thing that should differ with my Zip is that I don't use the Z-wave plug-in and that's what's missing in my Zip.
If you had all that then you would be able to restore to a new system.

Someone...?


Eman.

[diesnon]

So support thought the wrong data file may have been used after the restore, then suggested I select a specific data (hsd) file. I did that in the HS4 UI, and now I can see all (I think) of my devices in the HS4 hub.

But, the devices are still tied to the old Z-Wave network ID in the HS3 hub, so they are not really usable yet in the HS4 hub.

The Z-Wave interfaces in HS3 and HS4 hubs have different Lib and API versions. I don't know what is in the HS3 Z-Wave backup or if it can be safely restored to the HS4 Z-Wave interface.

Can I just restore Z-Wave to the HS4 hub and assign the HS3 network ID to the interface in the HS4 hub?

Dave

[Eman]

Give randy a PM to help you to de-register the Z-NET from HS3 to HS4...What I don't know is if it moves with its device database or it should that in such case you would in HS4 add Z-wave interface... Something along those lines.



This one : https://forums.homeseer.com/forum/ho...-replace-z-net is unrelated and the only one I could find (about transfer). Post #3 Pete mentions about deletion but careful right there... Save your data first. You will be able to transfer the Z-Net to HS4...that's the missing link...





Eman.

[diesnon]

I tried restoring the Z-Wave backup from the HS3 hub, and the interface on the HS4 hub now has the same network ID as the HS3 hub. So all devices appear to be functioning now.

Thanks for the tips.

Dave

[ahuefner]

I recently upgraded my S2 running HS4 to a Pi4 running HS4 using a Silicon Labs USB 700 series Zstick for my home network. I used the following steps:

1. Installed HS4 on the Pi4 per the HS instructions.
2. Installed the SiLabs Zstick-Note: I used the Sigma brand choice for install since they sold the rights to SiLabs. Mouser and Digikey sell this USB stick. You also need to install the ZWave Core plugin. This process took a restart to fully install.
3. Log onto the S2 running your home network and backup the ZWave controller. Go to: Plugins-ZWave-Controller Management-Click ZWave Interface drop down-Click Actions dropdown- and select Back Up This Interface. This will backup all your network node info and this will be stored on the SD card and will be included in the next HS4 backup you perform.
4. Perform an HS4 backup. Tools-Backup/Restore-Backup Now. This will save a copy of the backup zip file on the SD card in the S2. This backup will also include the ZWave controller backup info from Step 3 above.
5. Download a copy of the HS4 backup zip file to your laptop. Go to Tools-Backup/Restore-Local Restore-click of “select date” and select the backup you just performed by clicking on the small circle in front of it. Next click on the light blue download button on the right next the backup you selected. This will cause a copy of the download to be downloaded to the “download folder” on your PC. Leave this backup zipped. The restore process looks for a Zip file.
6. Power down the S2 running your home network to avoid conflict with your Pi4. To avoid future conflict, I suggest that the plugins be disabled before powering down your S2. This will let you power it up later without creating conflict with the Pi4 running your home network.
7. On the Pi4, go to Tools-Backup/Restore-Local Restore-and click on Upload Backup.
8. This will cause a window to open up on your laptop. Browse to the backup file you downloaded in step 5 above and click open. The upload to the Pi4 will begin. (This is for Windows – Mac will be slightly different) (File size will depend on the size of the network. My upload file was 81mb).
9. Once the upload is complete, click on the EXECUTE button. This will cause the zip to be unpacked and prepared for install. You will then be instructed to restart the Pi4.
10. Once the Pi4 is restarted, the license registration will need to be changed because the restore will set it to your S2 license because that is where the restore came from.
11. Next, you must load your network info into the ZWave controller on the Pi4. Go to Plugins-ZWave-Controller Management-open the dropdown under ZWave Interface-open dropdown under Actions-select Restore A Network To This Interface. This will cause the node information that was backed up from your home network in step 3 to be loaded into the ZWave controller on the Pi4. The address on the ZWave interface will be set to the address that your home network was running on with the S2. Once the ZWave interface on the Pi4 is loaded, both your S2 and the Pi4 will be capable of running your network so to avoid conflict, you need to insure they are not left powered up together. To avoid conflict, I disabled the plugin on my S2 once I started the Pi4.

Issues Encountered

1. The biggest issue I had was that the 700 series ZWave chip set mandates that any ZWave node capable of S0/S2 security must use it. I was aware that some of my devices that were capable of this security support had failed to install it when they were last included in my network which at the time was using the 500 series ZWave chip set which made the use of this security feature optional. As a result, I found that about a quarter of my devices had to be excluded/included to get the S0/S2 security activated for that node. This ends up being time consuming because the devices end up getting a different node address assigned to them in the include process which breaks any Events that reference that node. The new feature added to HS4 v4.2 that red flags any broken event in the event list took the guess work out of finding the Events that needed correction. Note: if you are using the UltraM1G plugin to integrate with the ELK security system, I recommend the use of full release version 4.2.5.0 because v4.2.0.0 causes a malfunction with the ELK plugin. I did have to perform the exclude/include action a couple of times on a couple of nodes to get the S0/S2 to activate.
2. I had one device, an Inovelli NZW36 lamp switch module, that had worked on my S2 but the Z-700-stick did not like it and it caused long delays in the performance of the ZWave interface which I suspect were timeout delays because it added a log entry that said that either the node was very old, or it was defective. After a couple of exclude/include cycles with the same results, I replaced the device with a different type which resolved the issue.
3. Once I resolved the two issues above, my network has been very stable with good performance.

Additional Notes:
1. Pi4 Heat -- I have seen comments regarding the Pi4 running hot. When I bought my Pi4, I also bot the heat sinks and put them on. I also bought the HiPi case which is about 3/8" taller then an S2 case. My Pi4 runs only slightly warmer then the S2 did. Definitely not hot. I do not doubt that there are lots of applications using the Pi4 where the loading is much higher and would be hotter in those situations but the HS4 load with 52 devices and nearly 200 event statements does not create a heat issue. The SiLabs Zstick is external and it remains cool to the feel.
2. Power Usage -- I use a small UPS for backup power for my controller that displays the current load on it. The S2 used a steady 0.39amp of current. The Pi4 power usage constantly fluctuates between 0.45 and 0.68amps. The power numbers for the Pi4 include the Zstick.
3. Pi4 Differences from S2. -- The Pi4 has two mini-HDMI connectors vs one std HDMI connector on the S2. Also the power plug has been changed to a USB C vs USB mini connector on the S2. The USB and LAN jack speeds have been increased vs S2 The download of the backup zip file takes 1/5th the time it takes on the S2.
4. Software Compatibility - I found the Pi4 fully compatible with the HS software and installed and ran without an issue. Also backups from the SiLabs 700 series Zstick restore into the 500 series based ZWave controller in the S2 and run without any issues.

[jeffstalzer]

I just tried the same thing with out being able to get the HS4 system working w/ all of my existing z-wave nodes. I spent 4 days on the "try this" drill w/ customer support. I think these folks are overwhelmed and HS4 may not be "ready for prime time". They made some bad decisions in the Human Machine Interface like hiding the "system" functions (shutdown, restart) under the "Linux" menu. The HS4 backup/restore process is bizarre.

In the end I removed and reinstalled ALL my z-wave nodes on the HS4 PiHub. Then I had to edit all the Events. But the system is up and running. If I had done that on day one when the upgrade instructions failed I would have been operating sooner and wasted less time.

They need to write better instructions for what to back-sup on HS3 and then what and where to restore on HS4.

BTW, they NEVER answered the phone or returned a message.