Serial PLM over Ethernet - Yep!

[mnsandler]

thanks for posting your solution. People ask about this periodically.

[Marto308]

I know Mark has mentioned in the past he prefers the serial PLM over USB or the Hub. The PLM handles inbound messages better and can't be screwed up by automatic firmware updates from Insteon. I run Linux HomeSeer in a virtual machine on my Synology NAS. There are no serial ports, so I had been using a Startech USB to serial converter. However these can be a little flakey with a VM. I also wanted to locate the PLM more than a few feet from my NAS and data rack.

I always wondered if the PLM would work with a serial device server. I have used these at work with some older equipment to get it on our network. The issue was finding a unit with Linux driver support. After some googling I settled on the Moxa NPort 5110A. This unit uses standard Ethernet, but POE powered units and WiFi units are also available.

The NPort unit is configurable via a web interface or windows software from Moxa. All I had to do was set the IP address of the unit, install the Linux drivers, and run a script to create the virtual serial port in Ubuntu. I am definitely not a Linux expert, but was able to use the documentation to get this done. I am sure this unit would also work great on Windows as there are drivers for that as well.

Next was connecting the PLM to the device server, plugging that in to my network, and changing the interface port in the plugin to /dev/ttyr00.

HomeSeer and the plugin don't know the difference. I am now able to place the PLM wherever there is an outlet and a network drop. I am also not tied to a USB port on the NAS and have the flexibility of the hub with the benefits of the PLM.