Multiple Panels

[cjvawv82]

Hello all, Happy New Year!

I have multiple vista panels on my property that I would like to incorporate into homeseer. Is that something I could do with this plugin and an ad2usb on each panel? Is it possible to run more than one instance of the plugin? Nothing is setup yet so I could really do anything to make it work.

Thanks for any help you can provide!
CJ

[mnsandler]

The plugin does not currently support multiple ad2usb interfaces. The plugin supports multiple partitions based on the panel.

[cjvawv82]

Is it possible to pay to get that feature made?

[mnsandler]

Is this requirement for business use

[cjvawv82]

No, Its for personal use. I have a farm with multiple buildings. Each has it's own Vista 21ip panel in it. I would really like to integrate each panel into Homeseer if possible.

Thanks again for your time and help!
CJ

[cjvawv82]

Is this a feature I can buy? It would really be nice to run multiple instances.

Thanks for your help and time,
CJ

[mnsandler]

Is this a feature I can buy? It would really be nice to run multiple instances.

Thanks for your help and time,
CJ

I'm am looking into this, but its not a trivial task to convert the plugin to run multiple instances.

[mnsandler]

CJ,
i think i can add this to the plugin, but i'll definitely need your help testing this. What's your availability to test?

As i understand 'Instances' each gets a unique name. so the first instance can have a blank instance name while the second could be "barn", "shed", etc.

i will need to prefix all the Vista device addresses with the instance name, and customize the vistaalarm.ini file name as well.

Not sure if you have tried the plugin as-is. if not, none of this will make sense.

I guess i'm looking for feedback on your thoughts for grouping the plugin devices and associated zones

[cjvawv82]

Being able to label the instance with the location of the panel will work fine, plus it will make it easier to view and troubleshoot everything. I apologize for the delay in getting back to you.

[calligoo]

Hi Mark,

I use Vista Alarm with my main panel today. I just added a workshop to my house and it has its own panel, so I'd be happy to help support the work on a multi-panel variant. I have a spare panel I use for testing and 2 AD2USBs...let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

I agree: prepending an instance name to that instance's zones would work well.

Thanks,
Cliff

[mnsandler]

Hi Mark,

I use Vista Alarm with my main panel today. I just added a workshop to my house and it has its own panel, so I'd be happy to help support the work on a multi-panel variant. I have a spare panel I use for testing and 2 AD2USBs...let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

I agree: prepending an instance name to that instance's zones would work well.

Thanks,
Cliff

thanks for the offer. Are you running any other plugins using multiple instances? if so, how do you configure it and how does it work at startup?

I've been working on this feature but it's poorly documented so its going slow.

I'm also waiting for a second ad2usb so i can connect two of them to my test panel

[calligoo]

Unfortunately, no. This was the first time I found I could use two instances of a plugin.

Are you looking at the HS API function SupportsMultipleInstances, or considering adapting a single instance of the plugin to use multiple COM ports? It seems the former would work equally well using HS to identify zones using its existing location parameters.

[mnsandler]

Just a quick update...its going a little slow. I've worked the code, but its difficult to test with only one ad2usb. i need to get a second ad2usb so i can actually run a second instance of the plugin on a different com port

[calligoo]

I’m willing to donate an AD2USB if that would help.

[mnsandler]

Ok. i have two panels (a 20p, and 20se) online in my development setup. I'm trying to figure the best way to initiate a second instance. HS has a feature via the Manage plugin page, or i can do it myself with my own config page.