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Does ZNET support USB Ports?

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    Does ZNET support USB Ports?

    When I look at the znet device I see multiple USB ports. Can those ports be used to plug in other devices that homeseer can see? For example if I had a sprinkler system whose control box could sit next to a znet, could I use the USB on the ZNET from homerseer (USB port forwarding???).

    #2
    I wouldnt. It's just not worth the headache of something accidentally killing your Z-Wave network.

    Raspberry Pis are so cheap, I would get one dedicated to the sprinkler system.
    HS4Pro on a Raspberry Pi4
    54 Z-Wave Nodes / 21 Zigbee Devices / 108 Events / 767 Devices
    Plugins: Z-Wave / Zigbee Plus / EasyTrigger / AK Weather / OMNI

    HSTouch Clients: 1 Android

    Comment


      #3
      I agree with Rob on not touching the proprietary ZNet OS on the Homeseer ZNet device.
      - Pete

      Auto mator
      Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
      Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
      HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

      HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
      HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

      X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

      Comment


        #4
        IMO, don't do it. I used one of the USB ports to plug in an Aeotec Z-Stick as a secondary controller (I had to plug it in somewhere) and the z-net ended up reseting itself to some weird device that was uncontrollable until @zwolfpack came to the rescue.

        See https://forums.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=190608, which points to the original thread.

        If all you had to do was power a motion sensor, then maybe?? since you're just supplying power, not sending or receiving an actual z-wave command.

        Comment


          #5
          I guess then my real question is: How does one get more USB/Serial ports? Does a Raspbery Pi somehow support a port that homeseer can see?

          Comment


            #6
            The Raspberry Pi OS Wheezy or Jessie supports all of the USB ports that are part of the RPi device.

            I have my old RPi2 POE connected in the attic using two of the USB ports.

            Homeseer can see or utilize any of the USB ports on a RPi.

            The ZNET device is a proprietary configured OS on a RPi.

            The precaution here is if you are not familiar with Jessie / Linux then there is a chance of messing up the base proprietary ZNET configuration.
            - Pete

            Auto mator
            Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
            Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
            HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

            HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
            HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

            X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

            Comment


              #7
              Haven't tried this, but it looks interesting
              https://sourceforge.net/projects/usbip/

              Available as a Raspbian package via
              sudo apt-get install usbip

              Another one
              http://www.virtualhere.com/usb_server_software

              If you are only extending serial ports, there's ser2net (which is what the znet uses so its already installed there).
              https://sourceforge.net/projects/ser2net/

              or
              sudo apt-get install ser2net

              To mate up with this on the Windows side, this might work
              https://sourceforge.net/projects/com0com/

              or this
              https://www.eltima.com/products/vspdxp/

              Comment


                #8
                I have no desire to use the ZNET as an extender (homeseer support said I could free up a port using a ZNET) I just saw the picture of the znet and wondered if those ports that are just sitting there could be used.

                I will probably get a RaspberryPi to mess around with. I don't need the extra ports right away as I'm just getting things ported over to homeseer.

                Thanks for the help

                Comment


                  #9
                  I use one of the znet's usb ports for my rfxcom transmitter for my blinds. I leveraged the pre-installed ser2net installation. The rfxcom HS plug-in natively supports rfxcom via tcp/ip.

                  I have had no issues with running it this way.
                  Len


                  HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.435
                  Linux version: Linux homeseer Ubuntu 16.04 x86_64
                  Number of Devices: 633
                  Number of Events: 773

                  Enabled Plug-Ins
                  2.0.54.0: BLBackup
                  2.0.40.0: BLLAN
                  3.0.0.48: EasyTrigger
                  30.0.0.36: RFXCOM
                  3.0.6.2: SDJ-Health
                  3.0.0.87: weatherXML
                  3.0.1.190: Z-Wave

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Here repurposed my original RPi2 / Zee 2 device. It is in the attic with a POE connection.

                    Inside of the RPi is a ZWave dot me GPIO card and PiFace RTC.

                    It is now a 1-wire temperature / humidity 9097 hub for my second floor using Digitemp and OWFS.

                    HS3 boxes (2) are reading the digitemp file via a script and updating the HS3 temperature and humidity variables.

                    Just for the second floor here using old AAG mini (size of my fingernail) combo temperature and humidity sensors purchased in the 1990's.

                    Been collecting this stuff a long time and have more AAG, Hobby Boards and Midon combo 1-wire sensors.

                    Ser2net is used for Z-Wave which hardly works at all).

                    In addition to this stuff installed domoticz on it for the 1-wire sensors / graphs. It is a nice open source automation program. Mostly written using Lua and Python. It is very popular in the EU.

                    I also downgraded the RPi2 from Jessie to Wheezy because to me Wheezy is faster on the RPi2 than the RPi3.

                    @Len, are you utilizing both RX/TX RFX com devices?
                    - Pete

                    Auto mator
                    Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                    Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                    HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                    HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                    HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                    X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Pete View Post
                      @Len, are you utilizing both RX/TX RFX com devices?
                      Only the TX now.
                      Len


                      HomeSeer Version: HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.435
                      Linux version: Linux homeseer Ubuntu 16.04 x86_64
                      Number of Devices: 633
                      Number of Events: 773

                      Enabled Plug-Ins
                      2.0.54.0: BLBackup
                      2.0.40.0: BLLAN
                      3.0.0.48: EasyTrigger
                      30.0.0.36: RFXCOM
                      3.0.6.2: SDJ-Health
                      3.0.0.87: weatherXML
                      3.0.1.190: Z-Wave

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I was curious about the USB ports on the Z-Net. I agree with the advice to not use them...but
                        It's most interesting that the ports on the Z-Net (power, USB, RJ45, HDMI??, Headphone??) are the same as on a Raspberry PI. I wonder what's inside the box.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by madmellow View Post
                          I was curious about the USB ports on the Z-Net. I agree with the advice to not use them...but
                          It's most interesting that the ports on the Z-Net (power, USB, RJ45, HDMI??, Headphone??) are the same as on a Raspberry PI. I wonder what's inside the box.
                          Exactly that, a Raspberry pi with a Zwave gpio board.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I SSH'ed to the Z-Net, using a root password I found through google, and it responded as expected for a RasPi. The Z-Wave plugin, however, gave an error (Security Set) the next time I started it -- thankfully only until I power-cycled the Z-Net.

                            Comment

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