5 Linux Driver limitation on Pi3 questions

[amblix auto]

Hey all you lovely people. It's been quite some time since I've been on here. That said, I've been running HS1 and HS2 for several years on a PC. I'm leaning towards the idea of migrating to a Pi3 running HS3 to avoid issues that come along with running a full pc with moving parts.

My concern is, I have SEVERAL plugins though there seems to be a note mentioning that the Pi3 can only run 5 'consecutive' drivers.

---NOTE: Supports Your Choice of Up to 5 Linux Plug-ins (Drivers) including Z-Wave, Insteon, X10 and more!-----

Does this mean I can only have 5 HS plugins installed or only 5 running at once at any given time? Does this refer to only hardware based plugins?

I have a few media plugins, Elk, Insteon, MCSprinklers, Shopping List, etc etc.

Will I be able to make the migration?

Can someone please explain to me in a little more detail the 5 plugin limitation? Does every 'plugin' consist of a 'driver' or are there 'driverless' plugins?

Thank you all in advance!

[amblix auto]

PI3 and RS232 Edgeport support

Follow up question:

Can the edgeport/8s be used with the Pi3? I have 2 HACS speaker switches controlled via USB - RS232 and would like to continue on doing so.

[Pete]

Welcome to the Homeseer forum amblix auto!!!

My concern is, I have SEVERAL plugins though there seems to be a note mentioning that the Pi3 can only run 5 'consecutive' drivers.

It is Homeseer lite that is limited to 5 plugins. Homeseer Standard / Pro does not have these limitations.

Homeseer Lite started life out as a propietary build of Homeseer on the original RPi and it was the first version of Homeseer to run on Linux.

Later Homeseer ported Homeseer Standard and Pro to run in Linux.

That said the new updated Homeseer has integrated Homeseer touch server to main Homeseer program.

Will I be able to make the migration?

Yes and I would consider using Homeseer standard or pro for your migration.

Can someone please explain to me in a little more detail the 5 plugin limitation? Does every 'plugin' consist of a 'driver' or are there 'driverless' plugins?

Using a script instead of a plugin. Homeseer runs using Mono.

Can the edgeport/8s be used with the Pi3?

Yes I use it today with all of my Linux Homeseer builds. Works fine.

I also used Digi USB Anwhere devices with Windows (not working with Linux today) and Lantronix serial servers and Quatech serial servers.



I have 2 HACS speaker switches controlled via USB - RS232 and would like to continue on doing so.

I have one here and two Russound zoned amps. The HACS device was built to last a lifetime.

There is no Homeseer 3 plugin for the HACS speaker switcher. I have read that one HS3 user created his own script. There is a serial plugin to DIY your HACS control.

Baby steps...the transition to Homeseer 3 is a bit more involved and similar to the transition to Homeseer 2 from Homeseer 1.

Here switched to running Homeseer 3 in Linux. The Homeseer 3 GUI is the same except not all HS3 plug ins running in Windows works in Linux.

[amblix auto]

HS2 plugin licenses work with HS3? (Where available)

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions Pete. This helps immensely.

I was debating simply starting from scratch on the Pi3 as the HS system has not been updated or maintained for quite sometime.

One final question (for now at least )

Do HS2 plugin licenses translate over to HS3? (If plugin is available of course)

I ask because I've already purchased the Global Cache plugin and HS Touch Designer when it was first released. These are the main expense in HS3Pro.
I don't own any Z-Wave devices.

It would be quite disappointing to have to purchase HS Touch Designer again or HS3PRO, that was the most expensive add-on to date for me

Simply purchasing HS3 would be nice!

Thank you again!

-Tim

[amblix auto]

Okay so another question hahaha

I see HS for PI and HS for Linux in the downloads...

Am I correct in assuming HS for Pi is the HS Lite? Since the Linux distro says debian compatible, I can install the HS for Linux on a PI also?

Would you recommend the NOOBS installation?

My apologies for all of the questions...I'm sort of on a time constraint as I'm doing this for a friend while in town. Otherwise I'd be reading all of the manuals. (Which I will when helping him remote)

[Pete]

Am I correct in assuming HS for Pi is the HS Lite?.

Yes and no.

I just call the first version (Zee) HS Lite (it is only me). The first port over of HS3 was to the Pi using Wheezy and Mono.

That said HS Lite only runs in Linux and is not available for Windows.

Since the Linux distro says debian compatible, I can install the HS for Linux on a PI also?

There are 3 flavors of Homeseer hardware and 3 flavors of Homeseer software and it runs domestically (in the US) and internationally (globally) just fine.

Hardware:

1 - RPi Homeseer 3 Zee or Lite
2 - Linux lite on a Homeseer all in one mini PC - 2 flavors of HS software here - Homeseer standard and Homeseer Pro
3 - Windows embedded on a Homeseer all in one mini PC - 2 flavors of HS Software here as in number 2.

Think of it like a restaurant that serves only beef and provides a menu of an all inclusive meal or every item a la carte.

Would you recommend the NOOBS installation?

Depends on the NOOBS familiarity with utilize Windows and Linux and budget.

The HS3 GUI is the same.

Lite and most cost reasonable is the Homeseer Zee (Zee-lite). It is plug n play. You do not need to know Linux to use it.

If you know you are going to expand your Homeseer to multiple hardware controllers and many many plugins then two choices depending on budget.

1 - Homeseer Standard is using a la carte purchased plugins - cost reasonable and you can go baby steps building your server on Windows or Linux (with some contraints)
2 - Homeseer Pro which includes stuff provided by Homeseer but not 3rd party plugins.

As a NOOB here running Homeseer in Linux I started with the very first Zee offered by Homeseer. Already tinkering with Linux just copied over the RPi build to Ubuntu running on other computers and it worked great (with mono). I didn't see any differences cuz the base was all debian. That and helped a bit with Michael's MCSprinkler program running autonomously on a Dockstar Debian with mono a couple of years before HS3. Those pogo plugs were great little inventions.

Once I learned a bit then purchased Homeseer 3 Pro. I did start running HS3 Pro on Windows. Rich then said it would run in Linux with Mono so switched way long time ago. IE: such that today I have both versions running on Debian Linux. (Wheezy, Jessie lite for 32 bit running RPIs and Ubuntu 64bit now for Intel, AMD and ARM multicore processors). AND you can run it on a Mac with Mono. AND you can run it in a VM or Vitual box or VM server. Here my main HS3 Box is running Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit on an iSeries CPU with 16Gb of memory plus Oracle Wintel Virtual box(es) for Microsoft SAPI speech stuff (and Kinect). Today relating to text to speech and voice recognition you can also utilize the Amazon Echo and Google Voice and Apple SIRI...many choices. You can proxy the audio from the mothership to a multitude of different devices and OS's.

It is difficult for me to write about this (without being biased) as I started to utilize Linux before the first generation of Windows and IBM OS2 and MAC iOS stuff.

You personally know your friend and his knowledge base relating to computers and OS's such that he/she is trusting you to make the best decision.
Well that and your familiarity with running Homeseer 3.

So if your friend is OK with running Homeseer in Linux then go for the Zee as it is most cost reasonable. Tell him/her not to think of what OS Homeseer is running on but rather to know that the Homeseer GUI is the same on Linux as it is on Windows.

While Homeseer works with various technologies and controllers they are married today to Z-Wave (generation I and generation II) and utilizing Z-Wave for everything which does simplify automation for the first time Automation user (NOOB).