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    Catch-22

    I purchased an Aeon Labs Aeotec DSC11-ZWUS Z-Wave Smart Strip, intending to control my various network devices that sometimes need rebooting when I am not present. I hooked everything up, then realized I had a problem. I can turn the devices off, but then, for at least some of the devices, there is now no network connection to turn the devices back on. This is even more of a problem at my remote location that has a Z-Net, but no controller.

    So.....is there a setting on this device that will default to ON....so that if it's turned off, it will turn back on after a set amount of time? Or is there some way to get a toggle command in before the connection actually goes down??

    Any other advice?

    David

    #2
    You could look to see if any devices have wake-on-lan settings available.
    It's not something I've used for a long time but used to have it working a PC years ago very well.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by david.delano View Post
      I purchased an Aeon Labs Aeotec DSC11-ZWUS Z-Wave Smart Strip, intending to control my various network devices that sometimes need rebooting when I am not present. ...

      So.....is there a setting on this device that will default to ON....so that if it's turned off, it will turn back on after a set amount of time? Or is there some way to get a toggle command in before the connection actually goes down??

      Any other advice?

      David
      I'm not sure I fully understand your issue. However, for what it's worth, this is what I have done. I have an Almond+ router, which will control Zwave and Zigbee devices. I have the PC that is running HS3 plugged into one "Peanut" (Zigbee) switch, which I can control remotely (turn off and on) via the Almond+ app. I can also reboot the router remotely via this app.
      Elliott
      "Living with technology means living in a [constant] state of flux." S. Higgenbotham, 2023
      "Reboot and rejoice!" F. Pishotta, 1989

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by david.delano View Post
        I purchased an Aeon Labs Aeotec DSC11-ZWUS Z-Wave Smart Strip, intending to control my various network devices that sometimes need rebooting when I am not present. I hooked everything up, then realized I had a problem. I can turn the devices off, but then, for at least some of the devices, there is now no network connection to turn the devices back on. This is even more of a problem at my remote location that has a Z-Net, but no controller.

        So.....is there a setting on this device that will default to ON....so that if it's turned off, it will turn back on after a set amount of time? Or is there some way to get a toggle command in before the connection actually goes down??

        Any other advice?

        David
        Get a strip like this one :https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Strip-S...en+power+strip

        Connect PC/or something you normally turn off when leaving on the blue part, connect the always on (router/switches) on the red parts and connect the rest of stuff on the green parts i.e they turn on when the PC turns on. Also you can plug your Z-wave strip on one the green parts and just plug the non-critical stuff on the Z-wave strip.

        Note: Count your amps to avoid overloading!



        Eman.
        TinkerLand : Life's Choices,"No One Size Fits All"

        Comment


          #5
          Let me simplify the question.....

          I have a Z-Wave controlled switch. I have my internet router plugged into it. I want to reboot the internet router, so I send a Z-Wave command to the switch. It turns off. Now HS3, Z-Net, and the Z-Wave controlled switch can't talk to each other because the internet router is off. I need to turn the Z-Wave switch back on somehow.

          I put the specific power strip in the question in case it has some settings that would default it to on, and cause it to come back on after a set period of time, say 30 secs. I have not been able to dig up any additional settings for the power strip, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

          David

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by david.delano View Post
            Let me simplify the question.....

            I have a Z-Wave controlled switch. I have my internet router plugged into it. I want to reboot the internet router, so I send a Z-Wave command to the switch. It turns off. Now HS3, Z-Net, and the Z-Wave controlled switch can't talk to each other because the internet router is off. I need to turn the Z-Wave switch back on somehow.

            I put the specific power strip in the question in case it has some settings that would default it to on, and cause it to come back on after a set period of time, say 30 secs. I have not been able to dig up any additional settings for the power strip, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

            David
            Okay. So, is your router capable of scheduling reboots? Alternatively, can you set up your router for VPN to access it remotely and then reboot?

            Elliott
            "Living with technology means living in a [constant] state of flux." S. Higgenbotham, 2023
            "Reboot and rejoice!" F. Pishotta, 1989

            Comment


              #7
              The situation I get into is when I can't talk to the router, so I want/need to reboot it. Right now I have on the power strip (each outlet Z-Wave controlled):

              1) Cable Modem
              2) Router
              3) WiFi AP

              I have 4 spare slots that I can add other stuff to.

              The problem I'm trying to solve is, how can I reboot any of the above when I have issues connecting, usually remotely.

              Yes, I could schedule the router to reboot, but only if I can communicate with it.

              David

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by david.delano View Post
                Let me simplify the question.....

                I have a Z-Wave controlled switch. I have my internet router plugged into it. I want to reboot the internet router, so I send a Z-Wave command to the switch. It turns off. Now HS3, Z-Net, and the Z-Wave controlled switch can't talk to each other because the internet router is off. I need to turn the Z-Wave switch back on somehow.

                I put the specific power strip in the question in case it has some settings that would default it to on, and cause it to come back on after a set period of time, say 30 secs. I have not been able to dig up any additional settings for the power strip, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

                David
                To answer your question, there is nothing in the parameters published for that device. Intuitively I wouldn't expect a parameter on any switch that would return it to ON after a fixed time period and I have never seen it. There are some switches that can be configured as to how to recover from a power failure, but I don't recall seeing this in the smart strip's parameters.

                There are some remote network reset devices and devices that monitor Internet connections like this. I would have to search for the switches, but they are designed to power cycle equipment with a single IP command.

                With the catch-22 you encountered in mind, I decided on this: My main network switch is used between my HS server and Z-Net. It is connected to one of the unswitched outlets on the smart strip. My Z-Nets all use static IP addresses. My modem and router are each connected to different switched outlett. I have events that will turn the modem and router outlets back on after they have been off for more than a minute. This allows me to power cycle the router or modem by events or remotely with virtual devices in HSTouch.

                While restarting the router will disrupt DHCP and most connections will survive loss of DHCP, the static IP keeps the local connections intact.

                This will (obviously) only work with a wired connection to the Z-Net controlling the smart strip.

                If I need to cycle the network switch, I drill into its web interface and reboot it. If I need to restart a Z-Net it can also be done by web interface or alternatively perform a hard reset by an Arduino controlled relay connected to its reset pins.
                Last edited by randy; June 30, 2016, 09:30 AM.
                HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by david.delano View Post
                  The situation I get into is when I can't talk to the router, so I want/need to reboot it. Right now I have on the power strip (each outlet Z-Wave controlled):

                  1) Cable Modem
                  2) Router
                  3) WiFi AP

                  I have 4 spare slots that I can add other stuff to.

                  The problem I'm trying to solve is, how can I reboot any of the above when I have issues connecting, usually remotely.

                  Yes, I could schedule the router to reboot, but only if I can communicate with it.

                  David
                  First, I would wonder why I need to reboot that router so often? is it just a crappy device and a new router is the solution or there are other reasons.

                  If you want to keep that particular router then may be try something like this:
                  http://www.digital-loggers.com/autoping.html

                  ignore the annoying video, and I have not personally tried it but seems that it may be one solution for you.

                  good luck.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    The router is a small business class router. However, it gives priority to routing traffic, and thus at times does not get around to the html server at times. I've encountered this most when trying to get the VPN working. In this case, I can usually communicate with the Z-Net, thus I can turn the power off. But at that point, I lose communication with the Z-Net......and need some more automated way to turn the power back on.

                    Randy -

                    Currently HS3 is running on a spare tablet using WiFi. The local Z-Net is currently hard wired, but has the capability to go wireless. The remote Z-Net is hardwired, but of course on a completely different network than HS3. I don't think Z-Nets can act on their own. Everything is on a fixed IP. Theoretically, locally the devices can still communicate when the router is off, through the AP, but at that point, remote access to HS3 is not possible, since the internet is down. The remote situation is even worse.

                    I have been trying to get a VPN connection working between the two sites, but so far, can't do what I want (I want everything to be on the same subnet).

                    This is really an emergency type set up, but it seems that every time I'm out of town, something needs to be rebooted, and I don't always have a person on site that knows what they are doing.

                    David

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by david.delano View Post
                      The router is a small business class router. However, it gives priority to routing traffic, and thus at times does not get around to the html server at times. I've encountered this most when trying to get the VPN working. In this case, I can usually communicate with the Z-Net, thus I can turn the power off. But at that point, I lose communication with the Z-Net......and need some more automated way to turn the power back on.

                      Randy -

                      Currently HS3 is running on a spare tablet using WiFi. The local Z-Net is currently hard wired, but has the capability to go wireless. The remote Z-Net is hardwired, but of course on a completely different network than HS3. I don't think Z-Nets can act on their own. Everything is on a fixed IP. Theoretically, locally the devices can still communicate when the router is off, through the AP, but at that point, remote access to HS3 is not possible, since the internet is down. The remote situation is even worse.

                      I have been trying to get a VPN connection working between the two sites, but so far, can't do what I want (I want everything to be on the same subnet).

                      This is really an emergency type set up, but it seems that every time I'm out of town, something needs to be rebooted, and I don't always have a person on site that knows what they are doing.

                      David
                      Then you should probably look at a device like the Amazon link I posted. The Auto IP Web Power Switch 7 that Amigo linked above, looks like a very flexible option with 8 switched outlets that can be ping enabled - all for $130.
                      HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Randy - the Amazon link you sent would like do the trick. I was trying to set something up similarly to the auto-pinging device, but I was trying to do this all via Z-Wave. The mix and match of technology drives me nuts at times.

                        I had tried a cheaper version of the IP outlet, but it would not reliably turn back on. I now use it on my power tool chargers to turn them off for a few hours every night.

                        I will find another use for the power strip, maybe to control the non-critical stuff on the network (NAS, Z-Net, etc.) that may still need a remote reboot from time to time.

                        David

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by david.delano View Post
                          Let me simplify the question.....

                          I have a Z-Wave controlled switch. I have my internet router plugged into it. I want to reboot the internet router, so I send a Z-Wave command to the switch. It turns off. Now HS3, Z-Net, and the Z-Wave controlled switch can't talk to each other because the internet router is off. I need to turn the Z-Wave switch back on somehow.

                          I put the specific power strip in the question in case it has some settings that would default it to on, and cause it to come back on after a set period of time, say 30 secs. I have not been able to dig up any additional settings for the power strip, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

                          David
                          I'm guessing you're using your router as a network switch, which is why HS3 can't talk to the zwave controller anymore? Or is your Zwave controller on a different network than your HS3 machine?

                          Z

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by vasrc View Post
                            I'm guessing you're using your router as a network switch, which is why HS3 can't talk to the zwave controller anymore? Or is your Zwave controller on a different network than your HS3 machine?

                            Z
                            His HS server is on a wireless tablet as he stated above. When the router is down, HS can no longer connect to the network. That makes my method a non starter.
                            HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I would keep it simple.

                              Start with the transport between two places/locations. Take the HS3 automation pieces out for bit.

                              Configure the two boxes with one site to site VPN. If the connection gets disconnected it is an issue with your ISP or router.

                              Test the site to site VPN for a period of time before having to depend on it.

                              I am guessing you are not today using VPN and just have an open port configured for the connection.

                              Do a root cause analysis of what is happening before having to put automation dependencies on it.

                              The more pieces you add for inter location transport dependencies the less resilient the transport becomes.

                              That is a matter of fact.

                              Note that this is a suggestion only.
                              Last edited by Pete; June 30, 2016, 11:12 AM.
                              - Pete

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