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    Noob looking for info on best hardware to use for HS3PRO.

    The amount of info on this HS message board is insane! I am a noob looking to build an HS3PRO system to automate the house, yard, everything. I think I need to start with the hardware first. Is there a thread that has the latest HS3 hardware successes? I'm not sure if I want to buy an HS Home Controller or build my own and buy the HS3PRO software. I currently have an UnRAID server in a 19-inch rack. However, I typically let it go to sleep every night to save some wear and tear on the harddrives and CPU. What do others do for their HS3 controller, do most folks keep them running and awake 24/7 or let them sleep?

    #2
    Welcome. Check out https://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=181456.

    I have a couple of fanless CPUs that use a couple of watts power. They run 24/7, since I have events that run around the clock, as well as the logging of energy, temperature, and humidity data. The reason I have 2 is that I have been migrating from HS2 to HS3 and have been using a dedicated box for each. It has taken a long time, but I am almost there.

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

    Comment


      #3
      Things to note:

      a) With HS3PRO, you only get the plugins provided by Homeseer Technologies and not what you find in the updater (which are mainly 3rd Party developers).
      b) If you buy HS3/HS3PRO software for Windows, you get the Linux version thrown in as well. This is not the case for any of the controllers.
      c) There are more plugins available under Windows than Linux.
      d) You have to run HS3 24/7!

      Bottom line, it really depends what you want to do. If you are happy just using a few plugins then you could use a Pi3. If you are a tinkerer and want to be able to do anything, you should go with Windows.
      Jon

      Comment


        #4
        Hi Jon,

        Sorry to jump into this thread, but I am in a similar boat. Can you add more to your comment (a)? What is the "updater".

        My requirements are basic (95% Z-wave stuff and possibly some old X-10). I might dream up a couple of 12V relays I need to activate based on motion or another sensor. I'd like to get a feed from one of my outdoor web cams to do something, but that is not critical.

        So from all that I have read, the Pi based model seems totally adequate. I plan to buy the Homeseer hardware controller. My only concern is that Pi's are known for corrupting SD cards. I will read some other parts of the forum here, there must be a way around that to save everything.

        Thanks!
        Paul

        Comment


          #5
          The updater is the main location to download plugins/add-ons for HS3. You access it via the HS3 web server under Plugins/Manage. There are numerous other plugins on this board so you should search there too.

          The examples below shows the plugins available under the 'Camera' heading both under Windows and Linux (which has less plugins available). If it is marked up as 'Homeseer Tech' and you have HS3Pro, they are included.
          Attached Files
          Jon

          Comment


            #6
            Thanks for the info. I've got the Zee up and running. I have one indoor motions sensor turning on my basement lights.

            I have searched everywhere, and it seems that OUTDOOR motions sensors are almost impossible to find!! I would think this would be hugely popular requirement to turn on outside lights, etc. with motion.

            Can you recommend a way to trigger an event on outdoor motion? I have some older X10 stuff, but am unable to read that traffic yet, even with the CM15.

            Thanks.

            Comment


              #7
              Aeon Labs used to have a model but I can't find it on their webpage anymore.

              https://www.amazon.com/Aeon-Labs-Aeo.../dp/B00S68NUSW

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by paulct54 View Post
                Hi Jon,
                My only concern is that Pi's are known for corrupting SD cards. I will read some other parts of the forum here, there must be a way around that to save everything.
                Note that on the Zee S2 version of HS3 they pointed the logs to a RAM drive instead of on the SD card which should help reduce the SD wear issue. I believe the DB holding device state etc. is still on the SD though. It's fairly easy to back up everything in case your SD card does go bad. You can also open the case, pop out the SD and copy the entire image to another SD card for disaster recovery.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I'll toss in here, as was pointed out already, you will have to run HS3 24/7 - otherwise it does not work.

                  You also probably want to pick a favorite technology. While Homeseer lets you tie into everything through plugins, some of the controllers are not good choices if for instance you decide to use UPB. As such, this could be something that could influence your decision.

                  For me, I run Homeseer on a Dell T110 server using ESXi. The Windows 7 install is virtualized. I'll be moving over to a T20 server (again running ESXi) as I finish up converting over from HomeSeer 2 to HS3.

                  Once you decide if you want a dedicated controller or not, the next is where to put everything! That can also influence what you get. For instance, I have a 19" rack with everything on it.
                  Here's an old picture of it...from wow...I've been at this too long...
                  Old Pic 19" rack
                  That is my old Demm XPS266 with a Super Micro Motherboard. I think that old case is one of the best flowing cases out there. Of course, the T110 and T20 are rather superior...but hey, desktop vs server.

                  If you go controller, HS's are fantastic...I use a HS Zee S1 just to control Z-Wave/HVAC). That ties back to the PC, so if there is an issue with my HS PC for whatever reason, the controller is still...controlling? Every once in a while, I take the SD Card out and DD back up the OS/et. all. I figure, if the box does for whatever reason, I can replace it rather simply by doing that. The same thing for my ESXi install. Just move the VM and any assocuated hardware to a new box.
                  It is all a bit overwhelming. Keep asking questions, I have found this is one of the few boards where, unless you specifically ask for it, you won't be ridiculed, everyone on where are very supportive.

                  --Dan

                  FYI, if power is a concern, you probably will not be able to beat a controller. For me, my T110 used to use ~35W of power, unless there was something that ran the Xeon processors high (say transcoding a video for my TV). At that point it would run closer to 270W. Then, I added a rack of hard drives and lots of other things. I have not measured it recently, but I bet I'm closet to 270W idle and who knows when it's running full bore. Couple in that I added a T20...so I'm just running the power up and up! I will note that I am getting a lot of services for that money/power/cost. Things we use in my household, so I'm okay with it. I just wanted to point out that a new PC server CAN be fairly competitive to a larger controller, with the capability of possibly more expansion (I'd like to see you run pfSense, 10 other virtualized servers and have a 10G network with 7 network ports on a controller!). I digress, my point is the controller is just that...single purpose. That would not have worked for me as my main system. However, as I said, I use one to control my HVAC!
                  Tasker, to a person who does Homeautomation...is like walking up to a Crack Treatment facility with a truck full of 3lb bags of crack. Then for each person that walks in and out smack them in the face with an open bag.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    I used a HomeTroller S2 (upgraded DOM/SSD to support HS3) for years, and it worked great. Recently, I started adding a few more plugins and saw I was starting to push it's limits.

                    I re purposed an old, unused netbook (specs in signature) that I had stopped using as it had a very small screen.I swapped out the HDD for a SSD and updated to Windows 10 last summer and started using it as my HS machine about a month ago.

                    It works great for running HS, even though it's a 7 year old machine that was under powered even when I bought it new. The nice things about getting a laptop instead of a desktop or server are:
                    - Screen, keyboard, etc already included.
                    - Low power consumption
                    - Built in UPS
                    - Less expensive spec-for-spec than the same desktop

                    99% of the time I interact with HS via the web interface or VNC, so I never really use the screen and keyboard, but having them there when I need them is nice. I leave the laptop closed, resting on a shelf on my equipment rack and use a USB-to-Serial adapter to connect my Ocelot. I have a 128GB thumb drive plugged in the side for nightly backups. I prefer to backup data (HS directory, documents, important downloads) and reinstall the OS when stuff fails, so I do not make a full backup.

                    The processor idles in the teens and rarely exceeds 30% use. Memory hovers around 50%.

                    You can buy an extremely HS-capable laptop with benchmarks 2-3 times what my old machine can achieve for less than $300 (I think I saw something for under $200 the other day).
                    John
                    Hardware: i5-6400T w/16GB RAM & SSD w/HS3Pro, Z-Net, Harmony Hub x2, Echo Dot x2, Ocelot
                    Plugins: Z-wave, HSTouch, BLBackup, Harmony, GTS CPUXA, UltraMon3, Nest
                    HSTouch: Multiple Android Devices; 5 x ToteVision MD-1001 10.1" Win 7 Tablets
                    Devices: Cooper RF9501 x4, RF9517 x6, RF9534 x1, RF9540-N x7, RF9542 x1, RF9542-Z x2, RFHDSCG x1, RFWC5 x5; Intermatic HA02 x6; FortrezZ MIMOLite x3; Leviton VRPD3-1LW x4, VRR15-1LZ x6; Nest Tstat & 9x Protects; Dragon PD-100 x3, PA-100 x3

                    Comment


                      #11
                      CPU, RAM, and hard drive requirements are pretty low for HS3. Currently, I run my HS3 standard on a raspberry Pi 3 (1.2 GHz quad core, 1 GB RAM, with a 16 GB flash card for disk space). I have 6 plugins running within HS3 and host a dozen extra applications on the OS. My dedicated memory usage is 390 MB of RAM. CPU utilization will sometimes spike on one of the cores but never stays there for more than a moment. Overall I barely see above 30% CPU Utilization. I bought a high grade flash card, and take regular images of the system with win32diskimage. I also run samba in the back ground on the server and copy the backups made by BLbackup to my home NAS on a regular basis. I did this because, as noted above, HS3 has to run 24x7. running my HS3 standard for linux on an RPI 3, I am running my home automation server on a device that essentially sips power from a cell phone charger to run (12v, 2.5A, 30W)

                      If you are going to buy a PC make sure you don't skimp on the hard drive. A lot of PC vendors bundle a 5900 RPM 2.5" hard drive with the PC. Those are terrible and will make your rig sluggish. Spend the money on a good quality Samsung or san disk SSD.

                      same goes for flash media on an RPI. don't go cheap on the flash media. make sure that it has a speed class rating of class 10, U1 or U3. UHS card clssification of UHS or UHS-II. My preference is Sandisk.

                      whether you buy a controller, or build your own PC and install the software, create a backup routine and find a way to automate notification on failure. the last thing you want is to have a failure and lose all your hard work.

                      Your other big question will be integration and plugins, some plugins require a Windows OS instead of Linux. Some Transceivers will require a serial interface not a USB.

                      also worth noting, when you run a Windows OS you will need more RAM to run the OS. All my Windows 10 builds require 1.2 GB just to turn on the OS and log in. When you add applications that run in the background (antivirus, antispyware, HS3, etc) you should have more and more RAM. personally I think Windows systems need at least 8GB of RAM.

                      Don't forget to disable all power saving features (sleep mode, hibernation, CPU speed stepping, etc) in your OS and BIOS.

                      I would recommend having your server connected to the network via a hard line Ethernet cable, not wifi.

                      Lastly, the location of your HS3 is important if you are going to use wireless interfaces to control your HA devices. Zwave, RFX, etc will have a maximum range. the closer you can make all devices to your root transceiver the better.

                      if you need hardware that would be between a raspberry PI and a full blown PC you could look at a pine64 computer. spec wise it is very close to a raspberry PI but has 2x the RAM. @Pete has a lot of posts of his build.

                      in the event that I ever need a heavier duty PC to host my HS3 server, I would probably look at a manufacturer built Mini PC or build my own ITX based computer. for a CPU i would likely look for a an Intel i5/AMD Athlon X4 or higher. I would probably setup for 8-16 GB RAM and use a Sandisk SSD hard drive. most PCs would come with a gigabit network card. the USB interfaces would probably come with the computer/motherboard, if the computer didn't come with a serial interface i would pickup a a Prolific USB-Serial adapter.

                      for a manufactured PC I would look at: Intel NUC, MSI Cubi, Asus Vivo Mini, gigabyte, XCY, and Zotac Zbox.

                      If I was going to build my own PC I would likely look at
                      1. gigabyte ITX motherboard with onboard video and audio.
                      2. Intel i5 or AMD Athlon X4 or higher
                      3. EVGA or corsair power supplies
                      4. corsair RAM
                      5. cheap ITX case
                      6. I would probably build it on a Linux debian/ubuntu OS build or build it into a VMware ESXi host so that I could consolidate my wifi controller, a network PVR, HS3, and my pfsense router on it. If you are not comfortable with Linux the same system would run a Windows 10 without trouble you would just need to pay for the product key/license.
                      a good web tool to use for building your own PC is: https://pcpartpicker.com/


                      Good luck, and post on the forums if you need help.


                      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
                      Last edited by Kerat; January 17, 2017, 04:34 PM.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        I have a Troller S2 that I've outgrown with a desire for more plugins. I also have an older HP MiniPC that works fine but it's a Pentium 3805U @1.9GHz, 4gb of installed memory a 1TB HD with Windows 10. I have a larger and faster PC in the network for daily use but the MiniPC is the one I plan on using for 24/7 HA, and camera control stuff.

                        Is there a fundamental difference between buying an SEL/z-stick with built-in Windows HS3 and buying z-net controller with separate windows software to run from a PC? Is there some other combination I should consider, perhaps the z-stick directly into the miniPC?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by racerfern View Post
                          I have a Troller S2 that I've outgrown with a desire for more plugins. I also have an older HP MiniPC that works fine but it's a Pentium 3805U @1.9GHz, 4gb of installed memory a 1TB HD with Windows 10. I have a larger and faster PC in the network for daily use but the MiniPC is the one I plan on using for 24/7 HA, and camera control stuff.

                          Is there a fundamental difference between buying an SEL/z-stick with built-in Windows HS3 and buying z-net controller with separate windows software to run from a PC? Is there some other combination I should consider, perhaps the z-stick directly into the miniPC?
                          For me, the only difference was that i could run the znet in a separate more central location in my house, away from the PC running HS3 (in my office).

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Tomgru View Post
                            For me, the only difference was that i could run the znet in a separate more central location in my house, away from the PC running HS3 (in my office).
                            I agree with Tomgru's comment.

                            I run an Intel NUC with the SmartStick+ as my HS3 Pro machine. It currently sits in my basement mounted to the wall next to my other utilities running as a headless device.

                            I don't know for sure, but I suspect I'm relying quite a bit on my ZWave+ devices being able to act as repeaters in order to get all communications back to HS3 itself. I've been thinking of picking up a Z-Net device so I can put the radio in a more central location on our first floor.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              I run my HS3pro configuration on an Intel NUC system, fanless CPU, Core I3 family. 4gig's of RAM and a Kingston 120 GB SSD harddrive.

                              Connected to it are my RFXcom controller (I have some KAKU switches around the house) and a AEON labs Smartstick Zwave + (Migrating to Z-wave switches in the future, have my first Z-wave nodes up and running)

                              I Think every system with Dual core will do, my vision was to use as less "standbye" power as possible for the Homeseer system, Intel NUC with SSD consume 12-15 Watts when idle.

                              Homeseer needs to run 24/7 indeed.
                              Last edited by Hiekie; July 27, 2017, 06:01 AM. Reason: Removing typing mistakes...

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