Multiple CM11's?

[Bestgear]

Guys

As I see the x10 plugin supports multiple concurrent cm11's....just wondered how this works.

I assume when an x10 command is to be sent, it queues the command, and sends it to each interface from the queue?

Are there any guidelines when using more than one interface?

Thanks in advance.


David

[Uncle Michael]

As I see the x10 plugin supports multiple concurrent cm11's....just wondered how this works.

Are you referring to multiple instances of the plug-in running simultaneously?

[Bestgear]

Are you referring to multiple instances of the plug-in running simultaneously?

There is the option, it appears, to add a second instance with another assigned com port, thus, I assumed, the option to have two CM11's running.

Given my house, as many others, have split loads across multiple RCD's (that kill the x10 signal), having a second (or indeed third if I am brave [or stupid enough!]) may be worth exploring for these hard to reach areas.

David

[mfisher]

Yes, the plugin is designed to run multiple instances meaning you should be able to run multiple CM11A compatible (or Ti103) devices.

However, while the plugin was designed to run multi-instance, I just performed some testing to see if this actually works and find that there are some issues when trying to run more than one instance of the X10 plugin:
1) [New BUG 3419, just discovered] If the 2nd plugin instance is chosen during device creation, HS errors out when the done button is pressed and the device is not created. This means that you cannot create devices for the 2nd interface in the current version of the plugin.
2) When adding a new device, the user must choose which X10 plugin instance will own the device. This means that when a device (created as being owned by the 2nd plugin instance) is controlled, the commands will only be sent on the CM11A owned by that instance; not both of them.
3) If you later decide to physically move a device from the area controlled by one CM11A to the other, you will have to delete the device, recreate it under the other plugin instance and manually update all of the events that included the device.

In case you are not aware, HST decided over a year ago that they would no longer support the X10 plugins and I volunteered as an outside 3rd party to provide support since I still use X10 almost exclusively. In the past I supported the Ti103 plugin for HS2.

While working on bug fixes for the HS3 X10 plugins I noticed how the multi-instance architecture for this plugin could lead to problems, and have been considering a change to the plugin architecture so that a single instance could control multiple X10 hardware interfaces rather than running multiple instances. This would entail a significant rewrite of the plugin and is not likely to happen soon as my business leaves me very little time to devote to supporting the plugin.

I will look into the bug mentioned above to see if I can get it resolved so the current scheme is functional.

[Bestgear]

Hi Mark

Thanks for taking the time, as I am sure multiple interfaces would fix a few peoples issues... so a real bonus.

I will test adding it to confirm that the same defect appears for me.

Targeting an interface by a device is ideal (much like RFXCOM) and save added latency.

Its no big deal for me to delete and recreate a device if it needs to move - at least it will hopefully work!

Yes, I did read that you were the kind soul that undertook the burden of ownership - and your work to date has certainly made x10 usable for me in HS3, having been working "well" since HS1.

Many thanks for your time.


David