Hi All,
I have a few questions about running multiple HA servers on my home network. And I will admit that I really have barely got my feet wet with HA. I only started a couple of weeks ago with a HA OS install on a CM4 mounted on the standard IO carrier board. Since then, I have created a new install using the Yellow with CM4 that has control of my smart home now. So now I have two, with the former powered off for now. And after suffering from the long compiler times using ESPHome (on the Yellow) for my ESP32 IoT, I decided to create yet another install using containers in a virtual environment (WSL2-Maybe) on my heavier Windows 11 machine. All this install would do is allow me to explore HA, ESPHome, and Node-Red to program my ESP32 and Pico IoT devices so they can perform with my live install on the Yellow.
So the first question that definitely comes to mind, can two or more HA installs have control of all the devices on a LAN network? I can certainly imagine scenarios where there would be conflicts. Is there a way to turn off connectivity with an active instance of HA for testing and R&D?
My ultimate goal is to use my most powerful resource to develop my IoT devices, so the compile and install delay is the most minimal, then place them online with my smart home live server. But I worry about HA configurations relative to my development and how my live device will react to them. It’s almost a chicken before the egg scenario.
I mean, on my live device, I would not care about having Node-Red, or ESPHome addons installed because I am not developing with those on the live server. But do I have to have those installed anyway to use what I create virtually on my live setup?
Before I get flamed for searching for an answer first, I did spend a couple of hours both here and on Google to find what I was looking for. If the answers are there, then perhaps it is my lack of terminology on this genre of automation, or just my vernacular that prohibited me from seeing the answers I needed.
I hope someone has done the same thing I am looking to do and has some helpful suggestions and information so I can move forward with this. HA and the two aforementioned addons are absolutely AMAZING! But I need to get the IoT development on a serious machine so I can do this quicker. My experience writing xaml for my test-bed ESP32S3 today was less than enjoyable to say the least.
Thank you so much for your time and hopefully help with this next progression of my development with this EXTREMELY exciting platform. And Merry Christmas!!