Receive UDP trigger/command

vantech2020 · November 12, 2020, 2:03pm

Hi,

Hope everyone is well.

I need to create actions (like, TV on) basis UDP commands that are issued from a 3rd party system to HA.

I have successfully setup outgoing UDP commands (so HA sends UDP to an IP address) however I am struggling to set this up the other way around.

I have read that TCP sensors exist, but I don’t want to “monitor” a sensor, I need to have a port continually listening for UDP and then HA responds to these commands instantaneously.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

jocnnor · November 12, 2020, 4:14pm

Outgoing is easy. You don’t have to bind to a port.

TCP is slightly easier because the protocol will negotiate the session for you, and HA can initiate it.

Being able to parse random UDP message is going to require a custom application.

You can give this a shot:

github.com

glpatcern/domotica/blob/e31f1d0e55005386b059edb8aa5c707d11cd9deb/homeass/code/udp.py

"""
Support for UDP socket based sensors.

For more details about this platform, please refer to the documentation at
https://home-assistant.io/components/sensor.udp/
"""
import logging
import socket
import select

import voluptuous as vol

from homeassistant.components.sensor import PLATFORM_SCHEMA
from homeassistant.const import (
    CONF_NAME, CONF_PORT, CONF_TIMEOUT,
    CONF_UNIT_OF_MEASUREMENT, CONF_VALUE_TEMPLATE)
from homeassistant.exceptions import TemplateError
from homeassistant.helpers.entity import Entity
import homeassistant.helpers.config_validation as cv

This file has been truncated. show original

But I can’t confirm how well it works.

Otherwise, you can write a quick python app that listens for udp events and sends the events via the RESTApi to home assistant. This would be a little app that just runs along side your HA instance (or on any remote PC if you wanted).

vantech2020 · November 12, 2020, 5:20pm

Thanks for this.

So would using TCP make this easier? The 3rd party device can initiate TCP sessions and then send messages.

Is there any way to do this without a 3rd party app?

Thanks.

jocnnor · November 12, 2020, 5:56pm

That udp integration is just a custom. You basically copy the entire folder to one at /homeassistant/custom_integration and reload and BAM, you have it and can use it like any other…assuming it’s up to date lol.

Yeah, TCP would be easier because there is already a supported TCP integration.

123 · November 12, 2020, 7:57pm

FWIW, if your system already has Node-Red installed, you can use Node-Red’s UDP node to receive data and consume it in Home Assistant. If you don’t have Node-Red installed, as mentioned by jocnnor, receiving via TCP is simpler and only requires the TCP integration.

If you believe there ought to be a native UDP integration, you can cast your vote here: