The Z/IP protocol is basically obsolete and I would call it a failed technology. The reference Z/IP gateway software is in maintenance mode and no longer being developed as a result. Therefore it’s not even worth entertaining the thought. SiLabs itself has moved on to the Unify SDK, which is another over-engineered solution and has less features when compared to Z-Wave JS.
Given that, Z/IP is neither a feasible nor reliable solution, and is it equivalent to what NC is trying to do with the ESP. A Z/IP gateway shown in your diagram is equivalent to Z-Wave JS + the zwave-js-server (websocket) and is far superior than the Z/IP gateway reference software. But this approach still requires an intermediate device (SBC or something similar) to run Z-Wave JS. The solution they are looking at is akin to ser2net but a more robust protocol.
I’m also running ZWA-2 connected to SLZB-MR1U successfully. I have no LR gear to test that functionality of the product, but my mix of (~30) Z-Wave devices otherwise work fine. Along with ~30 Zigbee devices and 2 Matter.
I just installed this today and it’s great so far and the migration was super easy (I currently don’t have a lot of z-wave devices anyway) but looking forward to adding more long range items. Got some during the Zooz sale recently.
Two questions:
There’s an update already pending for 1.1.0 for the interface. But this is mentioned:
Remove RGB and dimming functionality from the LED, convert to cold-white on/off light
I was really looking forward to using the RGB LED for something – any reason it’s being removed as an rgb light?
Also, since my devices were migrated I know I have one long-range device (a mailbox sensor) is there any way to know which method it is using to connect? I like the idea of the star topology and would like to ensure that’s what it’s using.
Should I remove the device and re-pair it? Will that automatically pick the long-range feature?
Thanks for this great product so far!
Dennis
P.S. Is a signal strength of -84db good? Doesn’t seem like it to me but was just curious. This is from a Zooz relay I am testing in my backyard, so it’s about 40 ft from the antenna and I get this reading.
The developers said the hardware doesn’t work like they hoped. The colors are muddy and dim.
HA doesn’t provide any indication in the UI when a node is included with LR (that I could find), but you can infer it from the Node ID. Node ID 256 or greater is Long Range. An ID less than 256 (technically 230-something) is normal mesh. If you use Z-Wave JS UI it also indicates it with a purple Z-Wave icon in Protocol column of its control panel.
I would generally say that’s not great, but for a device 40ft outside in normal mesh mode, it’s probably expected. As long as your controller background RSSI is around the normal < -100 dBm range it should be fine, you still have ~15 dBm before the signal looks like noise. I have a few devices close to -90 dBm and they are working fine.
Cool, thanks for the speedy reply here and information on this. I saw that the LED lights have to travel through the whole tube via clear plastic, so I wasn’t sure how bright they would be anyway. No big deal, I’ve got lots of other options for this.
Since it migrated the nodes from my old controller it appears all the IDs are under 20, which tells me none are using the LR protocol.
The new Zooz I added with the -84db signal was also added as a standard device, so I’ll try adding via the QR code instead and see if it goes long range (ID > 255).
Thanks again!
EDIT: Yup, I added a new device via scanning the QR code (had to make my phone user an admin temporarily to enable these functions on my phone) and it asked me how to add it. Once I picked long range it gave it an ID of 256!
Darn - new problem now that’s pretty annoying, and I can’t say for sure it’s related to this antenna or something but I did a Z-wave backup of my network from the device interface page, which worked. But now every now and then while using the web UI (lovelace) my computer downloads another backup file! It’s kind of random when it happens but something is triggering the system to push a download every now and then.
I do not concern about the RF range, but on the wired interface. With the USB interface it must be at the device where home assistant is running. Much better would be a IP interface or even POE. So you can place it anywhere… same as Wifi routers.
That doesn’t seem to be a feature or option for me - I’m using the Z-wave JS add-on. I went to the add-ons section > z-wave js > configuration and there’s nothing about backups there.
I clicked on Download backup and got a backup file. But then I navigated away and started working on automations, entities, etc. and randomly I get the same download triggered.
It’s still happening today but I was going to upgrade to HA 9.x so I’ll see if that fixes it (just a full restart basically).
I had this happen to me too when I backed up before moving to the ZWA-2. I think I did the something similar (navigated away to do something else)…but honestly can’t say for sure. I think I might have resolved it by closing all of the chrome tabs I had open to my home assistant instance and starting fresh. I’m not 100% certain, but it hasn’t come back (haven’t tried another backup since on the other hand). Just wanted you to know you weren’t the only one. If it happens to me again, I’ll try to pay more attention to details and document the issue better - it was a busy time for me when it happened originally and I couldn’t devote much attention to it.
One question that now comes to mind is if the nmve backup is now by default part of the HA backup of zwavejs. Can’t find the answer for sure in the manuals.
The backup system doesn’t support things like that. It backs up the container and the container settings and doesn’t have the ability to interact with specific api’s the container may produce.
I received my Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2. today. I have to say that it has met and exceeded my expections. I was expecting the migration from a Zooz ZST39 800 series to be painful, but it was very smooth. I had been unable to connect to a Shelly Wave 1 in a shed only 175ft from the ZWT39, and can easily connect, now. For me, it was money well spent.
I did get 2-3 sudden/extra ZWave-JS backups the day I did the conversion to the ZWA-2, but not since. My guess is “something” in an odd state resolved with a reboot, and I rebooted may times that day. FWIW…
