Secondary controller

[bmhvanbenthum]

I found this documentation about putting your z-stick gen 5 into learning mode:

http://www.activeautomation.co.nz/board ... ve-network

Once in learning mode you can include it into your domoticz.

Is it possible to power this stick with an usb charger and put it somewhere in the house, or should you run this stick on a separate version on domoticz.

For example my domoticz is running on a synology, then my secondary controller van run on an rasberry pi ?

Additional question, should the second instance of domoticz by configure as a slave/remote version of the primary domoticz?

Bram

[pvm]

The USB interface is THE communication interface to Domoticz, the stick needs to be connected to Domoticz machine (not only for power). You can run this on a secondary (slave) rasbperry pi.
Using a slave setup (see wiki) you can report all devices statusses of your slave also on your primary domoticz installation on your synology nas

[bmhvanbenthum]

I found this on the internet:

Portable controllers
The definition of portable controllers implies that this device may change its location in the network freely. It has ability to discover and rediscover its position in the network by pinging the surrounding nodes. Usually portable controllers are battery-operated devices that are used by the user to send commands to the network.

A secondary but important function of the portable controller is to include or exclude devices in the network. Each Z-Wave network should have one primary controller that manages the inclusion/exclusion process and holds the latest network configuration. Other controllers copy this information from the primary controller. The node inclusion operation involves exchanging data between the selected node and the primary controller using low-power transmission. It greatly simplifies network configuration from the user's standpoint but also stipulates that one of the portable controllers assumes the role of the primary controller.

Static controllers
Static controllers assume a fixed position in the network and are powered from the main line. They are always in "listening mode" hence other devices may communicate with them at any time. In a more elaborate network, a static controller may extend its functionality and become a device for storing the latest network configuration, called Static Update Controller (SUC). The static controller may even become a primary controller in the network and use portable controllers as proxies to include/exclude other nodes. In that case the static controller is called SUC ID Server (SIS). Naturally, static controllers may work as bridges to other elements of the home ecosystem, like TCP/IP network or trivial X10 devices. Interestingly enough, a Z-Wave network may support up to 125 virtual nodes using a dedicated bridge controller(s). The bridge controller, where the virtual node functionality is implemented, makes it possible to seamlessly migrate to a Z-Wave network in the places where other home automation technologies have already been used. In other words, you can add Z-Wave devices (such as X10 devices) to an existing network and use a bridge controller to provide an interface between the different networks. On the Z-Wave network, the X10 modules look like regular Z-wave nodes, and vice versa. Later you may want to upgrade your system and substitute all X10 devices with Z-Wave modules. This task can be done on a Z-Wave network by simply removing existing virtual nodes and substituting them with real nodes.

I like to have the following setup:

on my diskstation running domoticz, with an Aeonlabs gen 5 z-stick as primary conrtoller operating as SUC. I also like two have a second controller (portable (can this be another gen 5 z-stick? should this stick run on a battery powered RB Pi?) ) to include and exclude devices.

Everywhere they tell that your new device should be within a few meters distance of the controler when including. But many times the device (switch/dimmer/etc.) will operate on a distance much further away. With a portable controller you can include them on the place where they are installed.

[pvm]

You can use the stick itself (battery powered) to walk towards your device and include (at least thats possible wit the predecessor (not gen 5))

(although in my current home i included all devices just by keeping the stick in the domoticz controller, up-to 8 meters and a couple of walls away from the devices)