Presentation

[NomadIoT]

Hi everyone, this is Alex, 39, from Austin . Using a Pi 5 (8GB) to run Domoticz 2026.3, Zigbee2MQTT with a Sonoff ZBDongle-E, Z-Wave JS UI with a Zooz ZST10-700, and Node-RED for automations, managing a total of approximately 45 devices. I work as a Network Engineer and travel a lot for work (Europe/Asia), so I have been playing around with eSIMs to avoid crazy roaming fees. Glad to be here, already found some great dzVents snippets in this forum!

[gerardvs]

Welcome Alex,
Great to see you are using Domoticz. Together with dzVents and node-red which I also use to manage my 165 devices you have a powerful and flexible system. Now retired but when working (something to do with networks ) I was a lot away so a robust system was necessary. The last 13 years it never let me down. I hope you get the same experience.

--Gerard

[NomadIoT]

Thanks Gérard. Hearing 13 years without a hiccup is reassuring. That is what I hope for. 165 Devices is impressive. I am curious about how you have split those 165 devices between dzVents and Node‑RED logic. Any tips for someone who is just getting their VLAN setup sorted before diving, into automations? Oh, I almost forgotas I mentioned earlier, I’m interested in eSIMs. I started using eSIMs last year, and it’s really been a game-changer. I found this website that compares eSIM plans from over 50 carriers: prices, data allowances, coverage mapsit’s all there. I usually get a
10 GB Europe plan for about $15 to $20, valid for 30 days. It’s much cheaper than roaming, and I get local data speeds. For Asia, the same site offers country-specific plans. I used one in Singapore last month: activation took 30 seconds after landing, and I had Internet access even before I left the gate. Are there others who use eSIMs for remote monitoring while traveling? Which carriers have you had good experiences with? Best regards,
Alex

[imautohuttraeger]

165 devices

OFF TOPIC: I have just about 80 devices, all via WiFi through a Fritzbox. As I don't want to use another technique like ZigBee: What's is the limitation in the number of devices on Fritzbox? And if there is any, can it be solved by using a different WiFi router?

[gerardvs]

Thanks Gérard. Hearing 13 years without a hiccup is reassuring. That is what I hope for. 165 Devices is impressive. I am curious about how you have split those 165 devices between dzVents and Node‑RED logic. Any tips for someone who is just getting their VLAN setup sorted before diving, into automations?

My setup consists of two instances of Domoticz on two different locations where on the main location there is also node-red and a mqtt broker. On a third location there is a local node-red instance with a lot of sensors, camera and switches. All sites are connected via Wireguard. Most sensors communicate via mqtt.
The setup is chosen so that even without the vpn/internet the most critical functions continue to work. The most important functions I try to implement in dzVents so that Domoticz can do most of the work even when surrounding systems are temporarily unavailable.
Node-red I use as an interconnect between all kind of different systems and devices. It communicates with my Victron ESS system via mqtt and d-bus where all kinds of data is also send to Domoticz and the other way around, data from Domoticz is sent to the Victron system to either set parameters or data is shown on the dashboard (VRM). Node-red I also use the communicate via my Telegram bot to remotely check and control all kinds of devices like the ones on Domoticz, camera positions and images etc.
Some dashboards are easier to create on node-red so I use a mix of dashboards, including the new dashboardDynamic on Domoticz.
Next to the above there is a lot of other stuff going on but I don't want this reply even longer than it already is.

On the vlan topic you have to make a sensible design yourself. Since I use multiple locations I hardly use vlan's because I mainly use wireguard and nftables. Once you are on the local network then most devices are accessible but I have chosen to protect the network as a whole with locally some restrictions on devices allowed or disallowed to reach other networks oer even the Internet. I know this all opens the well known can of worms in how to design and protect the network. Although retired I still look through the glasses of my old job where security and functionality balances on a thin line.

It most likely will not answer your question but hopefully find your way in expanding your system(s).

--Gerard

[NomadIoT]

Thanks Gérard. Hearing 13 years without a hiccup is reassuring. That is what I hope for. 165 Devices is impressive. I am curious about how you have split those 165 devices between dzVents and Node‑RED logic. Any tips for someone who is just getting their VLAN setup sorted before diving, into automations?

My setup consists of two instances of Domoticz on two different locations where on the main location there is also node-red and a mqtt broker. On a third location there is a local node-red instance with a lot of sensors, camera and switches. All sites are connected via Wireguard. Most sensors communicate via mqtt.
The setup is chosen so that even without the vpn/internet the most critical functions continue to work. The most important functions I try to implement in dzVents so that Domoticz can do most of the work even when surrounding systems are temporarily unavailable.
Node-red I use as an interconnect between all kind of different systems and devices. It communicates with my Victron ESS system via mqtt and d-bus where all kinds of data is also send to Domoticz and the other way around, data from Domoticz is sent to the Victron system to either set parameters or data is shown on the dashboard (VRM). Node-red I also use the communicate via my Telegram bot to remotely check and control all kinds of devices like the ones on Domoticz, camera positions and images etc.
Some dashboards are easier to create on node-red so I use a mix of dashboards, including the new dashboardDynamic on Domoticz.
Next to the above there is a lot of other stuff going on but I don't want this reply even longer than it already is.

On the vlan topic you have to make a sensible design yourself. Since I use multiple locations I hardly use vlan's because I mainly use wireguard and nftables. Once you are on the local network then most devices are accessible but I have chosen to protect the network as a whole with locally some restrictions on devices allowed or disallowed to reach other networks oer even the Internet. I know this all opens the well known can of worms in how to design and protect the network. Although retired I still look through the glasses of my old job where security and functionality balances on a thin line.

It most likely will not answer your question but hopefully find your way in expanding your system(s).

--Gerard

Gerard, that's a seriously robust setup, multi-site with Wireguard, dzVents handling the critical stuff locally so it survives outages, that's exactly the kind of resilience I should be designing for from the start. The Victron/Node-RED/Telegram integration is a nice touch as well. Fair point on VLANs vs. Wireguard+nftables gives me a different angle to think about instead of just copying the "textbook" segmented network approach. Thanks for taking the time to set all that out.