123
Senior Member
… I downloaded Premise to try with my new Insteon devices, but had to do a lot of tweaking with the module that was listed on the Premise board.
Anyway, Is the Insteon minibroker the same module code, just compiled, that was listed on the Premise Board, or is it more tuned?
Thanks
======================
Welcome!!!
The Insteon Minibroker-based driver is very different from the original VB Script-based module posted on the old forums. The biggest difference is that the new driver uses the Smarthome Device Manager (SDM) to handle the low-level communications to the Insteon PLC. That should give you the flexibility to use both the USB as well as the serial versions of the PLC. I haven't tested the USB version yet, so I can't confirm it works. As you point out, the actual logic is also now compiled. Check-out the version history in the new Minibroker-based version against the features of the original. I think you'll find there's a lot more capability in the new version.
Generally, I'm trying to tie improvements to the driver to enhancements in the underlying SDM. For example, Smarthome is improving the way links are established between devices in an Insteon network. As they improve (and support) that functionality, I'll be enhancing the driver. The big thing on my list is developing a link-management interface to the driver that will allow the end-user to setup links between devices from a computer vs. running around the house pushing buttons on Insteon devices. In addition, I'm also working on the following:
Better handling of PLC/SDM failures - This will probably require better detection of problems with the SDM itself and the latest version of the PLC hardware. If you've been involved with Insteon development, you'll know what I'm talking about
Incoporate downloading of PLC core application from within builder interface
Let me know how it works for you.
Thanks,
-John
Anyway, Is the Insteon minibroker the same module code, just compiled, that was listed on the Premise Board, or is it more tuned?
Thanks
======================
Welcome!!!
The Insteon Minibroker-based driver is very different from the original VB Script-based module posted on the old forums. The biggest difference is that the new driver uses the Smarthome Device Manager (SDM) to handle the low-level communications to the Insteon PLC. That should give you the flexibility to use both the USB as well as the serial versions of the PLC. I haven't tested the USB version yet, so I can't confirm it works. As you point out, the actual logic is also now compiled. Check-out the version history in the new Minibroker-based version against the features of the original. I think you'll find there's a lot more capability in the new version.
Generally, I'm trying to tie improvements to the driver to enhancements in the underlying SDM. For example, Smarthome is improving the way links are established between devices in an Insteon network. As they improve (and support) that functionality, I'll be enhancing the driver. The big thing on my list is developing a link-management interface to the driver that will allow the end-user to setup links between devices from a computer vs. running around the house pushing buttons on Insteon devices. In addition, I'm also working on the following:
Better handling of PLC/SDM failures - This will probably require better detection of problems with the SDM itself and the latest version of the PLC hardware. If you've been involved with Insteon development, you'll know what I'm talking about
Incoporate downloading of PLC core application from within builder interface
Let me know how it works for you.
Thanks,
-John
