I have a Vera Lite which is maxed out (~70 devices) so now I have gotten a Vera 3 to expand my installation. I would like to have the new Vera 3 in the house and move out the Vera Lite to the garage. Thus, I would like to transfer all devices and plugins to the Vera 3. Would it be easiest to backup the Vera Lite and restore to the new Vera 3?
Another question. Is it best to have the Vera 3 as master independent of if it’s connected via wifi or not? Thought that the extra memory might speed things up.
My first thought is; yes, backup the Vera Lite, don’t forget to also backup Z-Wave network first. Then restore both to the Vera 3 and you’re away.
But, then your Vera 3 will have the exact same device number and everything else, so repurposing the Vera Lite might be an issue, even after the required factory reset. I suspect that support could change your Device ID on the Vera Lite for you, though I am not sure.
Perhaps someone who has actually done this can add more.
Another question. Is it best to have the Vera 3 as master independent of if it's connected via wifi or not?
Typos or language issues prevent me from understanding this question.
Resetting the Z-Wave chip will definitely reset/change the homeID number. However, if I recall correctly, Vera’s gateway number(the device’s serial number) is also restored onto the new device. I can’t find any documentation for this While this might be desirable when restoring due to hardware failure, it might be problematic in repurposing.
I see the gateway number(serial number) stored in:
/etc/cmh/PK_AccessPoint
/etc/cmh/cmh.conf
/etc/cmh/user_data.json.lzo
but I don’t know if it is actually set in one of these or if it is set/stored somewhere else.
Musing…
My guess is that if I am right about the gateway number you should still be able to do it this way:
[ol][li]Backup new Vera3.[/li]
[li]Backup Vera Lite and Z-Wave dongle.[/li]
[li]Restore Vera Lite and dongle backup to Vera 3.[/li]
[li]Restore Vera 3 backup to Vera Lite.[/li]
[li]Configure Vera lite.[/li][/ol]
Thanks to all and special thanks to RexBeckett. That did the trick. My V3 is now master and I have successfully “bridged” my VL to the V3. Installed a couple of test apps in VL and they show up in V3 as expected.
I’m not sure if I will keep my V3 connected to LAN or switch to wifi. Any downside having the master on wifi, i.e. will it generally be slower to access?
Any downside having the master on wifi, i.e. will it generally be slower to access?
If you have the option, I don’t think you can beat a direct, cabled network connection. Even the best wireless connection will probably be slower and subject to occasional drop-outs.
All is working quite well. It may be the exitement of new hardware but I believe that the Vera 3 has better reception than VL. My Z-wave network seems ore reliable now.
I should start to balance my Z-wave devices between the two controllers. Is there a way to move individual devices or do I have to unpair/pair?
Also remember that they are separate ZWave networks, so a device on one network will not be able to “relay” zwave commands for devices on the other network.
So moving devices from one Vera to the other could impact your mesh network if you are not careful.
I'm going to do this tomorrow... and have a quick question about the backups.
it sounds as though you should backup the zwave network first. then do a full unit backup that you save locally.
this Local version (full unit) ALSO has the zwave backup included that I would have just previously done?
Exactly. The local backup always includes the most-recent Z-Wave backup which is why you do that first.
Assuming yes, then when I do a restore from the local backup, i'll get both?
Correct. Restoring the Z-Wave backup brings with it the house-code and all your included devices. This is why you do not want to have both the doner and recipient Veras running at the same time.
FYI for the next person… this worked great… just have a little patience on the restore. I’ve had zero problems so far.
One thing to note that was in another thread… your new unit may come with U17 on it (mine did), which will mean you cannot log-in per the instructions provided, as your account is on the older servers/system. You’ll have to connect directly to the unit first (figure out it’s IP via your router), and then do a firmware downgrade.
You will ALSO NEED TO remove the upgrade flag by talking to support. I left them a voicemail after waiting online for about 15 minutes… and to their credit they did call back a day later. But I didn’t want to wait, so I initiated a chat, that happened immediately (good to note). Tech guy removed the flag, then sent me the firmware instructions via email.
[quote=“RexBeckett, post:5, topic:182712”]I moved my configuration from Vera Lite to Vera 3 like so:
On Vera Lite
Backup Z-Wave
Save local backup on PC
Remove power
On Vera 3
Configure network settings (different IP to Vera Lite)
Restore from backup on PC
Once I was happy that the Vera 3 was working correctly, I powered it off. Then:
On Vera Lite
Power on
Reset Z-Wave Network
Factory reset
Configure network settings
Then I restarted the Vera 3 and they both lived happily together.
The Vera 3 now had the same SSH password as the Vera Lite but retained its own serial number.[/quote]
Unfortunately I cannot get this to work.
My veraLite is running 1.5.672 (=beta) so I uploaded this also to Vera3 first to assure same firmware version.
Vera 3 still works fine after upgrade
Then I execute above steps (beside resetting the VeraLite as I still want to have it as a backup)
Vera 3 never returns correctly (also left it overnight hoping it would take long). Local it can’t even be reached, remotely I see the first screen but empty with ‘loading devices’
Hard reset had brought the Vera3 back to life
Three Q’s:
Are beta firmware’s for VeraLite and Vera3 identical or do they have specific versions?
How long does it normally take after a full restore like this?
Any other suggestions?
