Use MSR with Vera

Plugins & Plugin Development Reactor
#1

If you, like me, have often thought about incinerating your Vera hub, driving with your car over it, because it’s slow, actions don’t happen as fast as you would like, creating a scene is extremely limited and poor, you already had the option of using the Reactor, and now you have the excellent MSR.

The Reactor is very good, and helped me for years, but due to limited processing of the hub Vera began to be slow, the reactions began to be not so immediate. And the Vera also does not signal the Reactor correctly and quickly because of its natural slowness due to too many processes.

Three weeks ago I finally got an abandoned computer, with Windows, and installed MSR, super simple and fast process, the detailed documentation helps the step by step, and even a layman like me could do it.

With MSR I started to create all the actions again, and delete them from the Reactor in the Vera hub.

Well a new universe of possibilities opened up, actions react very fast, more intelligence in the rules, and of course, when removing everything from Vera (which soon will be a Z-Wave radio), the hub itself became faster. Another example of optimization, in Vera it was necessary to have an APP to use Telegram, in MSR it is already natural in the application, so I could remove the Vera APP, one less element to consume processing and memory of the hub.

Ok, you can say that now you need a computer to have the MSR. I am sure you have already thought many times about buying another hub by giving up the Vera, buy at this price several options that Amazon offers to have a terminal with MSR.

Just like we have this Vera community that helps a lot, the MSR is in the SmartHome community, and people are helping a lot the users, and in the build the new MSR, that is still beta, but fully operational.

Here are my thanks to @rigpapa for the great work once again, and to all who have helped.

Finally, I can not fail to comment that Vera has more attention to these initiatives, listen more to these developers like @rigpapa, about the errors/problems. The MSR now does not depend only on Vera hub, it is multi-platform, this for me would light a super red light on the existence of the company.

Thanks.

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#2

Shame Multi System Reactor very likely won’t be made to work with Ezlo hubs in the future and their brand new API’s. And I think that is a massive blow to Ezlo.

But I agree MSR is very good.

Personally I never used the Reactor plugin for Vera so can’t comment about that, used PLEG for years and Vera Plus and never really had slowness issues.

But now I’m running MSR on a £25 HP Thin Client running Linux Debian and it’s just fine.

MSR is an extremely powerful and easy to use logic rules engine and I’m not sure Ezlo have the skills to match or beat it.

So if MSR won’t be made to support these new Ezlo hubs and if their own new native logic engine isn’t up to the task, where does that leave us? Hubitat or Home Assistant I guess.

Still early days however, Ezlo may still pull a rabbit out of the hat and surprise us with a proper PLEG / Reactor replacement, but we aren’t seeing any signs of it as yet.

As for now my Vera Plus is now also pretty much acting as a Z-Wave radio, except some key plugins like Harmony and a few others like Alt Hue.

#3

This isn’t exactly what I was trying to say when we talked about this elsewhere, so for the benefit of all,
let me restate my position and hopefully clarify:

There is nothing preventing someone who wants to build the interface between the new eZLO APIs and MSR from doing exactly that. I would be very happy to see that done. I have no plans of doing it myself because my own HA has moved on to include other platforms (still with Vera, but now have additional controllers involved, and MSR facilitates that). As a result, I wouldn’t be able to properly support an eZLO interface and help users troubleshoot and get the best use of devices. Per-platform interfaces really require that the person building and supporting them maintain a long-term interest in being (or becoming) a subject matter expert and lead support for MSR users of that controller. It’s an opportunity for someone. I could certainly do it, but I feel like my own time is better spent working on the bigger picture of Reactor (MSR) functionality, and I already maintain the existing three supported platforms myself, so I’m plenty busy.

That said, when I last used the new eZLO APIs, they were not yet up to the task. That has been some time now and it may ready at this point.

Anybody who wants to step up to do it, I will, of course, stand ready to support you.

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#4

MSR running on a Synology NAS with Docket installed is like a breath of fresh air!! Vera perkier than ever, to be sure.

This is also a fine opportunity for anyone wanting to migrate away from Vera to a more modern and capable controller.

#5

I as you recommended recently, I bought Hue lights with the hub and am waiting for it to arrive. Now it would be great not to have this plug-in in Vera and be native in MSR. Everything I can take from Vera I will do, to make the hub with performance. Stay the function only to add device, and this panel still to say that calls in each mode in case of alarm, because the part of actions is already in MSR.

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#6

That it has real Zigbee support, don’t have a problem every time with S2 device…

#7

I think your strategy is correct, whoever wants to be compatible with MSR should develop their part. I believe that the radios (hub) manufacturers should worry about having the “MSR Compatible” label.

#8

I can’t see Ezlo ever doing that.

But they should of supported and nurtured the small amount of 3rd party developers that were still active here more, earlier on and from some I have spoken to that wasn’t always the case and requests for Api improvements and features in some cases apparently went no where.

As I said Ezlo with no MSR is a big problem for them.

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#9

I also recently asked that same question on the forum.

#10

I dont think there are enough skilled 3rd party developers left here, who could do this.

They have either been banned or naturally moved away to other platforms.

The lack of 3rd party developers again is a big problem for Ezlo.

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#11

Can you be more specific about running a possible PLEG replacement on a Synology NAS (i.e. Zwave interface, app install etc).
I have been using Vera and PLEG for many years and my system (Vera Plus FW 1.7.4903) is solid (particularly after the memory reconfigure) - but I realize that the day may come where I may need to find a replacement - and it does NOT look like Ezlo will be the answer.
Specifically, I have been in IT for over 50 years - so I have seen it all. PLEG is by far one of the best pieces of software for its intended purpose. I could not survive without it - I have suggested to EZLO that they would do well to swallow their pride (NIH attitude) and integrate PLEG into their platform (sure it would cost them some $$ to compensate Richard for his extraordinary work).
I have several Synology NOS(s) and would welcome any info on how/if they could be used to replace Vera/PLEG.
Thanks in advance for your reply.

#12

Use Google search for these keywords and click the first result

“multi system Reactor docs installation”

#13

Hi, I’m sure with MSR you can have a very good result and replace PLEG.

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#14

This comment weighed on me, in addition to other factors, so I’ve gone ahead and done it. Since the eZLO firmware and their device support is still very much a work in progress, I imagine that this interface will have to be as well. But hey, job security! :slight_smile:

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#15

@rigpapa

Great work so far Patrick!

I can confirm that MSR connected to my Ezlo Plus controller via a local connection not via their Vera / Ezlo cloud login, although MSR does also support a cloud connection with authentication if you prefer.

It found the devices and scenes on the controller OK.

I’ve only create a few Rulesets / Reactions so far but it’s all worked for me at the moment.

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#16

Just thinking I haven’t as yet tried to connect MSR to my Ezlo Atom controller. Not sure if you can turn off the authentication on those?

I’ll have to try I guess.

#17

Do tell, please. I hadn’t known of that option until you mentioned it, and since my ezlo Plus is located on a different network, the cloud connection makes sense here.

Meanwhile, I love MSR and want to marry it.

#18

Find the MSR documentation online and look at the controller configuration page, it is all in there.

Don’t think we are allowed to link directly to it, so use Google Search for “multi system Reactor docs installation” then on the menu on the left select “Controller Configuration”

EDIT:

We have permission now to link to the MSR documentation site, here is the link.

https://reactor.toggledbits.com/docs/ControllerConfig/#ezlocontroller

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#19

You maybe need confirmation if that will work? If the Ezlo controller is on a remote network from the MSR installation.

I think when using cloud authentication if gets the access token but then connects locally to the Ezlo Controller with that token etc.

@rigpapa Can you confirm please.

#20

I’ll check the docs first, but await Patrick’s input as well. All my ezlo equipment resides at an entirely different home address than my Vera/MSR installations, so local connections are a no-go. And, hey, if it doesn’t work, no worries, because I only use ezlo products for beta testing, nothing useful (yet).

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