I have a Lynx Touch 5100 security panel with its Z-Wave module. After being fed up with its abysmal controller capabilities, I bought a Vera Lite to be my primary controller. I would like for my vera to know the status of all the security sensors. The best way that I have thought of handling this would be to setup the Vera as a “Z-Wave Bridge Controller” so that it can create and host virtual Z-Wave nodes. Each security sensor would get assigned a virtual node on the vera and the lynx 5100 would turn the corresponding virtual node on and off depending on the state of the sensor. How can I accomplish adding virtual zwave node on the vera? I’m not talking about the typical MiOS virtual device, these virtual nodes would need to be addressable on the Zwave network. I know the zwave standard allows for this functionality, I just don’t know how to accomplish it on Vera Lite.
I am not familiar with that capability in Z-Wave.
There are associations … But you can make a Virtual device in Vera respond to an association request from another Z-Wave devices … even if it’s on the same Z-Wave network.
Are you talking about bridging two distinct Z-Wave networks, or a single Z-Wave network where one controller is the primary and the other is a secondary ?
I have not seen much about primary/secondary controller use with Vera. I am not sure what is supported … I would be surprised if it worked. I have seen threads a while back about transferring control … but not simultaneous controllers … and it seemed very complicated … and success was very limited.
Sanity check: do you, in fact, mean “you can’t make a Virtual device in Vera respond to an association request” ?
This is the functionality I am looking for
Bridge Controller The Bridge Controller is a Statis Controller node, which has the additional capability of representing up to 128 Virtual Slave devices. This is used to bridge Z-Wave to/from other network types like X10 or TCP/IP. Note that for the Bridge controller to Include a Virtual Slave device it must be Primary or Inclusion Controller. Bridge Controller can not send Weak Up Beams and can not act as SUC/SIS and repeater.
Taken from
http://z-wave.alsenet.com/index.php/Short_introduction_in_Z-Wave_terminology
If akbooer’s sanity check is incorrect, then that’s exactly what I want. If not, is there any way for my vera to know the state of my alarm sensors, assuming one way Z-Wave communication from my panel?
I do not think the Lynx Exposes the security sensors on the zwave side. I believe what you are looking to do is not possible. There have been a few discussions on this. You might want to do a search on the forum.
- Garrett
You are correct that it doesn’t expose its sensors to the Z-Wave side. It does, however, have the ability to trigger scenes based on sensor activity. Therefore, if my front door sensor trips, I can turn on a Z-Wave device, the Vera would see that Z-Wave device and know the status of the front door sensor. Using virtual nodes would allow me to not have to buy a Z-Wave device for every sensor. I thought using a lamp dimmer module and doing a bit mapping approach to set the level of it and let the vera decode that value, but the Lynx doesn’t have the logic available to support that.
Sanity check: do you, in fact, mean "you can't make a Virtual device in Vera respond to an association request" ?I do not think there is enough of the Z-Wave API exposed to do this.
[quote=“RichardTSchaefer, post:7, topic:175770”]
Sanity check: do you, in fact, mean “you can’t make a Virtual device in Vera respond to an association request” ?
I do not think there is enough of the Z-Wave API exposed to do this.[/quote]
I agree. It’s just that in your OP you said that it can. A typo, I think.