I think the best practice in Z-Wave network implementation is one of the most important thing to achieve a reliable network.
However I did not find a document on how to do to achieve the best results this is why I’ve started this topic.
I tried a network repair on my 100 nodes network and now nothing works properly… Sincerely, as a z-wave newbie I’m not sure what I did wrong…
It is very helpfully to get a professional advice from our senior menders with Z-Wave experience.
Some of my questions are:
it is useful to do network repair after deploying a network?
How we can clean-up unused nodes created by tests when we try to register new devices in host controller (vera)? We need just installed nodes the rest of registered but not used devices can be deleted.
How we can clean-up the direct wrong associations (for example we associate a zone controller with a dimmer then remove the zone controller - I’m wondering the old and not used zone is stored as remote device inside the dimer association table).
Can we clean-up other parameters?
How can we properly install new devices in an already existed network?
It’s useful to do wave update and how can be performed in a safe way?
How to associate for a node a fixed rout with no hoping directly to vera?
I think to answer this questions and other which I not think of can be useful for everybody. A wiki can be then generated.
As I mentioned in another thread, I too would like to see a z-wave best practices document. Some of the things I was interested in:
[ul][li]Homogeneous z-wave devices versus heterogeneous. Is all one brand more stable than a mix? How much does it matter?[/li]
[li]Z-wave locks are a pain. Are manual routes the best bet?[/li]
[li]Dedicated repeaters versus repeaters built into other devices?[/li]
[li]Antenna mod. Mandatory, recommended, or just a way to up your health stats?[/li]
[li]Battery powered devices, avoid them at all costs?[/li]
[li]If denser is better, then why do devices in the same gang route completely differently? Don’t devices evenly spaced out perform better than those crammed next to each other?[/li][/ul]
It should make very little difference as they all use the same radio chip. Minor differences may/will show up due to antenna type, placement, and casing.
[ul][li]Z-wave locks are a pain. Are manual routes the best bet?[/li][/ul]
No. Manual routes are a last resort. They should not be the preferred method.
[ul][li]Dedicated repeaters versus repeaters built into other devices?[/li][/ul]
Your choice. Dedicated repeaters(Aeon Labs Repeaters) are the same chip and firmware as a switch or outlet. They simply lack the relay/functionality. I would rather buy a lamp module, that has a switchable outlet than a repeater, even if I don't plan to use the outlet. It will be handy someday.
[ul][li]Antenna mod. Mandatory, recommended, or just a way to up your health stats?[/li][/ul]
Certainly not mandatory. Unnecessary for most people, very helpful for some. I've yet to test the new Vera Edge with the 500 series chip.
[ul][li]Battery powered devices, avoid them at all costs?[/li][/ul]
Why? There are lots of battery powered devices that work perfectly.
[ul][li]If denser is better, then why do devices in the same gang route completely differently? Don't devices evenly spaced out perform better than those crammed next to each other?[/li][/ul]
A denser mesh is generally better. However devices immediately adjacent to each other can impede or interfere with the signal of the other. There is also unknown Voo Doo in the route selection algorithm, so who knows why some routes are chosen.
