ControlThink Forums

The new features have shed some light on how my network is actually working,  I love it.

 I have a couple of switches that give me odd results, on one particular switch I do a view signal strength it seems to only communicate with 2 other devices on the network 50+ devices on the network.  Even stranger is the 2 devices it connects with are not the closest ones,  there are several devices closer.

What does that say about this switch ?
Is this correctable ?

And is there anyway besides a screenshot to save the info to be compared to changes later on ?

Thanks
StevenE

 I have a similarly wonky switch in my setup.  It's within 15 feet of 3 different switches.  Does it talk to any of them?  No, not at all.  It's within 1 hop of exactly one switch, and that one is relatively far away compared to some other choices.

  So, now, what to do about it?  Things I'm considering, in order:

  1.) Remove and re-add the node.

  2.) Transfer primary to ThinkEssentials and see if it can optimize the problem away

  3.) Remove _all_ the nodes and add them all back.

  4.) The switch is a three way.  I'm considering swapping it with the passive remove to see if that improves things.

  5.) Replace the switch.

I've got another switch that's literally adjacent to a switch.  3 inches at most apart.  They don't talk to each other.  They're one hop away from switches two floors away, but the ones right next door, no dice.

Anyone have other suggestions.  To save Chris some typing:

  A.) I recognize (or at least I strongly suspect) that there's nothing wrong with ThinkEssentials here.  It's just showing me how messed up my network really is.

  B.) This is exactly the sort of thing I should consult my installer for.  Too bad I am my installer.  But since Steven has the same problem, I figure it's fair game to discuss

When I run F8  from my ThinkEssentials laptop with my ThinkStick, and at the same time do system polling from my RZC0P and system controller, I get strange hop counts and signal quality readings.  Maybe ThinkEssentials wants a quiet system when doing its thing.

I'm also seeing some interesting behavior from devices that share a box.  Even if the two devices are the same model, they won't always both show the same hop count and signal quality.

I wonder if ThinkEssentials is moving on to the next device too quickly after bombarding the first device.  If polling messages from my RZC0P are messing up the test, then maybe leftover messages bouncing around from the test itself could be causing strange results.  It appears that ThinkEssentials does advance through the device list rather quickly, and I've heard that messages may bounce around for up to two seconds...

I don't know.  Just thinking out loud. 

Well, at least for me I do not believe it is thinkessentials.   I have a fairly dense Z-Wave network and all the other devices seem to communicate with almost all the devices with 1 hop.

Just 3 devices almost in the center of the z-wave network seem to have issues,  the 1 I mentioned is the worst.  Oddly enough these 3 devices are in the same 4 gang box, and don't directly communicate with each other.

Optimizing I am pretty sure only optimizes the controllers route, not the devices.  I am not sure if you can optimize and then re-add the switch to update it.

StevenE

garylm:

From all of our tests, the results shown by the "neighboring devices/signal strength" display are correct as to the topology map discovered during network setup.

If you use the SDK to rediscover just that one device, it may pick up different neighbors.

StevenE:

Sometimes, the signal is too loud between neighboring devices so they cannot communicate directly with each other.  In those instances, you may see them route through devices on the other side of the room, etc.

Chris

Chris,

 The Switches in question are not communicating with anyone nearby, only few devices far away.

If I add the switches again without removing them, will that update the routes ?

Steven

StevenE,

Just rediscover the device via the SDK, and that will update the routes.  The switches (unless they're 3-ways or otherwise sending out messages by themselves) don't store routes.

Chris