ᐅ Installation and Setup of IoBroker – Still Configurable in Old Age?
Created on: 30 Dec 2020 21:16
B
bauenmk2020
Hello everyone,
first of all: I grew up with computers (C64) and I believe I have good to very good skills in this area (for example, I program as a hobby).
But apparently, building a house has made me so clueless that I’m currently struggling to set up my "Smart Home."
Last week, I installed ioBroker. The installation on my Windows system initially ended with an error message. I couldn’t find any solutions online. The ioBroker forum seems to have problems with a) very long threads, b) dead threads, or c) threads whose content is no longer up to date.
In the end, I found out that I had to uninstall a version of Visual Studio that I had installed beforehand...
Well, I installed ioBroker and it was then accessible via localhost. Now I wanted to connect my Ikea lamps. But first, I had to plug in the ConbeeII USB stick. I connected it to the computer, but nothing happened! No software was included. They say you need some kind of app, but where on earth is it? After some trial and error, I realized that the gateway is accessible via a certain port on my “localhost”! Well, okay. I logged in there and set up a username and password. Then I had to install a “deconz” adapter in ioBroker. To figure out what to enter there, I had to research online again...
In the meantime, I started working on the visualization. The demo view can’t be deleted and is always set as “default.” That means I always have to load this view first and then switch to my project. Accessing the visualization over the network worked well. However, the tablet is not really suitable! After researching, I found out that my Amazon Fire tablet requires a “Fully Kiosk Browser” (or something similar). But I can’t install that because the Google services (Play Store) are missing. Great, now I have to somehow use USB to load this package onto the tablet — which also means some research first...
After some back and forth, I can now turn the lamps on and off. I can even display values from the heat pump and have already created a chart using FlotDiagram.
Finally, I wanted to integrate Alexa. After more research, I found out I’m supposed to build something in “node-red”! I first had to figure out what that even is. Ah, install an adapter. And again, it was available on my “localhost.”
But following the “instructions” online didn’t really work... That’s where I’m at for now – I’ve temporarily lost motivation 🙁
My actual goal is to create scenes (lights, shading), presence detection, securing the house, and detecting open windows, etc.
To do this, I obviously need to “link” the devices and control them centrally.
Right now, I’m just asking myself: What am I actually doing here? Everything I set up, configure, and install feels so fragile! If an address changes somewhere or an update alters something, the whole DIY setup won’t work anymore! Should I really put myself through this at almost 40 years old? Spending hours at the computer (even though most of it is fun) isn’t something I can afford much anymore (house, family, work).
Is this the price you pay for a smart home? Or are there simply easier systems than ioBroker?
first of all: I grew up with computers (C64) and I believe I have good to very good skills in this area (for example, I program as a hobby).
But apparently, building a house has made me so clueless that I’m currently struggling to set up my "Smart Home."
Last week, I installed ioBroker. The installation on my Windows system initially ended with an error message. I couldn’t find any solutions online. The ioBroker forum seems to have problems with a) very long threads, b) dead threads, or c) threads whose content is no longer up to date.
In the end, I found out that I had to uninstall a version of Visual Studio that I had installed beforehand...
Well, I installed ioBroker and it was then accessible via localhost. Now I wanted to connect my Ikea lamps. But first, I had to plug in the ConbeeII USB stick. I connected it to the computer, but nothing happened! No software was included. They say you need some kind of app, but where on earth is it? After some trial and error, I realized that the gateway is accessible via a certain port on my “localhost”! Well, okay. I logged in there and set up a username and password. Then I had to install a “deconz” adapter in ioBroker. To figure out what to enter there, I had to research online again...
In the meantime, I started working on the visualization. The demo view can’t be deleted and is always set as “default.” That means I always have to load this view first and then switch to my project. Accessing the visualization over the network worked well. However, the tablet is not really suitable! After researching, I found out that my Amazon Fire tablet requires a “Fully Kiosk Browser” (or something similar). But I can’t install that because the Google services (Play Store) are missing. Great, now I have to somehow use USB to load this package onto the tablet — which also means some research first...
After some back and forth, I can now turn the lamps on and off. I can even display values from the heat pump and have already created a chart using FlotDiagram.
Finally, I wanted to integrate Alexa. After more research, I found out I’m supposed to build something in “node-red”! I first had to figure out what that even is. Ah, install an adapter. And again, it was available on my “localhost.”
But following the “instructions” online didn’t really work... That’s where I’m at for now – I’ve temporarily lost motivation 🙁
My actual goal is to create scenes (lights, shading), presence detection, securing the house, and detecting open windows, etc.
To do this, I obviously need to “link” the devices and control them centrally.
Right now, I’m just asking myself: What am I actually doing here? Everything I set up, configure, and install feels so fragile! If an address changes somewhere or an update alters something, the whole DIY setup won’t work anymore! Should I really put myself through this at almost 40 years old? Spending hours at the computer (even though most of it is fun) isn’t something I can afford much anymore (house, family, work).
Is this the price you pay for a smart home? Or are there simply easier systems than ioBroker?
bauenmk202031 Dec 2020 11:55I think I will set up the basic system on a Raspberry Pi. Mainly because it is a kind of standard platform that, according to the Foundation, is expected to remain backward compatible in the future.
For fuel prices (as an example), I use an app on my phone. Most of the time, I’m sitting in the car and realize that I could quickly stop to refuel. I don’t plan this in advance. However, what I could imagine is some kind of alert when the price is at a daily or weekly low. But that would definitely be more of a fun feature.
As far as I understand, it is possible to run multiple ioBroker installations in parallel. I think I will need to register in their forum once again...
For fuel prices (as an example), I use an app on my phone. Most of the time, I’m sitting in the car and realize that I could quickly stop to refuel. I don’t plan this in advance. However, what I could imagine is some kind of alert when the price is at a daily or weekly low. But that would definitely be more of a fun feature.
As far as I understand, it is possible to run multiple ioBroker installations in parallel. I think I will need to register in their forum once again...
K
knalltüte31 Dec 2020 12:14bauenmk2020 schrieb:
I think I will set up the basic system on a Raspberry Pi... There is also an industrial-grade version for DIN rail mounting. It comes with a write-protected SSD and can be powered with "proper" power supply. We will use this for "our" smart home system going forward. Further reports and probably part of the documentation will unfortunately follow only in spring 😎
untergasse4331 Dec 2020 15:33bauenmk2020 schrieb:
Is that the price for a smart home like this? Or are there simpler systems than ioBroker?Just get an Alexa! This is not the price for “such a smart home,” but rather the cost of a DIY toy project if you clearly have no idea about current computers and software (what are you programming?). If you want to stick with ioBroker, I’d really recommend starting with a Raspberry Pi, the appropriate operating system image, and various (good) YouTube tutorials, for example by Matthias Kleine. You can have it up and running in about an hour and practice even with only basic Linux skills.I could go on for hours just about “such a smart home.” Luckily, I got a mindfulness course for Christmas 🙂
bauenmk2020 schrieb:
I think I’ll set up the base system on a Raspberry Pi. Mainly because it’s a kind of standard platform which, according to the Foundation, will remain backward compatible in the future.
For fuel prices (as an example) I use an app on my phone. Most of the time, I’m sitting in the car and realize I could quickly fill up. I don’t really plan it ahead. But what I could imagine is some kind of alert when the price is at a daily or weekly low. That would definitely be just for fun, though.
As far as I understand, you can run multiple installations of ioBroker in parallel. I think I’ll have to register again on their forum... The Raspberry Pis run perfectly, very stable and without problems. Still, you should make backups of the SD card now and then.
Seeing the fuel prices is quite nice; I have the price from our usual gas station displayed on a tablet next to the door. It’s funny, but since they constantly raise and lower prices arbitrarily, the only takeaway is that you need to fill up at certain times.
For all the registering and passwords, there are password managers or browser features, which is sometimes really exhausting. But it’s even worse if you don’t have anything “smart and cross-platform.” Then you’re really dependent on the manufacturers’ apps all the time. So you log in once and usually never again.
If you’re still looking for keywords: Sonoff, Tasmota, WLED, Xiaomi, Aqara, Wemos, ESP8266, Motion 😀
superzapp schrieb:
There is also an industrial-grade version for DIN rails. It comes with a write-protected SSD and can be powered by a “proper” power supply. We will be using that for “our” smart home system in the future. More reports and probably some of the documentation will unfortunately only be available in spring 😎 What exactly does “industrial-grade” mean for a Raspberry Pi? Why would you use that at home?
I can understand the SSD part to some extent, but you can do that with the Pi as well.
What do you mean by “proper” power supply? Have you had problems?
bauenmk2020 schrieb:
I’m just wondering: What am I actually doing right now?? Everything I’m setting up, configuring, and installing feels so fragile! @bauenmk2020 You’re speaking my mind; I feel the same way with many technical topics on the computer. And that’s despite being in my mid-thirties.
In the software world, more and more half-baked components are being thrown together faster and faster. What you see is just the result. This won’t change anytime soon—it will only get worse. Many “modern” applications are basically just websites running inside a Chrome-like environment. If you want to develop or compile them yourself, hundreds to thousands(!) of dependencies have to be downloaded. It’s awful. And no, all that container stuff doesn’t make it any better.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution for you. Often, you just have to grit your teeth and maybe use some alcohol to cope. Once you manage to understand the necessary connections, you have to build it all again from scratch. That’s important so that the 30 failed DIY tips from the internet aren’t still in your configuration, which could break every update in three months.
bauenmk20201 Jan 2021 10:03untergasse43 schrieb:
Buy an Alexa! That price isn’t for “such a smart home” system, but for a toy do-it-yourself solution, which suggests no real understanding of modern computers and software (what do you program?). If you want to stick with ioBroker, I’d really recommend starting with a Raspberry Pi, the appropriate image, and the various (good) YouTube tutorials, for example by Matthias Kleine. You can have it running in less than an hour and practice with it even if you only have basic Linux knowledge.
I could go on for hours just about “such a smart home.” Luckily, I received a mindfulness course for Christmas 🙂 We already have Alexa. I only want to use Alexa later as an input interface and not to set routines there.
Currently, I program databases in MS Access as well as automations for Excel and Word. So, VBA. And yes, I know many don’t consider that a real programming language, but I can use it 100% directly for my work. And yes, I also have experience with other languages.
I watch the channels mentioned. But more and more often the videos or tutorials are outdated. For example, yesterday I set up my Raspberry Pi 2 with the ioBroker image. I couldn’t directly use my Zigbee stick (conbee2) with the “deconz” adapter. I had to install the software first. The tutorials say, “Start the software via the menu ...” Which is problematic if you want to use a headless Pi. This requires additional research to run the software without a GUI. Apparently, the maker community doesn’t seem to mind that this detail is often left out.
“Smart home” is a broad term. In my case, it’s primarily about learning how to pair the actuators and building the foundation.
Tassimat schrieb:
@bauenmk2020 You speak for me—I feel the same way about many technical computer topics. And I’m only in my mid-thirties.
In the software world, more and more half-baked components are thrown together faster and faster. What you see is the result. This won’t change anytime soon—it will get worse. Many “modern” applications are basically just websites running in a Chrome-like shell. If you want to develop or compile them yourself, hundreds to thousands (!) of dependencies are downloaded. Terrible. And no, all this container stuff doesn’t make it any better.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a solution for you. Often only alcohol and perseverance help. Once you’ve succeeded and finally understood the necessary connections, you have to build it all up again from scratch. That is important so that those 30 useless DIY tips from the internet don’t stay in your configuration and break every update in three months. And you have to think ahead nowadays. For example, a few years ago I set up a NAS capable of handling virtual machines (OMV). It runs, among other things, a Windows system with a document management system (DMS). I scan my documents with a document scanner and then upload them into the DMS. A rather delicate task. The system is not connected to the internet and the software running on it is “outdated” but it works. The only thing that might need replacing someday is the hardware.
nms_hs schrieb:
All the registering and passwords can be managed with password managers or the browser, which can be really exhausting at times. But it’s worst if you don’t have anything “smart and integrated.” Then you’re really dependent on the manufacturers’ apps continuously. In that case, you only need to log in once and usually never again. I already have a password manager—without it I’d be lost. It runs inside an encrypted container.
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