| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| dbehman |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 12:16:31 PM
Hi,
The responsiveness of the 2412N's built in webserver seems to be really poor for me. Very often clicking on various things will be very slow to respond or might time out entirely. I have also seen this message several times:
"Command failed. Connection to Smartlinc lost."
My two devices, a 2477SA1 and 2477D linked perfectly fine and I can control them, though responsiveness of doing that can be really bad too ... it seems to go in "spurts" too - for a few seconds I can click ON and OFF for my dimmer and the lights respond almost instantly. Then all of a sudden a command times out.
I use both Chrome and IE with the same results. Same thing with the iPhone and Andorid app, though with the apps it just seems to hang.
I don't believe it is a problem with my wireless or wired network as I can be surfing or downloading a file or connected to my work via VPN no problem while these problems with the 2412N occur.
Researching similar issues, it seems this could be due to a noisy device on my powerline. I'm going to try to troubleshoot that more (use the extension cord trick, etc).
However, I just did a test where I was only clicking between the Home icon and the Rooms icon and purposely avoiding anything that would try to fetch device status and I still lost connection to the 2412N.
Why would that be? Is the 2412N constantly sending and receiving signals over the powerline even though nobody is accessing the device/scene pages? Or is there some other problem with the 2412N webserver?
Thanks,
Dan |
| 13 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| dbehman |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 8:10:25 PM
Thanks guys - excellent feedback and insight! |
| jdale |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 6:03:05 PM
If you know the source, you may as well filter it. It's cheap and easy.
But in cases where you don't know, I don't know that I would worry about it. As more and more devices become dual-band, noise will matter less. If it doesn't currently cause a problem, I wouldn't spend a lot of time on it. It's true that new devices could make more noise, but that's true whether or not you filter this. |
| stusviews |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 5:57:41 PM
You're OK now, but you are living on the edge. The SmartLinc is currently on a "clean" line, but there is noise around.
Plugging a cell phone charger into a different outlet or updating your current phone can change things. Sometimes a device will put out only a minimum of noise, but as it ages it may get noisier. A new TV, computer or computer part or peripheral, or many other devices may cross-the-line. Your entertainment system already exhibits a problem. Filter it! |
| BLH |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 5:06:00 PM
As long as you don't want to add to your installation. Then your fix is OK.
As soon as you want to add anything or the noise source gets worse and your fix doesn't work anymore. Then you will have to deal with it.
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| dbehman |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 4:56:56 PM
Really?
Here's my non-electrician/computer programmer thinking:
My kitchen circuit has on it a few light switches and a few receptacles. When the breaker is on, power flows from the main panel to this circuit and say for example goes to power my receptacle first and then goes on to power my insteon switch and a few other switches. So when the 2412 is plugged into that receptacle, it sends a signal which doesn't have to travel very far at all along the powerline to get to the 2477 light switch which picks it up then repeats the signal out on RF to my 2477SA1 controlling my pool pump in the backyard. In my maybe naive thinking, I could have all kinds of noise on other circuits in the house, but as long as my 2412 stays plugged in where it is and my 2477 light switch stays where it is, I should have no problem.
Am I way off? |
| EVIL Teken |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 4:38:50 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dbehman
Just an update in case this might help someone reading and having similar problems...
I was starting to have similar problems again this time with my entertainment system off. I decided to use the long extension cord trick and try out various plug-ins around the house. Turns out if I plug in the 2412N to the same circuit that my 2477 light switch dimmer is on, my insteon network then works flawlessly regardless of what devices I have on in my house... This also eliminates the need for any FilterLinc units too. So I suspect when I plug the 2412N into other outlets around my house, the signal is getting killed when it goes through my breaker box to other circuits. Good thing for dual band!!
So the bottomline is - if you're having problems with devices responding to the 2412N, plug it in to a receptacle on the same circuit as a dual band device like a light switch or a receptacle .. heck, might even be best to plug the 2412N into a dual band Insteon receptacle!
Dan
Dan,
This doesn't address the noise makers / signal suckers. This has simply bought you some time. Moving forward, you will experience related problems as you expand your Insteon system.
You need to identify what is the cause so you can experience a trouble free system.
Teken . . . |
| dbehman |
Posted - 07/30/2012 : 1:33:44 PM
Just an update in case this might help someone reading and having similar problems...
I was starting to have similar problems again this time with my entertainment system off. I decided to use the long extension cord trick and try out various plug-ins around the house. Turns out if I plug in the 2412N to the same circuit that my 2477 light switch dimmer is on, my insteon network then works flawlessly regardless of what devices I have on in my house... This also eliminates the need for any FilterLinc units too. So I suspect when I plug the 2412N into other outlets around my house, the signal is getting killed when it goes through my breaker box to other circuits. Good thing for dual band!!
So the bottomline is - if you're having problems with devices responding to the 2412N, plug it in to a receptacle on the same circuit as a dual band device like a light switch or a receptacle .. heck, might even be best to plug the 2412N into a dual band Insteon receptacle!
Dan |
| dbehman |
Posted - 07/27/2012 : 06:43:09 AM
Alpha_Assault - I love the fact that you're asking these questions and taking time to think about my problem report - thank you! (all you guys are great, BTW!)
You said "seems to imply that you lost it without ever asking for info from the powerline devices" ... That's correct - that was my thinking.. But I have no idea what the 2412N does under the covers. It could very well be that besides serving out web pages, it's constantly checking the powerline network in the background which could for some reason be slowing the whole device down if it has to keep sending out messages and gets nothing back. Ideally I'd like to see some sort of logging or diagnostic facility for the 2412N that customers could enable and watch for odd things happening to help get a better picture of what's going on. A side question - I wonder what OS the 2412N runs - could it be a version of Linux?
I definitely had DHCP enabled and still do. The one thing that I did in my router right around the time my entertainment system was shut down was to put the 2412N in "DMZplus" mode - ie. all ports got forwarded to it. I thought at first that might have been the key, though I couldn't explain it because all communications I'm doing are within my own network - port forwarding should have no effect. Plus, I've since removed the DMZplus mode on my 2412N and I'm still enjoying awesome responsiveness. My entertainment system is still off. I still plan on playing with turning individual devices on and watching responsiveness (I'd do it now but I should be working :) ). Now, if I turn my entertainment system back on and responsiveness is still good, I'm baffled. Could be that enabling DMZplus triggered something in the router - who knows - it is a pretty crappy router - Bell Canada is my ISP and I have to use their 2Wire router.
Thanks,
Dan |
| Alpha_Assault |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 6:45:24 PM
Why would line noise/signal absorbing devices affect the web interface connection to the Smartlinc outside of a room page?
I can understand this diagnosis if status is not reporting back. But I do not concur about the powerline affecting a connection to a networked device because the statement " I just did a test where I was only clicking between the Home icon and the Rooms icon and purposely avoiding anything that would try to fetch device status and I still lost connection to the 2412N." seems to imply that you lost it without ever asking for info from the powerline devices.
I have seen issues like this (2412N not being accessible through browser or browser timeout between screens) if a customer assigns the Smartlinc to NOT USE ITS DHCP while inside of the DHCP range of the router. This is also why Smarthome advises we keep the device outside of this range while using it under a Static address(DHCP disabled). To correct this I move the device to a IP address that is not part of the DHCP client range of the customer's router to keep it from being affected adversely.
Just my own two cents, I would at least double check that the DHCP is ON in the 2412N.
Also, you may still have a signal absorber in the home even if your not seeing it affect this 2412N like you believe. I have a battery backup in mine that loved to eat INSTEON signals before I corralled him with a Filterlinc |
| EVIL Teken |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 5:04:20 PM
quote:
Originally posted by dbehman
Thank you very much for the very thorough response - that gives me some good background and some troubleshooting things to try.
An update though - the web interface got really really zippy and responsive, even with controlling my devices (a pool pump on the 2477SA1 and 2 halogen lights on the 2477D) right around the time my wife shut off our main entertainment center devices (TV, receiver, and Boxee Box) - just shut off though, not unplugged. Could that be it? I'm going to tinker with that some more. But maybe I'll need to buy a FilterLinc and plug my entertainment system's power bar into it.
I might come back to you with answers to some of your other questions if the problem persists.
(btw, I called the gold support line and got a super rude guy who was insistent that my problem was because the 2412n was using dhcp - I only care about access inside my home right now).
Dan
Absolutely, unplug the entertainment system and see if the problem goes away. If it does invest in a few FilterLincs. They are great trouble shooting tools as well as Insteon infrastructure problem solvers.
Teken . . . |
| stusviews |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 4:44:41 PM
In real estate, it's location, location, location. In home automation, it's filter, filter, filter  |
| dbehman |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 4:34:49 PM
Thank you very much for the very thorough response - that gives me some good background and some troubleshooting things to try.
An update though - the web interface got really really zippy and responsive, even with controlling my devices (a pool pump on the 2477SA1 and 2 halogen lights on the 2477D) right around the time my wife shut off our main entertainment center devices (TV, receiver, and Boxee Box) - just shut off though, not unplugged. Could that be it? I'm going to tinker with that some more. But maybe I'll need to buy a FilterLinc and plug my entertainment system's power bar into it.
I might come back to you with answers to some of your other questions if the problem persists.
(btw, I called the gold support line and got a super rude guy who was insistent that my problem was because the 2412n was using dhcp - I only care about access inside my home right now).
Dan |
| EVIL Teken |
Posted - 07/26/2012 : 4:20:00 PM
1. Unplug everything in your home. Does the problem still exist? No? Then you have a noise maker / signal sucker which is affecting your Insteon network.
2. If the problem still exists after unplugging everything in the home minus the fridge, stove. Then it could be a network problem. Try to login using a tethered connection and NOT a wireless one. Does the SmartLinc (SL) still behave the same way?
If it does not then there could be some RF giving you grief. If the problem is still present while all devices are unplugged than at this point I would ask you to provide some details about SL.
What is the production date, version, firmware? Have you hard reset the device? Have you hard reset the other Insteon devices?
What are the loads these Insteon devices are controlling? I ask because they can cause what you have stated to appear. Also, if you have not cleared the cache / history in your web browser please do so.
Teken . . . |
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