As my devices increase and especially my rules exceeding 100 now, and always concerned about a crash that would require starting from scratch it is obvious it would be great to have a hard copy of my rules, perhaps GVs, Devices, etc. Is there any chance we could hope to get a utility to print these items? I know I can get a decent copy of the devices with copy and paste, but the rules are the things I would like to have a record of most.
Making backups of your database is the best protection. We don't really have any facility that could print things out, as these are all interactive web pages. Screenshots is the closest you're going to come.
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A backup of your database in two different locations and a spare hub would be the fastest way to get your system back online if the current one failed. A hardcopy might be overkill.
I do backups regularly. I've read that in the case of a failure restoring may not be a simple matter, especially if the USB dongle dies. I bought a spare, c5 unit, which I need to look into starting one if these days. I have read that I can plug my USB dongle from my C4 unit into a C5 unit. Would be great if i could then copy it to the internal storage of the C5.
Some day, you'll likely be able to migrate your devices to a new hub, or at least they've stated that a backup/migration tool is in their plans. In the meantime, with an external stick, there is third-party Z-Wave software you can use to back up/restore the stick. I've never done this, so I'm not sure what software people who have actually use, but Zensys Tools or OZWCP seem like likely candidates to me. (You won't be able to do this with a C5 using an internal radio since there's no way to connect it to the PC you'd need to run this software, though you could probably join a Z-Stick or HUSBZB-1 as a secondary controller and do something similar. Sounds like you've got a C4 and know that you could use an external stick on a C5 with an adapter if you so choose.)
For Zigbee, it's a bit easier. I'm not sure if a migration too would handle 100% of this, but as-is, you wouldn't lose much except a bit of your sanity if you have a ton of Zigbee devices: all you have to do is re-pair each one as long as you have a copy of the regular hub database backup (unlike Z-Wave, nothing is stored on the stick itself). The hub assigns each Zigbee device a (short) DNI but also knows its MAC address (full/long address, factory-set), and it will use that MAC address to pop it back into place. You shouldn't have to re-do any automations. If the eventual backup tool has a way to assign the new hub/stick the same coordinator ID as the "old" one (not sure if this is possible), that should avoid the need to even re-pair, but it's not too bad as-is. (Z-Wave is a pain but could be made a bit easier if Hubitat supported the "Replace" feature; right now, without a backup--again, only possible with third-party help--you'd have to re-pair and re-do all your automations.)
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Thanks for the information. I do have a C4 hub which is what my system is running on. I bought a C5 and it is in my spare parts box. I generally wait a few days after a platform release to see if there are any reported issues. I've had many HA systems going way back to the BSR days and I have yet to lose a controller or program so I should be a little less uptight. Hubitat is certainly vastly different from anything I've had in the past. I came here from a Homeseer Pro 100 system with zwave and x10. I'm really enjoying learning what this system can do. Again, thanks for your comment Robert.
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