HubConnect, how to set up over long distance?

🛎️ Get Help
1

I have 2 HE's, I want to connect the remote site to my primary house so all devices show up on local HE. Any suggestions on how to get this set up when these locations are 300 miles apart and I visit the remote site only once a month?
Based on these instructions:

I would need to go back and forth many times between the server and client hubs to configure them, 300miles(600round trip) once a month for many months until its all configured. I live alone so don't have the luxury of someone on the other side to help set it up. Any ideas to get this done without it taking half a year?

FYI, My purpose for trying Hubconnect is that loading the remote hub's cloud dashboard if very iffy and the phone app just doesn't load it. And I use SharpTools which can only authorize a single HE hub.

2

Is is possible to use the new Hub Mesh feature? Would that reduce or eliminate the remote hub configuration problem? I'm using it locally on several hubs and pretty impressed so far.

3

Hub Mesh only works if both Hubs on same LAN. Would be sweet if they had a Cloud Mesh.

1 Like
4

UDP VPN is what you are looking for. You can use hub mesh with it. Software choice is up to you. I use OpenVPN but just about all of the support both tcp and udp.

1 Like
5

Doesn't hub mesh use multicast? If it does, my preference would be to setup an ethernet bridge over a TAP tunnel. Years ago, I used a similar setup.

1 Like
6

Ah, yes. Bummer.

7

HubConnect can use the Hubitat cloud endpoints, so you can configure a connection between them without using a VPN (though you will need to use that if you prefer to use a "LAN" option instead). However, while it's not clear from your description, I assume the other part of your issue with setup is how to, ideally, remotely connect to the other hub so you can set them both up at the same time without needing to travel back and forth. A VPN is my recommendation for that. Many routers have an option built in for this, or PiVPN is pretty easy to set up if you want to DIY it. Some people also use various remote access/remote assistance tools for this that let you just use a browser from a computer at the other location. Either should help you do that part.

3 Likes
8

I have a 10+ year old D-Link 632 router at the remote site. Not sure if it can VPN. Will need to investigate. The place is on ViaSat internet so latency sucks.

9

I am trying to setup Hubconnect between two remote hubs. I have subscribed to Hubitat Remote Admin on both hubs. In the HubConnect Server Instance - Connect a hub, how do I find the remote hub? With remote admin, is there a public IP address I use on the "configure remote" page where it prompts for a private IP address.