Ping = Refresh & Poll = Refresh, so why do they exist?

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1

As I review a ST dimmer switch driver I ported into HE I see that both Ping and Poll simply call refresh. By watching the logs I've seen other drivers act similarly.

So is Ping and Poll obsolete? Or am I oversimplifying what I see?

Thanks
John

2

For that driver, they are the same -- other drivers perhaps not. Although, afaik for most drivers poll = refresh.

3

@bravenel - I have a quick question on this. For my Eaton Cooper Z-wave switches (which are not Z-wave plus), they don't immediately report their levels after they turn on. I'd like to call a refresh on them within a trigger in RM when they turn on, but they don't come up as viable targets for refresh in RM.

However, their device pages have Refresh with Generic Z-wave dimmer and it seems to work. Am I missing something here? Is it possible to have RM do a refresh on these?

Thanks.

4

Cooper Eaton owns the (expired) patent for instant status. I believe it existed long before Z Wave Plus. So it is not dependent on Z Wave Plus.

It is my understanding the device sends out a "hail" command / report when the manual switch has been used. In the original implementation the HD would see the hail report and know to ask the device what state it was now in.

Perhaps if you could active some debug statement is the DH parse routine you might be able to see if the hail report exists.

5

Interesting... well, I'm definitely open to all alternatives here, but the behavior I'm seeing is that in the Dashboard tile, if I turn on the switch through automation (or Alexa skill), it shows as being on, but doesn't reflect the proper level until I go into the web interface for that device an click on refresh.

That's all I'm really trying to address at this point, but, it would be handy if the physical switch event is actually being sent as well (for other things).

6

I have a simple Leviton plug in dimmer module with no instant status, It uses the internal "Generic Z Wave Dimmer"

My dashboard reacts almost immediately when I control the dimmer with Alexa.

Two thoughts:

  1. Does any other device react in a similar manner?

  2. There are many reports of Hub slow downs. Could you really be seeing the slowdown?

John

7

Thanks - I'm working with the engineering support team on the Z-wave slowdown issue, and that's going well, but, this was happening even before that, and, it's always solved with a manual refresh from the web interface. All of my Eaton Cooper's respond this way, as do all of my Z-wave smart bulbs.

So, you're saying that your dashboard reacts to on/off and has the proper level? If so, then, yeah, something is definitely amiss, either in my config, or somewhere else.

8

I have not attempted to change the dimming level through Alexa so I can't say. But the on / off is near immediate.

9

I tested the Alexa dimming function this afternoon. I controlled my lights with Alexa for both on / off and dim. The dashboard on my phone responded within the 5 second update rate.

John

10

Interesting - I found some other interesting bits as well... I have several locations that I have three-way installations with the Eaton Cooper 'Accessory' switch in place, so, I've created Group Bulb Dimmers (formerly Alexa Dimmers) within Hubitat to control those and keep both switches in sync. If I update those Groups through automation or the web interface, the dashboard responds properly.

If I update the actual switch (or it's a physical event), the dashboard won't update until I do a refresh of the device through the web interface. This tells me that those switches are not updating status immediately.