I have been trying to solve this chicken/egg problem for quite some time now but have not found an answer. On the other hand, it is hard for me to believe that this has not been solved yet.
So the problem is mostly an infrastructure/network issue:
I have a Router, a Blue Iris Server, and Hubitat set up. Like any Server, the Blue Iris server will sometimes become unresponsive and needs a power cycle. Even though it happens rarely, the Hubitat or the main router my also start acting up needed a power cycle.
At the moment, I have a Zigbee switch for the Blue Iris server which enables me to power cycle it with two steps: Switch Off, then switch On. Fine. That of course assumes that the Hubitat server keeps running in order to turn it back on again.
However, for peace of mind (I am often gone for months), I would also like to have a power cycle for the whole system if something is acting up. Of course, the one thing that needs to still be working is: Router connected to Internet, Hubitat able to control this one switch. Now the problem is obviously that when Hubitat turns off the switch, it will kill Internet and Hubitat and nobody will turn it on again.
So long story short, my question is: Is there a Zigbee or Wave Plug/Switch that has a power cycle function (like turn off for 5 seconds and then turn on again without a command?)
There are devices that will detect an internet issue and restart the router. Basically they ping a remote server and if it’s down for a set period of time it will cycle a switch. I have a Digital Loggers Web Power Switch that has this capability but overkill for your needs. Amazon has a few devices that advertise this capability too such as: https://www.amazon.com/Keep-Connect-Device-Automatic-Rebooter/dp/B0C6YCQ2ZV
I would do a little research and find one that meets your needs.
Create local variable "ping results" and this works great to test the internet connection - i use it to restart the Verizon internet modem and router at the lake - works flawless for 1yr+. The 'network switch' a simply a zigbee plug that supplies power to them. j
My network switch in my comments above does not supply power to HE - it only powers the router and the Verizon modem. HE continues to run and the routine above works great. I have a lake place and its 60 miles to go turn off the router and modem to reboot them. The routine above works like a champ. HE monitors the internet by pinging 8.8.8.8 every 5 minutes. The ping results are stored in a local variable, and if it is 100 (failure code) another local variable called 'ping fail count' increments by 1. After 3 failures (5 mins x 3 attempts, 15 minutes total) then HE (on a separate power source than the router and Verizon internet modem) turns the router / modem switch off and waits 30 seconds and turns the switch back on. I put a 5 minute delay in after that to give the router / modem time to recover before HE starts testing the connection again. I've had this running a yr plus and works like a charm. HE is awesome. jj
i guess i misunderstood - i thought he was chasing a network down problem. Didnt get why he would want to pull the plug on HE. So... now i get what you are saying. Same lake location when i need to pull the plug on HE (the zwave cloud backup bug as an example) i've got a cloud wifi plug for just HE. This is the device, $8 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B6VWJFBF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Been up both creeks, network down or HE down - this covers both scenarios. HE covers the network from the inside and recovers automatically, if HE is down - i have a free app that i can come in through the network WIFI to recycle power on HE, this is if HE is the root problem, such as the zwave cloud backup bug. Other than recovering from this particular bug - i have never had to use it. HE is a great product and they are about to fix this bug. Good discussion thank you jj
I really appreciate your posts! Can you elaborate on how you use the linked device to reboot the hubitat? I want to do the same thing, but it is my understanding that the Hubitat needs to shutdown first, before power is removed. This is in order to prevent database corruption. Is there perhaps a script you wrote in Rule Machine in order to do this? Thank you!!
Hey acr2001! Its simple; I use a "cloud based wifi smart plug" to power HE. If I can shut down HE (preferred) then I do. Then I turn off HE power using the wifi smart plug for a minute then turn back on.
