UI Notes

Revision as of 21:55, 18 September 2009

Here is some general information about getting information to display in a user interface:

UPnP messaging system

Vera uses UPnP for all the messaging, such as turning lights on and off. So Vera translates Z-Wave, Insteon, infrared codes, etc., into UPnP actions. If you have already implemented a UPnP stack and can send properly formated UPnP SOAP/XML requests, you can control everything using standard UPnP action invocation. If you did not, Vera provides a simple HTTP GET interface as well, which is discussed below.

To test UPnP calls you can use the Intel Device Spy utility available here.

JSON vs. XML

The native UPnP protocol uses XML/SOAP. But there are also several times you will request data from Vera that has nothing to do with the UPnP spec. These will be done with data_request's as explained below, such as user_data, lu_status, etc. Internally Vera uses JSON as the native format, but Vera can convert to XML (details follow). In general when you want to view data in a human readable format, such as the device list, it's easiest to use the Firefox browser, and request Vera convert the data to XML. Firefox has a nice browser to display XML in human readable format. If you want to make the JSON data nicely formatted, you can use the web site jsonlint.com. In a UI application which will request data regularly from Vera we recommend retrieving everything in JSON format, not XML, because Vera's CPU is not that powerful and so continuous requests of data in XML format will cause a lot of CPU time to be devoted to converting JSON into XML.

Finding Vera on the local network

You can find Vera by using the traditional UPnP discovery process, or you can retrieve this URL:
http://findvera.com/locator.php

Each Vera, when it boots up, reports its internal IP address to the central findvera.com server, which tracks this along with the external IP address. locator.php shows all serial numbers and internal network IP addresses on the same external IP. For example, if http://findvera.com/locator.php returns the following:

7300 192.168.1.114
6907 192.168.1.102
7618 192.168.1.117

Then there are 3 Vera's on the same internal network (i.e. sharing the same external IP as your browser), with serial numbers 7300, 6907 and 7618, with the 3 IP internal (LAN) addresses shown.

You can also pass a FindVera username to locator.php and it will return the serial number and IP associated with it, such as:

http://findvera.com/locator.php?username=demovera

The HTTP interface

Vera listens on port 49451. Vera responds to UPnP actions the normal way, or by making simple HTTP requests. For example, to turn on a light you can either send the UPnP action "SetTarget" to the device using the normal UPnP mechanism, or you can simply put this URL in your web browser, or with wget, or similar:

http://[ipadress]:49451/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=10&serviceId=urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=1

That URL will return the same results of the action as using the normal UPnP architecture. The output_format=xml on the URL means the data returned should be in XML format. You can instead use output_format=json

Getting the system configuration

Either use the UPnP service/action:
urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1/GetUserData

or use the built-in request:

http://ipaddress:49451/data_request?id=user_data&output_format=json (or xml)

This returns the system configuration file for Vera. It's assumed you understand the way Vera categorizes devices with Rooms, Devices, Scenes, etc. When creating a user interface for controlling Vera only, like on a mobile phone, most of the tags can be ignored, since usually you just need the list of rooms and devices.

Accessing Vera remotely through the findvera server

Everything you can do locally with Vera on port 49451, you can do remotely with findvera using the exact same syntax. You only need to ask the user for his username and password and pass them on the URL to the remote access server. For example, the above user_data is the syntax for local access. To retrieve the same URL over findvera use:

https://ra1.findvera.com/demovera/myvera123/49451/data_request?id=lu_status&output_format=json

assuming demovera is the username and myvera123 is the password.

Building a control-only UI for Vera

If you just want to control Vera, and not modify the configuration, such as with a cell phone interface or web pad, the flow might possibly work like this:

1. For the initial setup, you need to ask whether the user wants to (a) access Vera remotely; (b) through the FindVera service, and if so, the user's username/password; or (c) access Vera on the home network. You can use locator.php to show the Vera on the home network. You might want to do an auto-detect. For example, you could use locator.php to see if Vera exists locally, and if not, prompt the user for a FindVera username and password. You can use locator.php and pass the username to get the serial number and internal IP, and then automatically switch to direct access if locator.php (without the username) indicates that serial number is found on the local network. This would allow the user to automatically switch between local access with Wi-Fi (which is much faster of course) and remote access with FindVera and the mobile phone network.

2. Once the connection is established, retrieve the user_data to get the list of rooms, scenes, devices, and remotes. You can cache this data locally so you don't need to retrieve it and continually parse it. If you do, store the contents of the 'DataVersion' tag and pass it on the URL as &DataVersion=x. You will receive a page with the text NO_CHANGES if the user_data has not changed. You should still check periodically so that if the data changes you can refresh your copy. For rooms and scenes, you only need the room/scene ID, which is the number after Room_Num_/scene_ in the tag, and the description. For devices, you need the device number, the description and the category.

3. Present the user with the rooms, scenes, devices and remotes. Generally we show first the rooms and then let the user pick a device, scene or remote in the room.

4. If the user picks a scene you can run the scene with the following URL, passing the scene number as x, and it will return an OK if it went okay:

http://127.0.0.1:49451/data_request?id=lu_action&serviceId=urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HomeAutomationGateway1&action=RunScene&SceneNum=x

5. If the user picks a device, you use the category to determine what type of controls to present the user. (See Luup UPNP Files for a list of the categories.) When the user chooses an action, you can send it like this:

http://ipadress:49451/data_request?id=lu_action&output_format=xml&DeviceNum=10&serviceId=urn:upnp-org:serviceId:SwitchPower1&action=SetTarget&newTargetValue=1

For a list of common actions and device types see: Luup CP Mandatory Types

Some actions return immediately with an 'OK'. Other jobs may take time to complete. For these you will get a job ID back. There are several ways to present this to the user. One possibility is to do what Vera does in the UI, namely to use lu_status (explained next) to find all active jobs and to put a 'job' icon next to each device to indicate the progress of the job. In this way the user isn't tracking a particular job per se, but just has visual feedback that a device is busy, and if the job icon(s) turn green, that everything went through okay. You could instead track the action individually using the job number that is returned.

6. Periodically poll the system with lu_status, like this:

http://ipaddress:49451/data_request?id=lu_status&output_format=json

That returns the current values of the UPnP variables, which you can use to show the user current status. For example, if the variable Status is 1 for a switch, you can show the 'on' button in a selected state, while 0 shows it in an 'off' state. lu_status also shows any active jobs for a device.

Building a replacement UI for Vera

 Here are some notes on other tags that might be of interest, particularly
when creating a full replacement for Vera's built-in web user interface.

The unassigned devices and automation devices in the user_data JSON request are just counters. You can probably ignore them. Automation devices is just the count of all the devices that are children of 'zwave' (i.e. the count of your light switches, thermostats, etc.). Unassigned devices is the count of devices that haven't yet been assigned a room (i.e. FK_Room=0). It's your responsibility, in the UI, to be sure that every device which does *NOT* have the tag "Hidden"=1 or the variable urn:micasaverde-com:serviceId:HaDevice1/IgnoreRoom set to 1. You don't have to, actually; the devices work fine if they're not in a room. It's just a convention in our user paradigm that all devices have to be put in rooms as a way of cataloging. And our web developer said that since JavaScript is slow, rather than him parsing the whole device tree in order to figure out if there are any devices not yet assigned to a room, he asked us to put a counter in the JSON (UnassignedDevices). If it's 0, he doesn't need to display the popup "Tell me what rooms these new devices are in". If it's >0, then he goes ahead and parses the device tree to figure out what devices are already assigned to rooms and displays the popup for those that are not yet in a room.

He also wanted an 'automation devices' counter, again, so he doesn't need to parse the JSON tree unnecessarily. If the counter is 0, then the user has no Z-Wave devices and he doesn't bother rendering the devices tab.

The counters and data in the user_data are the 'master database' of all the devices in the home and their parameters. The database is updated whenever the list of devices changes, or the user makes changes to the configuration.

The way our UI works is there's a background thread that polls user_data every 60 seconds or so. Each time it polls user_data, it passes in the DataVersion from the last user_data it got. This way if there are no changes, rather than returning an identical JSON tree for you to parse all over again, you just get back an empty tree meaning "that DataVersion is still current". When the user_data changes, the UI needs to update all the devices/trees/etc. because that means something has changed.

Separately, there's another background poll of lu_status (explained later) to get the realtime info on the devices. This is used to determine which action button to highlight (on/off/etc.), what color code to use for the config cog wheel, what job icons to display, and so on. The way we implemented it is that when the user does something in the UI, we start polling zwave_status every 2 seconds. This is because things are changing quickly (i.e. the job may be succeeding/failing/etc.). Then after 15 seconds, the polling is reduced to once every 15 seconds. Then after 1 minute, the polling is reduced to 1 minute intervals. This way, when the UI is idle, and the user turns off a light, you won't see the change immediately in the UI because it can be 1 minute before the next zwave_status poll. But, you're not generating constant network traffic to keep polling the devices over and over again when there's nothing going on.

If you use the binary socket layer, you don't need to poll since you can register to receive events when things change. But for web based UI's and engines like JavaScript, implementing raw socket transfers isn't as easy as simple HTTP GETs, so it just uses polling of the HTTP GETs.

Saving configuration settings

This doesn't apply when creating a UI for control only, like a cell phone.

All the configuration data is stored in the user_data json file. The UI should allow the user to modify this data, set configuration parameters, and so on. Refer to the user_data request on Data_Provider_Catalog_Plugin_Requests for instructions on how to submit the user's changes to the json files. You can add your own tags to the JSON file to store your own information about devices. Vera will simply ignore json tags that it doesn't recognize.

Current state of devices

The state variables in user_data are not necessarily up to date. They are just what was last saved in the database. To get the up to date values, along with a list of the active jobs for a device, use the UPnP action GetStatus, or call: http://ipaddress:49451/data_request?id=lu_status&output_format=xml

The job status will be one of the following:

job_None=-1,  // no icon
job_WaitingToStart=0,  // gray icon
job_InProgress=1,  // blue icon
job_Error=2,  // red icon
job_Aborted=3,  // red icon
job_Done=4,  // green icon
job_WaitingForCallback=5  // blue icon - Special case used in certain derived classes

Configuration parameters for devices

--- this section is not current ---

Here are configuration settings the UI should prompt the user for and store in the "DeviceData" section.

Global

DEVICEDATA_Manage_Associations_CONST 300: Some Z-Wave devices report information about their state (ie fire events), such as motion sensors, remote controls which fire 'button pressed' events, and so on. Generally you tell the device where to send the events by assigning them 'associations'. For example, a motion sensor can be associated with a light switch and it will turn the light on/off automatically, or it can be associated with Vera so Vera gets 'sensor tripped' events. If this is the sort of device that Vera would normally want to set associations for, Vera adds this configuration parameter to the device, with an empty value. If the UI sees this parameter in "DeviceData", display a check box that says something like "Allow Vera to manage associations" and, if checked, store a 1, otherwise a 0.

DEVICEDATA_Scenes_As_Events_CONST 298: Normally ZWave handheld remote controls work with light switches only, and you can't receive events in Vera to allow them to execute Vera's scenes, which can do anything. If this is a handheld remote control that Vera can "trick" into sending scene commands to Vera, which Vera can in turn translate into events, Vera will add this configuration parameter to the device, with an empty value. If the UI sees this parameter in "DeviceData", display a check box that says something like "Treat Scenes as events" and, if checked, store a 1, otherwise a 0. See: ZWave_Add_Controller method #2

DEVICEDATA_Wakeup_Interval_CONST 299: If this is a battery operated device, that is not a FLiRS (see Zensys definition), it is normally 'sleeping' and cannot be communicated with except when it periodically wakes up and broadcasts a wakeup message. If Vera detects this type of device, Vera will add this configuration parameter to the device, with an empty value. If the UI sees this parameter in "DeviceData", prompt the user for the wakeup interval and store the value, as # of seconds, in this parameter.

DEVICEDATA_Manufacturer_Desc_CONST 294/DEVICEDATA_Model_Desc_CONST 295: This is a read-only setting with the name of the manufacturer/name of the model of the device, if known. Do not overwrite these values.

DEVICEDATA_Battery_Level_CONST 292: This is a read-only setting with the percentage of battery life left, from 0-100.

DEVICEDATA_Battery_Alarm_CONST 293: If DEVICEDATA_Battery_Level_CONST 292 is specified, you can display an input box asking the user for the minimum battery life before firing an event (0-99) and store it in this setting. When the battery level drops below this level an event will be fire, which can be attached to a scene to notify a user.

DEVICEDATA_Capabilities_CONST 207: This may be of interest to more advanced users. It has the device classes followed by a | and the supported command classes. An S at the end means its a 'secure' command class.

DEVICEDATA_PortChannel_Number_CONST 12: This is read-only, and it's the ZWave Node id.

DEVICEDATA_Multi_Channel_End_Point_CONST 296/DEVICEDATA_Multi_Channel_Capabilities_CONST 297/#define DEVICEDATA_Model_CONST 233/DEVICEDATA_Configuration_CONST 59/DEVICEDATA_Update_Name_CONST 41/DEVICEDATA_Only_One_Per_PC_CONST 162/DEVICEDATA_Energy_Log_CONST 286: Internal use only. Do not modify or present to the user.

DEVICEDATA_LastUpdate_CONST 234: This is the unix time stamp indicating when the device was successfully configured. Vera sets this when configuration is done. If this is not empty or 0, Vera will not attempt to configure the device. Whenever the user makes any change to a device, such as changing the settings in the UI, the UI must reset this to 0 when saving so Vera will re-configurate the device.

DEVICEDATA_Polling_Settings_CONST 283: This is the maximum frequency, in seconds, to poll the device. If set to empty, the default values will be used. 0 means the device will not be pulled. 60, for example, means poll the device at most once per 60 seconds.

DEVICEDATA_PK_FloorplanObjectType_CONST 11: Vera has no use for this value, but it is traditionally used to indicate which type of icon the user wants to see this device represented with on the floorplan. It is made available to any controllers.

DEVICEDATA_InputOrOutput_CONST 18/DEVICEDATA_Default_State_CONST 19/DEVICEDATA_EK_AlertType_CONST 45: These are for sensors indicating if they are input/output, normally open/close, and what type of alert they fire. You should not need to modify these because the default values pulled from template_data.json, which are set when the device is created, should be correct.

DEVICEDATA_Wattage_CONST 285: This is how many watts the device uses at full power. The user should be allowed to edit this so the estimated energy usage is accurate.

Device specific notes:

Light switches/lamp & appliance modules/Sensors: There are no special settings. Just follow the general settings above.

Thermostats: Note the syntax of Wattage here: Watts Otherwise no special settings.

IP Cameras: There are special json tags for the IP address and MAC address. Store the username/password for http authentication in: DEVICEDATA_AuthUser_CONST 114/DEVICEDATA_AuthPassword_CONST 115 and the URL to retrieve a JPEG image in DEVICEDATA_Path_CONST 2. Store information about archiving images and association with lights/motion sensors in DEVICEDATA_sPK_Device_Relations_For_Creat_CONST 184,DEVICEDATA_Video_settings_CONST 89.

DEVICEDATA_sPK_Device_Relations_For_Creat_CONST 184 = comma separated list of associated lights, dash, comma separated list of associated sensors.

DEVICEDATA_Video_settings_CONST 89 = comma separated values: # of seconds to archive, # of minutes/seconds to take automatic picture as a # followed by m or s, # of days to keep archives, [1|0] for 'turn on lights when viewing camera', [1|0] for 'turn on lights when the sensors are tripped and armed', [1|0] for 'turn on lights when the sensors are tripped and not armed', [1|0] for 'turn on lights for automatic picture'. So, the following is data is stored for the following configuration:

"FK_DeviceData_184": "13,14,17-20"
"FK_DeviceData_89": "98,97m,96,1,1,0,0"

Archive a photo whenever the following sensors are tripped:

(20) 

And after the sensor(s) are tripped archive the video for 98 seconds.
Which lights should be turned on when viewing this camera:

(13,14,17)

For archival purposes, take a picture from the camera every 97 minutes, and keep the pictures 96 days.
Turn on the lights:
[x] When I view the camera from the web or phone.
[x] When the sensor(s) above are tripped and they are armed
[ ] When the sensors above are tripped and they are *not* armed
[ ] When you take an automatic picture for the archive

Configuration parameters for the Z-Wave device

-- this section is not current --

The Z-Wave device, the parent of all Z-Wave nodes, has configuration parameters as well:

DEVICEDATA_COM_Port_on_PC_CONST 37: The com port/linux device for the Z-Wave dongle.

DEVICEDATA_Polling_Settings_CONST 283: The default poll settings, comma separated: [0|1] polling enabled, seconds to wait after startup before polling, seconds of idle time on the network before doing a poll, how many seconds to wait between polling nodes, seconds to wait between polling each node.
So, "FK_DeviceData_283": "1,20,10,10,60" is displayed as:
[x] Poll nodes
Wait 20 seconds to start polling.
Only poll a node if the Z-Wave network is idle at least 10 seconds.
Poll a node every 10 seconds.
Unless specified otherwise, poll each node at most once every 60 seconds.

DEVICEDATA_Configuration_CONST 59: Firmware version of the dongle. Read only

DEVICEDATA_PortChannel_Number_CONST 12: House code and node id of the dongle. Read only.

DEVICEDATA_Capabilities_CONST 207: Read only status if the device is SUC/SIS and primary or not, such as: "Suc SIS:YES PRI:YES"

Creating scenes in the user_data.json

--this section is not current--

A scene is just a list of commands to send to various devices. The Scenes section of user_data contains the pre-defined scenes. For example: {

   "scenes": {
       "scene_10": {
           "Description": "leave home",
           "FK_Room": "5",
           "commands_ids": [
               1,
               2,
               3,
               4,
               5 
           ],
           "commands": {
               "command_1": {
                   "Device_To": 5,
                   "FK_Command": "972",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_2": 24,
                       "FK_CommandParameter_5": "ARMED" 
                   } 
               },
               "command_2": {
                   "Device_To": 14,
                   "FK_Command": "184",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_76": 75 
                   } 
               },
               "command_3": {
                   "Device_To": 14,
                   "FK_Command": "193",
                   "Delay": 60 
               },
               "command_4": {
                   "Device_To": 21,
                   "FK_Command": "280",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_8": "C" 
                   } 
               },
               "command_5": {
                   "Device_To": 21,
                   "FK_Command": "278",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_5": 20 
                   } 
               } 
           } 
       } 
   }

}

This defines a scene called "leave home" which is in room. It sets a thermostat (device #21) to 'cool' mode (command #280) and to 20 degrees celsius (command #278). It also arms a motion detector (command #972). As explained below, ZWave motion detectors themselves don't have an arm/disarm command. It's just a flag which the security plugin keeps so that when a sensor is tripped, it knows if it's an "armed sensor tripped event" or a normal "sensor tripped event". So the command goes to device #5 (the security plugin), and the device id of the motion sensor (24) is a parameter to it. It also sets device #14 (a light) to 75% (command #184) and after 60 seconds turns it off (command #193). The list of device #'s is found in user_data Devices section. The command and parameters and how to use them are explained below.

To add this scene, you would submit the following JSON in the POST data for the user_data request. Note that if you do a POST with an existing scene ID, the entire scene is replaced. Changes are not merged. For example, if you want to add a timer to an existing scene, send the entire scene again, with command, and include the timer. We did this because it was difficult in the java script UI to keep track of all the changes and was easier to have the UI just re-send the whole scene each time. See: Data_Provider_Catalog_Plugin_Requests

{

   "scenes": {
       "scene_1000010": {
           "Description": "leave home",
           "FK_Room": "5",
           "commands_ids": [
               1,
               2,
               3,
               4,
               5 
           ],
           "commands": {
               "command_1": {
                   "Device_To": 5,
                   "FK_Command": "972",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_2": 24,
                       "FK_CommandParameter_5": "ARMED" 
                   } 
               },
               "command_2": {
                   "Device_To": 14,
                   "FK_Command": "184",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_76": 75 
                   } 
               },
               "command_3": {
                   "Device_To": 14,
                   "FK_Command": "193",
                   "Delay": 60 
               },
               "command_4": {
                   "Device_To": 21,
                   "FK_Command": "280",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_8": "C" 
                   } 
               },
               "command_5": {
                   "Device_To": 21,
                   "FK_Command": "278",
                   "params": {
                       "FK_CommandParameter_5": 80 
                   } 
               } 
           },
           "json_action": "add" 
       } 
   } 

}

Note the tag "json_action": "add" within the scene. This tells the data provider handler to add this scene. Also note that the scene id number is 1000010. The convention is that when adding new devices, scenes, rooms, sections or users you should use an id number > 1,000,000. When the data provider handler sees an id number >1m, it automatically changes it to be the next available id #. This is because all devices, scenes, rooms, sections and users need a unique id #. Since there could be multiple web ui's submitting user changes at once, you don't want the web ui to assign the id # as there may be a collision. If there were, the plugin would merge the data from the 2 post's. By using an id# > 1m, you are ensured there will be no conflicts as the id # will be changed when it's processed. Note that the same user_data you POST to with the new data, will also return the resulting user_data after the POST. So after POST'ing the data, you should parse and use the user_data that is returned, and discard any copy of the user_data you posted, as the id #'s may be different.

POST'ing the commands_ids is purely optional. The Vera back-end doesn't ever use any of the _ids parameters in the json file. They are there purely for the convenience of the web engine if it makes it easier to parse the json files.

List of commands and parameters to send to devices

The complete list of all commands and parameters is in the template_data JSON file explained here. There are over 1,000 commands in the full LinuxMCE command set. But the common ones used in Vera are:

#184 Set Level: Sets a device to a certain level. For dimmable lights this sets the level
Parameters: #76 Level: a number between 0 and 100

#192 On/#193 Off: Turns a device on or off. This is also used for unlock/lock door locks
Parameters: #76 Level: a number between 0 and 100

#278 Set Temperature: Sets a thermostat's set point to a given temperature
Parameters: #5 Value_To_Assign: The temperature in degrees celsius. The number may be preceded with a - or a + to decrease/increase the temperature relative to its current setting, and may be followed by an H or C to set only heat or cool set point. If H or C is not specified, both heat/cool set points will be set for those thermostats that support dual set points

#279 Set Fan: Sets the fan of a thermostat to always on or to automatic
Parameters: #8 On/Off: Set this value to 1 to put the thermostat in 'on' mode, and 0 to put it in 'auto' mode.

#280 Set Heat/Cool: Sets the thermostat to heat/cool
Parameters: #8 On/Off: Set this value to H for heat mode, C for cool. To turn the thermostat off, send command #193 (off), and to put it in full 'auto' mode, send command #192 (on)

#370 Execute Command Group: In the user_data, find the device with the template "FK_DeviceTemplate": "27" (General_Info_Plugin) and send it this command to execute a scene. By including this command within a scene, you can have one scene execute or embed another scene.
Parameters: #28 PK_CommandGroup: This is the ID of the scene (i.e. the number following scene_).
Parameters: #9 Text: If you want to test a scene that you have not yet created, instead of passing the command group parameter above, you put send the raw string of commands in this format:
PK_Device,PK_DeviceGroup,PK_Command,Delay,CancelIfOther,IsTemporary,"PK_CommandParameter","Description"
where each command is separated with a new line (\n). In Vera's UI, when you execute a scene from the Dashboard (i.e. a scene that's already saved), it passes the scene # in parameter #28. When the user clicks 'Test' next to a scene in the scene editor, and you want to test a scene that you have not yet saved, it is sent as parameter #9. You can grep DCERouter.log for '^08' (lines starting with 08 are commands) after clicking 'Test' to see the syntax.

#684 Zoom In/#685 Zoom Out/#200 Move Up/#201 Move Down/#202 Move Left/#203 Move Right: Send these commands to a camera for pan/tilt/zoom.
Parameters: None

#84 Get_Video_Frame: Send this command to a camera to retrieve the current image as a JPEG file: Parameters: #19 Data: This is an output parameter that is returned, not an input parameter. It contains the actual image. The parameter type is 'Data', so it contains a block of binary data.
Parameters: #20 Format: This is the format of the data. Presently all the cameras return 'JPEG'.

#776 Reset (when sent to a Z-Wave node): When sent to a Z-Wave node (i.e. a child of the device Z-Wave interface), it resets that node and causes it to be reconfigured. This is what's sent with Vera's "configure node right now" button. A configuration job is immediately added to the queue.
Parameters: none

#776 Reset (when sent to the Z-Wave interface): When sent to the parent Z-Wave device, the interface which is often device #9, it resets the Z-Wave pairing in dongle. This is the only way to restore the black dongle to a clean state. If you do a hardware reset of Vera, without sending this command, the pairings will remain because they're stored in the dongle itself. This command is sent from Vera's Devices, Z-Wave options, 'reset zwave network' button explained here: ZWave Options.
Parameters: #51
Arguments: This parameter can be: SUC or SIS (i.e. send either of those 3 character strings, or leave the parameter blank). The default is to send it with SIS. This is a Z-Wave term, meaning the dongle will report new nodes to slave controllers.

#967 Add Node: When sent to the parent Z-Wave device, the interface which is often device #9, it causes the dongle to go into 'pairing' mode to add new devices. See Z-Wave Options
Parameters: #39 Options: This parameter can be the single character H to use high power inclusion. Or it can be the word CANCEL to stop any current add/remove going on.
Parameters: #48 Value: If empty or set to 1, any type of node can be added. You can also send one of the following values to restrict what type of node is added: 2=node controller, 3=node slave, 4=node existing, 5=node stop, 6=node stop failed
Parameters: #182 Timeout: Number of seconds to timeout. If not specified default is 60 seconds. This is how long to wait for the new node.
Parameters: #259 Multiple: If true (i.e. 1) then multiple devices can be added and the dongle will stay in include mode until the timeout is reached. Otherwise, the dongle will only add 1 device and exit add mode.

#968 Remove Node: When sent to the parent Z-Wave device, the interface which is often device #9, it causes the dongle to go into 'reset' mode to remove devices. See Z-Wave Options
Parameters: #39 Options: This parameter can be the single character H to use high power inclusion.
Parameters: #48 Value: If empty or set to 1, any type of node can be removed. You can also send one of the following values to restrict what type of node is removed: 2=node controller, 3=node slave, 4=node existing, 5=node stop, 6=node stop failed
Parameters: #182 Timeout: Number of seconds to timeout. If not specified default is 60 seconds. This is how long to wait for the node to be removed.
Parameters: #259 Multiple: If true (i.e. 1) then multiple devices can be removed and the dongle will stay in remove mode until the timeout is reached. Otherwise, the dongle will only remove 1 device and exit remove mode.

#972 Set Sensor State: In the user_data, find the device with the template "FK_DeviceTemplate": "33" (Security_Plugin) and send it this command to change the arm/unarmed state of a sensor. Z-Wave doesn't have the concept of armed/unarmed sensors. But the security plugin keeps a flag for all sensors so when a sensor is tripped, it can fire the normal 'sensor tripped' only, or also a 'armed sensor is tripped' event.
Parameters: #2 PK_Device: This is the device ID of the sensors
Parameters: #5 Value To Assign: Can be either: ARMED or UNARMED

#974 Set PIN: For door locks, this sets a user code or pin.
Parameters: #17 PK_Users: This is user code to set
Parameters: #99 Password: This is the pin code. Leave it blank to clear the pin code for the given user.

Timer

If you want to have a scene executed automatically at a certain time, add a Timer. As explained above, you must re-send the whole scene with the timer. Add a JSON block like this to a scene to make it a timer:

           "Timer": {
               "PK_Timer_1": {
                   "Description": "T_on30m",
                   "Type": "1",
                   "Enabled": "1",
                   "Criteria": {
                       "param_1": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 11,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "30m" 
                       } 
                   } 
               } 
           }

The Timer ID # (1 in this case) can be whatever you want, as well as the description. If Enabled is set to "0", the timer will not execute. Type can be: INTERVAL_EVENT=1 (ie does something every x minutes/seconds), DAY_OF_WEEK=2, DAY_OF_MONTH=3, ABSOLUTE_TIME=4. In all cases, the parameters for the type are specified in the Criteria section. The operator is OPERATOR_EQUALS=1, OPERATOR_NOTEQUALS=2, OPERATOR_GREATERTHAN=3, OPERATOR_LESSTHAN=4, OPERATOR_CONTAINS=5.

For interval timers, leave parm blank, use "PK_CriteriaParmList": 11 (per LinuxMCE this is: #define CRITERIAPARMLIST_Time_of_day_CONST 11), and set the value to a number followed by m or h (minutes/hours). The above is a timer that will go off every 30 minutes.

For Day of Week timers, set CRITERIAPARMLIST_Day_Of_Week_CONST 17 with a comma separated list of days of week (ie 1=Sunday), and CRITERIAPARMLIST_Time_of_day_CONST 11 is the time of day. Multiple times are comma separated. Times can be in 12 hour (with an optional am/pm) or 24 hour. All the following are acceptable ways of saying 3:15pm: 3:15pm 3:15 p.m., 3:15p, 15:15. Generally we use 24 hour time since it's simpler. Here is a day of week timer that goes off every day at 6pm and 8pm:

                   "Criteria": {
                       "param_1": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 17,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "1,2,3,4,5,6,7" 
                       },
                       "param_2": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 11,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "6:00pm ,20:00" 
                       } 
                   } 

For day of month timers, type 3, set CRITERIAPARMLIST_Day_Of_Month_CONST 18 to the days of the month, and CRITERIAPARMLIST_Time_of_day_CONST 11 to the time(s) of day. The following goes off on the 2nd and 7th of each month, at midnight, and 9:30:35pm

"Criteria": {
                       "param_1": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 18,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "2,7" 
                       },
                       "param_2": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 11,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "0:00,21:30:35" 
                       } 
                   } 

For absolute timers, set "PK_CriteriaParmList": 19 (CRITERIAPARMLIST_Specific_Date_CONST 19) and set the Value to the actual date/time. The following timer will go off on Feb 15, 2009 at 14:30:30

"PK_Timer_2": {
                   "Description": "New timer",
                   "Type": "4",
                   "Enabled": "1",
                   "commands_ids": [
                       
                   ],
                   "commands": {
                       
                   },
                   "Criteria": {
                       "param_1": {
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": 19,
                           "Operator": 1,
                           "Parm": "",
                           "Value": "2009-2-15 14:30:30" 
                       } 
                   } 
               } 
           },

Event

To make a scene happen automatically, add an Event. Note that any device in the system can fire any event. The event ID numbers and the parameters for each are defined intemplate_data. Therefore, when you add an event, this is a free-form template that can be used for any type of event. PK_CriteriaParmList is one of the following:

1=CRITERIAPARMLIST_System_CONST
2=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_Installation_CONST
3=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_Skin_CONST
5=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Month_CONST
8=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_Device_CONST
10=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_DeviceTemplate_CONST
11=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Time_of_day_CONST
12=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_DeviceCategory_CONST
13=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_Room_CONST
14=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_DeviceGroup_CONST
15=CRITERIAPARMLIST_House_Mode_CONST
16=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Room_Mode_CONST
17=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Day_Of_Week_CONST
18=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Day_Of_Month_CONST
19=CRITERIAPARMLIST_Specific_Date_CONST
20=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_RoomType_CONST
22=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_EventList_CONST
23=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_EventHandler_CONST
24=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_EventParameter_CONST
25=CRITERIAPARMLIST_User_Mode_CONST
26=CRITERIAPARMLIST_State_CONST

The operator is OPERATOR_EQUALS=1, OPERATOR_NOTEQUALS=2, OPERATOR_GREATERTHAN=3, OPERATOR_LESSTHAN=4, OPERATOR_CONTAINS=5.

Only CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_EventParameter_CONST uses the "Parm" field for the criteria, and in this case, the "Parm" field is the ID of the EventParameter and Value is the value of the event parameter.

The following event will be evaluated TRUE when the device #21 (see 8=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_Device_CONST, operator 1 is 1) fires the event #25 (EVENT_Temperature_Changed_CONST 25) and the parameter #30 for the event EVENTPARAMETER_Value_CONST 30 is >32 -- that is, (24=CRITERIAPARMLIST_PK_EventParameter_CONST parameter #30 operator 3=> and value is 32). In other words, when the thermostat says the temperature is > 32 degrees celsius the event will fire and the scene the event is attached to will be executed.

               "PK_Event_2": {
                   "Description": "temp reached",
                   "FK_CannedEvents": "101",
                   "PK_Event": "25",
                   "Enabled": "1",
                   "Criteria": {
                       "param_42": {
                           "Operator": "1",
                           "Value": "21",
                           "Parm": "",
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": "8" 
                       },
                       "param_43": {
                           "Operator": "3",
                           "Value": "32",
                           "PK_ParameterType": 2,
                           "Parm": "30",
                           "PK_CriteriaParmList": "24" 
                       } 
                   } 
               } 

Rather than presenting the user a free-form form to fill out to specify his event, Vera uses "Canned Events", which are defined in template_data. These are basically event templates that define some common events and what parameters to prompt the user for. In the example above, note the canned event is 101. In template data:

"PK_CannedEvents_101": { "Description":"Temperature is reached", "FK_Event":"25", "bIsAnd":"1", "bIsNot":"0" },

So it's an event handler for event #25, which is:

"PK_Event_25": { "FK_EventCategory":"10", "Description":"Temperature Changed" },

bIsAnd means all the parameters are AND'd together and must all match. If bIsAnd were 0, it would be an OR. bIsNot means the negative, that is, trip the event if all the criteria are false. You also see:

"PK_CannedEvents_CriteriaParmList_102": { "FK_CannedEvents":"101", "FK_CriteriaParmList":"8", "Description":"Which device?", "Comments":"", "Operator":"1", "Parm":"", "DefaultValue":"1", "ExtraInfo":"", "Required":"0" }, "PK_CannedEvents_CriteriaParmList_103": { "FK_CannedEvents":"101", "FK_CriteriaParmList":"24", "Description":"What temperature?", "Comments":"", "Operator":"1", "Parm":"30", "DefaultValue":"", "ExtraInfo":"", "Required":"0" },

So, when prompting the user for a "Temperature changed" event, we will want to get 2 things: the device, and the temperature. Notice that in Vera's UI, the user is prompted for both, and they become part of the event that is attached to the scene. (See template_data for the complete list of events.)

You do not necessarily need to parse template_data in your own UI implementation. The cleanest UI has a custom "hardcoded" panel for the user to fill out. But, template_data explains all the events Vera's UI prompts for and what values are used.

Sending Commands

The UI should always send commands with a return response (type r or o), as explained in Data Provider Catalog Plugin. The response will be "OK x" where x is the optional job #. For most Z-Wave activities, a job is created and the ID is returned. Some types of commands don't have job numbers, like controlling a camera. However, you must always check for an OK. It is normal that when you send a command it might not get through because the router is reloading the data, or the Z-Wave device is reset. After you submit new data with a user_data post, the router will reload, which takes a couple seconds, and then the Z-Wave device will also reload and re-configure any devices. So when sending a command, you should do this in a loop that tries to re-send the command every 5 seconds, for up to 30 seconds, until it gets an OK. During this time the UI should display some hourglass or something so the user knows his command hasn't been received or acknowledged yet. If the router and the Z-Wave module are already running, which is normally the case if you haven't just saved, you should get back the OK in less than 1 second. In the case of Z-Wave, the OK just means the command has been queued. It does not mean it's actually been sent on the Z-Wave network. Under normal circumstance the command will be sent right away. But, sometimes, the Z-Wave network may be busy. Or if the device is flaky, or if needs a lot of hops, or if it's a secure device which causes key exchange, the command can take a while to be processed. And, the command may fail. The initial OK just tells you the job was queued, not that it was successful.

To find out if the job was successful and monitor its progress, you can do 3 things:

1) you can use the zwave_status request (see Z-Wave Status). This shows you all the jobs that are currently active or were completed within the last 30 seconds. It is broken down by device, and will contain the job ID.

2) use job_status passing in the device ID only, such as http://127.0.0.1:3451/data_request?id=job_status&parameters=13 (for the parameter, you can pass either the device id of the Z-Wave device itself, or any of its children). This will return all jobs that are currently active. Jobs that are completed are not on the list. (See Data Provider Catalog Plugin Requests)

3) use the same request, but add [job #]. This will return just the information on the requested job, and you can get information on the job up to 3 minutes after the job has ended. ( See Data Provider Catalog Plugin Requests)

The reason for the 30 second timeout in option #1 is to make the UI presentation easier. The assumption is that if you're going to show all devices and icons representing the active jobs, after a job is completed and 30 seconds has passed, you probably don't want it on the list. But, if you're requesting specific information on a particular job, as in #3, you want the job info to be available as long as possible, and 3 minutes is how long a job is kept in the memory after completion before it's dumped.

Miscellaneous Test Tips

If you want to create some sample devices, run:

/usr/bin/MessageSend localhost 0 9 1 776 51 MANYNODES 88 xxx

where xxx is the number of sets of test devices. This will create a set of dummy devices that don't actually exist, but that you can see how they work in the UI. Such as a thermostat, light switch, etc. So if you run it with xxx=1, it will create 1 set. If you want to see how the UI looks with lots of creates, run it with 15. Run it with 0 to return to normal.