I currently have an insteon system and I am considering the jump to the ISY994i because it meets a lot of my needs, but I have a few questions
The setup is as follows
a 2245-222 hub
a 2413u v1.5 connected to a windows server using houselink with UPS backup
10+ switch lincs (dual band, will probably add a few more)
1 keypad linc
a few lamp lincs (dual band)
I/o link for garage door 3 motion detectors
2 x foscams
3x 2634 outdoor modules
ecobee thermostat
6 raspberry PIs running various RGB strip light controllers/weather station/sprinkler system/ power monitoring that I would like to send event from/to (already have rest or web page interfaces)
3-4 legacy X10 switches that are rarely used and will probably get replaced if they become more heavily used
The home server will always be on for other purposes (media/scheduled applications)
Currently I use Houselink for all of the setup/scheduling and the hub is just for lighting control access through/phone tablet inside the house, but it isn't very integrated and the number of devices seems like it is an issue. Also the FTDI drivers/updates are a periodic issue with Houselink on the server
Since I have the USB PLM I would like to use that, but I have seen nothing on the forums about supporting it in the future so the serial PLM is an added cost I wasn't originally anticipating. Is there any possibility of it being supported in the future?
The primary application for the ISY looks to be a Java program, which is fine for configuration, however I would like an html5 webpage based control panel to be able to embed it into the rest of the system and use from tablet/home theater PC etc. The web app seems to be java api based and that will not work on the browsers I use. Ideally I don't want to have to write webpage based a front end if one exists and can be modified. I have to hit a high Wife Acceptance Factor (more specifically hide the complexity for daily tasks, complex backend stuff as fine as long as it fails gracefully) and prevent child machinations from re-configuring or reassigning (they won't have physical or cyber access to the server/controllers at least until I can train/trust them to maintain it) What options do I have for limited access control on the local LAN?
Is the network module required for the REST/Java/webservices SDK?
Is mobilinc the only app option that is worth considering (android)? we have multiple devices and accounts that would be used so a web page interface would still be better than an app for cost purposes
Is the network module required to interface to other devices on the LAN? What exactly is the network module software? This is just to confirm it is something I will need to purchase or not.
What benefits does the portal module bring, it looks like it is mostly for remote access, echo and IFTTT? Is the portal required to have the 994i connect to these services? I already have a secure mechanism to remote access segments of my home network remotely and I don't have a lot of interest in exposing external services to my control network (and currently anything that I am experimenting with is in a sandboxed virtual machine on the server).
I have potentially some use for Zwave in the future and may get the option for future compatibility, but I did see a note that newer zwave protocol version are not support by the 994i chipset/firmware are there any practical constraints I should be aware of?
Is there any plans for a newer model of hardware in the next year or is the hardware stabilized?
I believe the answers to most of these questions are anything is possible with the ISY, but I am just wondering how much work the transition will be and how much glue I need to use.