ISY Not Responding

[smokegrub]

I am 325 miles away from an ISY that is not responding to either the Admin Console or MobiLinc. The area experienced power interruptions yesterday so that is the likely cause. What steps need to be taken to restore the ISY? I can ask someone to drop by and take such steps provided they are easy to follow. Second, will the PLM continue to execute existing programs until we return?

 

My most serious problem is regaining the ability to turn the irrigation system on remotely using the ISY.

[Teken]

I am 325 miles away from an ISY that is not responding to either the Admin Console or MobiLinc. The area experienced power interruptions yesterday so that is the likely cause. What steps need to be taken to restore the ISY? I can ask someone to drop by and take such steps provided they are easy to follow. Second, will the PLM continue to execute existing programs until we return?

 

My most serious problem is regaining the ability to turn the irrigation system on remotely using the ISY.

 

The most frequent problem is the ISY comes up before it detects the PLM. This causes the system to declare a PLM network connection issue.

 

If someone can drop by to unplug the PLM. Remove power from the ISY, then plug back in the PLM. Once that is done they can apply power to the ISY Series Controller.

 

Most folks tend to just unplug the ISY and leave it at that. In my experience if the power is coming on and off or brown outs are present this can cause the PLM to lock up. This is why I always suggest removing power from both devices and letting each device come back on line.

 

If doing the above does not allow you to have remote access more than likely this is a network related issue. I am assuming you assigned the ISY a fixed IP address or locked it using a MAC reservation in the router?

[smokegrub]

Thanks, Teken. I will contact someone and have them do what you suggest.

[Teken]

Thanks, Teken. I will contact someone and have them do what you suggest.

 

If the state of the modem / router is not known.

 

I would highly suggest they hard reboot the ISP modem / router to ensure its fully operational. They will of course need to do that portion first and wait for the unit to be fully up before moving on to the next step. Which is to power down both the PLM & ISY.

 

Most ISP modems / routers take about 3-5 minutes to come back up fully.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello smokegrub,

 

Although Teken is correct, a non-responding PLM should NOT cause ISY not to respond. I think Teken's other suspicion is more valid:

1. ISY may not have had a static IP address or DHCP reservation and thus no longer on the same IP address

2. Your router got a new IP address from your ISP and thus no longer on the same IP address

3. If you used UPnP for port forwarding, the router lost the the mapping and ISY could not reconfigure it at boot up

 

For my own home/office, I have a program called Boot up which sends me an email every time ISY is rebooted. If ISY is rebooted and I get the email, then I know the issue is IP address related.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[larryllix]

Would ISY re-ask for an IP address if the router is slower booting and ISY didn't get one on boot-up?

 

In the case it didn't  rebooting the router may work. Do you have remote access to the router?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi larryllix,

 

Yes, it will try 3 times but not more. In 99.99% of the cases, this should be sufficient.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[smokegrub]

I called my ISP and they pinged the modem. The "robot" said I had no internet and told me to unplug the modem and follow their further instructions. Since I was not there that was impossible. I have asked a family member to go there and follow Cox's instructions. All good advice above. Will update as things proceed.

 

My profound thanks.

[Teken]

I called my ISP and they pinged the modem. The "robot" said I had no internet and told me to unplug the modem and follow their further instructions. Since I was not there that was impossible. I have asked a family member to go there and follow Cox's instructions. All good advice above. Will update as things proceed.

 

My profound thanks.

Should finance allow some of us have purchased a web based remote switch. This switch can be programmed to ping any network device based on your set criteria.

 

Should that network device not reply in the allotted time the system can be turned on, off, or cycled.

 

I've been using them for more than 15 years and has saved my bacon countless times! ️

 

Just something to consider for the future.

 

 

Ideals are peaceful - History is violent

[smokegrub]

Should finance allow some of us have purchased a web based remote switch. This switch can be programmed to ping any network device based on your set criteria.

 

Should that network device not reply in the allotted time the system can be turned on, off, or cycled.

 

I've been using them for more than 15 years and has saved my bacon countless times! ️

 

Just something to consider for the future.

 

 

Ideals are peaceful - History is violent

Teken:

 

That sounds really interesting. Would youy mind providing details. I am away from one or the other of two loactions all the time. Both have ISYs and both have features that I consider critical. During the winter we never visit one location and it would bve wonderful if I could address problems remotely.

[Teken]

Teken:

 

That sounds really interesting. Would youy mind providing details. I am away from one or the other of two loactions all the time. Both have ISYs and both have features that I consider critical. During the winter we never visit one location and it would bve wonderful if I could address problems remotely.

 

This is the unit I have been using at home and supporting in our Enterprise environment. There are many other brands out there but few offer so many features for the price point.

 

 http://www.digital-loggers.com/lpc.html

[smokegrub]

Teken: I went to the site and reviewed the material. What the device does and the steps necessary to do them are definitely high-tech and causes me some consternation as to whether I would be able to set it up and use it. Although I dabbled with Basic programming many years ago, I have no desire to undertake that endeavor again. At this point, all I would want/need to be able to do is reboot my modem remotely.

[Teken]

Teken: I went to the site and reviewed the material. What the device does and the steps necessary to do them are definitely high-tech and causes me some consternation as to whether I would be able to set it up and use it. Although I dabbled with Basic programming many years ago, I have no desire to undertake that endeavor again. At this point, all I would want/need to be able to do is reboot my modem remotely.

 

Understood, and please understand the unit can do this either manually or automatically. Obviously if the modem was down the manual method would not be a option because there would be no connection to the device. I know the literature seems a little overwhelming but rest assured that is for the more advanced portions of the unit.

 

Otherwise all of the basic functions are very straight forward.

 

I have attached a screen capture of the ping tab. As you can see all it requires is the IP address of the device you wish to ping. At the bottom are the default attributes which (IF) met will start the auto reboot process.

 

You can tailor the values that meet your specific needs.

 

As I stated this is just one of many web based auto boot devices on the market today. This unit also has a iOS App so you can perform a limited amount of control from on, off, cycle.

 

Should you require more insight or guidance please do let me know. As I am sure if this device is what you seek I and many others can help you move along.

 

As an aside: I wanted to share with you a very simple code which Michel touch upon earlier. This simple yet effective code was provided by Xathros. This program will send you a e-mail when the ISY has rebooted and return the *Uptime* the system has been running for since the reboot.

 

 ISY Uptime - [iD 0265][Parent 012A][Run At Startup]

 

If

   - No Conditions - (To add one, press 'Schedule' or 'Condition')

 

Then

        Send Notification to 'GMX' content 'ISY - Uptime Counter'

        Wait  1 minute and 30 seconds

        $i.ISY_Uptime_Counter  = 0

        $i.ISY_Uptime_Counter Init To 0

        Run Program 'ISY Uptime' (Else Path)

 

Else

        Wait  1 hour 

        $i.ISY_Uptime_Counter += 1

        $i.ISY_Uptime_Counter Init To $i.ISY_Uptime_Counter

        Run Program 'ISY Uptime' (Else Path)

 

NOTE: This program will track the ISY Series Controllers operating uptime. It will increment every 

hour the controller is running. A e-mail will be sent upon the ISY being rebooted. This program

is set to run at start up and this is how it knows the controller has been rebooted.

 

The (init) value is set to (0) zero so it knows the system has been rebooted.

[Teken]

This is another module that offers similar features and other extra's: http://dataprobe.com/iboot.html

[smokegrub]

Update:

 

My son-in-law rebooted the modem successfully but the ISY remained offline. I instructed him to remove the PLM, remove the power from the ISY and wait at least 30 seconds. He then repowered the ISY and when it was displaying the proper light he repowered the PLM. All is well! Thanks again.

 

Teken, would the device you recommended have enabled me to do all this remotely?

[Teken]

Update:

 

My son-in-law rebooted the modem successfully but the ISY remained offline. I instructed him to remove the PLM, remove the power from the ISY and wait at least 30 seconds. He then repowered the ISY and when it was displaying the proper light he repowered the PLM. All is well! Thanks again.

 

Teken, would the device you recommended have enabled me to do all this remotely?

 

Yes, it would have allowed you to ping the ISY / Modem. You then could have done one of several actions based on your circumstances.

 

For the benefit of others I will describe a few scenarios which you should keep in mind. First, with this device you have the power to perform several actions and that is turn On, Off, Cycle power.

 

This device also has a *dead mans switch* which allows you to program the unit to do the following which really helps those who have specific needs or environments.

 

If power is lost to this web enabled switch it can be programmed to leave all outlets off upon power restore, turn all outlets on in a delayed sequence this is great for devices that take longer to come back on or draw a large current load. This insures you don't trip a breaker, or have something come back up out of sequence.

 

The last option is the unit will bring up what ever outlet in its last known On/Off state.

 

Now, one thing I have to mention is many devices for instances will reply back to a ping command. But, you soon realize in fact the system is still frozen or locked up. So even with a *Ping Alive* this is not a silver bullet in all cases, so keep this in mind.

 

As many devices on the market either have the hardware / software stack tied, separated, or tied to one another with respect to replying back to a ping. It should also be noted many routers / modems also have features where if *Enabled* will not reply back to a ping.

 

You need to be doubly sure this feature *black hole detect* is disabled or modified to allow these sort of ping alive attributes to operate as expected.

 

My intent is to give you the best information and guidance so you know what can, can't, won't happen.

 

Having said all the above, I would ask you to think about it for awhile and if you still believe these devices have value consider buying one. I can tell you from more than 25 years in the industry it has saved me hundreds of air plane / road trips just to cycle power from a locked device.

 

At home it has saved me many times and for me was definitely worth the expense.

[stusviews]

Update:

 

My son-in-law rebooted the modem successfully but the ISY remained offline. I instructed him to remove the PLM, remove the power from the ISY and wait at least 30 seconds. He then repowered the ISY and when it was displaying the proper light he repowered the PLM. All is well! Thanks again.

 

It's great that it worked. The usual procedure is to power up the PLM first, then the ISY.