Email Speed

[RickL66]

I'm startling to like this ISY-99i.

 

Since I'm trying to switch from Homeseer to ISY-99i by itself, I've run into one thing that probably needs improvement. I'm deaf and I'm using Insteon to notify me when someone is at the door or when my phone rings. I'm using an I/O Linc with Elk's Doorbell and Phone Ring Detector. With Homeseer, when my doorbell chimes or phone rings, I've set up an email notification that goes to my Blackberry and tells me if someone is at the door or if the phone is ringing. I usually get the email no more than 5 seconds after the trigger. That's plenty fast for me to answer the phone before they hang up or leaving someone outside my door too long.

 

With the ISY-99i, it takes about 1-2 minutes before I finally get the email notification. That is way too slow. Is that normal? This is the program I've set up...

 

If
    Control 'Doorbell I/O' is switched On

Then
    Send Notification to All
    Repeat 4 times
         Set 'Office Recess Light' On
         Wait 1 second
         Set 'Office Recess Light' Off
         Wait 1 second

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

Thanks,

Rick

[tome]

With the ISY-99i, it takes about 1-2 minutes before I finally get the email notification. That is way too slow. Is that normal? This is the program I've set up...

 

I suspect it is your email provider (or server if you run your own) and not the ISY. I have tested this with my ISY and it sends the mail nearly instantly after a program is executed. I can watch the mail logs on my mail server (which is physically across the country from where I live) and see the ISY always send email within a few seconds of the request to do so.

[RickL66]

I suspect it is your email provider (or server if you run your own) and not the ISY.

 

It's not my mail provider. Like I said, I currently have Homeseer set up the same way, if my doorbell I/O Linc is triggered, I get the email instantly (4 seconds tops from ringing the doorbell, to my Blackberry). It is somewhere between 18 seconds (the best I could get) to somewhere around a minute with the ISY. I tried port 25, and 587... it is faster with 587, but 18 seconds is still too slow for my visual notification. I'll continue playing with it some more.

[tome]

I suspect it is your email provider (or server if you run your own) and not the ISY.

 

It's not my mail provider. Like I said, I currently have Homeseer set up the same way, if my doorbell I/O Linc is triggered, I get the email instantly (4 seconds tops from ringing the doorbell, to my Blackberry). It is somewhere between 18 seconds (the best I could get) to somewhere around a minute with the ISY. I tried port 25, and 587... it is faster with 587, but 18 seconds is still too slow for my visual notification. I'll continue playing with it some more.

 

I am using TLS on an obscure port. I just checked it again, my ISY sends the mail to my server within a couple seconds of the execution.

 

BTW, I am running 2.7.7 alpha. What version of software is on your ISY?

 

Are you sending it from both Homeseer and ISY at the same time? It could be that your provider is closing one of the connections from your home and then the ISY has to retry. Just a guess, but I wouldn't make any assumptions about the cause until you can verify that the ISY is holding the notification. Unfortunately, I don't see a way via Event View or Telnet to see what the ISY is doing. Can you send it to a different destination where you could watch it come in?

[RickL66]

I am using TLS on an obscure port. I just checked it again, my ISY sends the mail to my server within a couple seconds of the execution.

 

BTW, I am running 2.7.7 alpha. What version of software is on your ISY?

 

Are you sending it from both Homeseer and ISY at the same time? It could be that your provider is closing one of the connections from your home and then the ISY has to retry. Just a guess, but I wouldn't make any assumptions about the cause until you can verify that the ISY is holding the notification. Unfortunately, I don't see a way via Event View or Telnet to see what the ISY is doing. Can you send it to a different destination where you could watch it come in?

 

My version is 2.7.0. I tried to upgrade to the 2.7.6 beta but it wouldn't let me, I guess I have not really read the upgrade instructions carefully -yet.

 

Anyway... No, I am not sending from both Homeseer and ISY at the same time. I disabled Homeseer, switched to ISY, ran tests, took out ISY, put Homeseer back on. I did this about 4 or 5 times until I was absolutely sure it was ISY that was slow not my internet connection or network. It was a minimum 18 seconds every time with ISY and always under 5 seconds with Homeseer.

[tome]

My version is 2.7.0. I tried to upgrade to the 2.7.6 beta but it wouldn't let me, I guess I have not really read the upgrade instructions carefully -yet.

 

Ah, very likely this is the difference. Possibly one of the fixes in 2.7.7. I would normally not run an alpha software but I must say that this one of the most stable bits of code I have ever seen in alpha. I would highly recommend 2.7.7 and apparently a new release is about to come out 2.7.7/2.

[RickL66]

Ah, very likely this is the difference. Possibly one of the fixes in 2.7.7. I would normally not run an alpha software but I must say that this one of the most stable bits of code I have ever seen in alpha. I would highly recommend 2.7.7 and apparently a new release is about to come out 2.7.7/2.

 

Hmm, I hope you are right. I will email the guy and ask for the Alpha release zip and see if that works out to make my email faster. Thanks!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi RickL66,

 

The email speed depends on three things:

1. The specified timeout

2. How long it takes the SMTP server to respond

3. How many other tasks of higher priority are running

 

It's quite unlikely that ISY will ever be able to send emails within 5 seconds.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[tome]

Hi RickL66,

 

The email speed depends on three things:

1. The specified timeout

2. How long it takes the SMTP server to respond

3. How many other tasks of higher priority are running

 

It's quite unlikely that ISY will ever be able to send emails within 5 seconds.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Well, I do admit my ISY isn't doing all that much yet since I only have a dozen devices or so and a half dozen programs mostly running at sunset/sunrise. However, as I said I am running a little program that notifies me if my motion sensor goes off and the ISY connects/disconnects from my SMTP server within several seconds when I trip the MS.

 

Tome

[RickL66]

Hi RickL66,

 

The email speed depends on three things:

1. The specified timeout

2. How long it takes the SMTP server to respond

3. How many other tasks of higher priority are running

 

It's quite unlikely that ISY will ever be able to send emails within 5 seconds.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Thanks Michel. I was using 2.7.0 and the best I got my emails was in 18 seconds or longer. I finally tried the 2.7.6 beta and it's down to 14 seconds. If I could hear, that would be good enough for me, but since I rely on visual notifications and getting notifications to my Blackberry due to my deafness, it is critical that I get notified quicker. I am going to be getting 2.7.7/2 next week, don't know if it would make a difference in email speeds, but we'll see. Thanks for the response.

 

Rick

[slopdog]

I run my own mail server at home. Using version 2.7.6, i get email in 18 seconds. I am converting from HAL 2000, on that, you could execute programs located on disk. I had a bunch of .BAT files set up that would send me pop up messages on computer when an event was triggered. Hopefully i can find a way to do that with ISY.

[intellihome]

FYI

I use the ISY mail server for notifications and get email response in about 15 to 30 seconds very reliably.

 

My Homeseer2 takes about the same time via my ISP SMTP.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi RickL66,

 

I think a better solution would be Network Module and perhaps a private Twitter account (or facebook). This way, the messages will get there almost immediately (http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=2795).

 

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Hi RickL66,

 

The email speed depends on three things:

1. The specified timeout

2. How long it takes the SMTP server to respond

3. How many other tasks of higher priority are running

 

It's quite unlikely that ISY will ever be able to send emails within 5 seconds.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Thanks Michel. I was using 2.7.0 and the best I got my emails was in 18 seconds or longer. I finally tried the 2.7.6 beta and it's down to 14 seconds. If I could hear, that would be good enough for me, but since I rely on visual notifications and getting notifications to my Blackberry due to my deafness, it is critical that I get notified quicker. I am going to be getting 2.7.7/2 next week, don't know if it would make a difference in email speeds, but we'll see. Thanks for the response.

 

Rick

[RickL66]

Woo! I finally got my emails in under 5 seconds! I get them about 3 or 4 seconds after it is triggered... see my solution here:

 

http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php?t=3684

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi RickL66,

 

I was hoping that you would use the network module to post (HTTP) to your twitter or facebook account. This way, you would not need to use a mail server at all.

 

I will respond to your other post shortly.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[RickL66]

Hi RickL66,

 

I was hoping that you would use the network module to post (HTTP) to your twitter or facebook account. This way, you would not need to use a mail server at all.

 

I will respond to your other post shortly.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

I did make it post to my twitter account - but the problem I have is - I'm not always at my computer, nor my Blackberry gets twitter updates instantly. This is my scenario:

 

I'm hearing impaired, I cannot hear the phone ring or doorbell. I'm outside in the backyard cleaning the patio. Someone rings the doorbell. My Elk Doorbell Detector triggers the I/O Link and tells ISY-99i to send me an email right away - all under 5 seconds. My Blackberry vibrates with a message that someone is at the door... I stop what I'm doing and go answer the door.

 

If there is a way to get my tweets to my Blackberry that fast, I probably would go that route.

 

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi RickL66,

 

Thanks so very much for the detailed explanation. I am going to think about it a little. I just don't like the fact that there's another piece of hardware required just to make this scenario to work.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[RickL66]

Hi RickL66,

 

Thanks so very much for the detailed explanation. I am going to think about it a little. I just don't like the fact that there's another piece of hardware required just to make this scenario to work.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

Me neither. If the standard Notification was faster, then it would be perfect. I was playing with my ISY last night and thought of something... If I can use my ISY as a web server, can Apache and PHP 5.2 be installed? if it's possible, I could use the php mail function directly from the ISY hardware all by itself.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Rick,

 

Unfortunately you cannot install Apache and PHP on ISY ...

 

I am going to work on our email client code and see what's causing such long delays. In software, everything is possible.

 

Thanks so very much for your patience.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Rick,

 

I just wanted to let you know that we spent hours trying to improve the performance of our email client. I am happy to say that we got some improvements (below 10 seconds) but we have reached the limits of SMTP specifications: authentication takes approximately 2 seconds. Every recipient takes an additional 2 seconds. TLS/SSL (gmail) takes 3 seconds for negotiating keys. The rest of the conversation is in sub seconds.

 

We should have 2.7.8 out today so please do be kind enough to test. Make sure you change the timeout to the lowest possible number that consistently works (for me 400 ms works consistently with all my mail accounts).

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[RickL66]

Hi Michel - I am back and have a new ISY99i now and I am going to give this a try again. I basically returned my ISY99i back in 2009 when I was not able to accomplish what I needed. Looks like you guys have made big improvements. I have updated to the latest 3.1.13 Beta. I thought I read somewhere that the Network Module is now included? Am I wrong?

 

Thanks,

Rick

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Rick,

 

Welcome back ... Network Module does not come with ISY. Please send us an email and we'll try to accommodate.

 

Also, in 3.1.0 and above, we have made major networking performance improvements so please try the email/notifications first and see if they meet your requirements.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[RickL66]

Hi Michel - I have tested the email speed, and by golly, it sure is fast and a big improvement from two years ago when I last used ISY99i. I can now get emails in about 1 or 2 seconds. Thanks!