Philips Hue Hub Config for Polisy

[StangManD]

Hello, if this has been documented already somewhere else I apologize, I was not able to find it.  With bits and pieces from reviewing various old posts, I was able to figure this one out without much to go off of so figured I would document it for anyone else looking to do the same or for anyone new to the Polisy for this pretty basic integration.

My objective was simply to have good light bulb control for my lamps.  Outside of a few lamps in my home, I exclusively use Insteon switches but have yet to find a good wireless bulb that comes recommended outside of Hue for integrating into Polisy.

 

Assumptions:

- Polisy and Hue hub are on the same local network, same VLAN, or firewall rules have been created to allow communication between these devices if on separate VLANs.

 

Prerequisites:

- A functioning (fully updated) Polisy on your home network

- A Hue hub on your home network (although there are ways around this, I chose to use an actual hub for various reasons)

- Hue light bulbs added to your Hue hub and confirmed to be working properly from the Hue app (get this completed first)

- Be in close proximity of your Hue hub as you will need to press the button and then click a button within the ISY dashboard, so you will likely want a laptop for this step depending how close your computer is to the hue hub

 

Process:

- Log into PG3 from the launcher

- Click on Node Server Store

- Scroll down to find Hue and click Install

- Click on your ISY Dashboard tab across the top so you are looking at your additional node servers, including your newly installed Hue

- Click Details for your Hue node server

- Press the round button on top of your Hue hub

- Within 30 seconds, click Restart in your Hue node server

          - This will trigger it to discover all of the available devices/rooms/etc. configured on that Hue hub

- Now you should be able to go back to your UD Launcher and open up the admin console

          - At this point, when the admin console started it's refresh cycle upon opening, it discovered the Hue hub and all associated devices, etc. that were discovered during the "button press phase" of discovery

 

That's it... it's as easy as that.  Again, this may be covered elsewhere however I was not able to find any simple, straight forward (new) install process... only older threads which seem to be prior to the PG3 node server for this integration.

 

Things I like about this integration and Hue especially... it does NOT require you to create yet another login to some cloud service, etc.  Additionally, it's all local control, no dependency on Internet or cloud services.

 

I hope someone else finds this helpful, I am by every definition a beginner to Polisy and IoP, so please excuse any incorrect terminology.

 

Thank you

[jlamb]

@StangManD

Can you post what your hue node server configuration screen looks like in ISY.  Mine is not populating automatically so I may need to add it manually, but not sure of the proper inputs into that screen.

Jasson

[DCardellini01]

StangManD:

Thx for posting this.  Long time ISY user (about 16 years), but never touched the Node server path both pre-Polisy and now.  Not even familiar with the concept and how it integrates in.

I have a new setup that really needs lots of bulbs of different types:  standard, BR30, PAR30, PAR20, chandelier, etc.  And Philips really appears to be the only reliable game in town....so I bought a ton of bulbs and have them running under the Hue right now.  And of course lots of Insteon stuff, and especially wall keypads and mini-remotes (really important and mind-boggling that neither Z-Wave nor Zigbee has filled this path).

Now it is time to integrate it under my ISY994IR-PRO.  Found a great post on here for how to quickly communicate to the Hue Bridge via REST commands in ISY Programs.  And I guess the proper integration is to make two programs for every scene that includes a Hue device, and have those programs called when the Scene is turned on and off.

It just seems kind of messy when 50% of my stuff is under the Hue.

So to my Question!  What improvement can I expect if I buy a Polisy and use the Hue Node server?

Can I simply add Hue node devices directly into Scenes as if it were an Insteon Device?

Is there two way communication like Insteon for use in programs (like "if HueDevice1 is switched on, then do X")

Is the ISY functionality build into the Polisy yet, or do I need two boxes?

Thx in advance for a rough comparison for the non-Node server approach to Hue with REST commands, and the Polisy- Hue Node server in practical application.

Dave

 

[roberthleeii]

2 hours ago, dcard said:

StangManD:

Thx for posting this.  Long time ISY user (about 16 years), but never touched the Node server path both pre-Polisy and now.  Not even familiar with the concept and how it integrates in.

I have a new setup that really needs lots of bulbs of different types:  standard, BR30, PAR30, PAR20, chandelier, etc.  And Philips really appears to be the only reliable game in town....so I bought a ton of bulbs and have them running under the Hue right now.  And of course lots of Insteon stuff, and especially wall keypads and mini-remotes (really important and mind-boggling that neither Z-Wave nor Zigbee has filled this path).

Now it is time to integrate it under my ISY994IR-PRO.  Found a great post on here for how to quickly communicate to the Hue Bridge via REST commands in ISY Programs.  And I guess the proper integration is to make two programs for every scene that includes a Hue device, and have those programs called when the Scene is turned on and off.

It just seems kind of messy when 50% of my stuff is under the Hue.

So to my Question!  What improvement can I expect if I buy a Polisy and use the Hue Node server?

Can I simply add Hue node devices directly into Scenes as if it were an Insteon Device?

Is there two way communication like Insteon for use in programs (like "if HueDevice1 is switched on, then do X")

Is the ISY functionality build into the Polisy yet, or do I need two boxes?

Thx in advance for a rough comparison for the non-Node server approach to Hue with REST commands, and the Polisy- Hue Node server in practical application.

Dave

 

I am going to attempt to answer some of your questions but please remember that I am a newbie, i had a lot of the same questions that you have. I just ordered a Polisy and will be moving everything there. 

With the node server I think you can add your hue devices (and groups, not 100% sure on this) like any other device you are use to in the ISY but not the hue scenes. If you want to use the hue app to create scenes and call those scenes from the ISY it appears the best option is to just call the hue scene with at Network Resource to call that specific scene. It does appear that there is some scene interaction in the NS but there is something about the way it generates the names that won't match to the isy. You can also create the scenes in the ISY directly and call them there with the NS. 

The NS will keep the ISY up to date on the status of devices so if you use the hue app or accessories to turn on a light or group you should be able to trigger an event from that.  

Take what I said with a grain of salt because i don't even have my Polisy yet ?‍♂️?‍♂️, i am just basing this off the research i have been doing on here over the last couple of months. 

[DCardellini01]

Thx roberthleeii.

In general, I see no reason to make scenes/groups in the Hue Hub.  Prefer to keep the intelligence in one location, and that is the ISY (and prob Polisy).  Are you keeping a separate box for ISY and the Polisy Box, or are you hosting the ISY functionality in the Polisy?

It does sound like I want the Polisy.  Hope others will weigh in.

thx again.

[roberthleeii]

6 hours ago, dcard said:

Thx roberthleeii.

In general, I see no reason to make scenes/groups in the Hue Hub.  Prefer to keep the intelligence in one location, and that is the ISY (and prob Polisy).  Are you keeping a separate box for ISY and the Polisy Box, or are you hosting the ISY functionality in the Polisy?

It does sound like I want the Polisy.  Hope others will weigh in.

thx again.

I had several z-wave bulbs before i started switching to hue bulbs, and i really like the hue app for creating the scenes compared to creating them on the isy. just my opinion, maybe i just like playing with the hue app ?

My understanding is the polisy can do it all. When mine comes in i am going to set mine up and run both for a while while i slowing switch everything over to the Polisy. You can do some sort of migration over to the Polisy but i don't know much about that. I am trying to figure out what i want to do withmy ISY when i am done with it.

[dthomson]

Thanks, StangManD, for the very useful step-by-step.  I’ve got a new Polisy (replaces an ISY 994 I’ve had for years), have installed the Hue Node Server in PG3, pressed the Hue hub button and within 30 seconds clicked Restart in the Hue Node Server in PG3, as per your instructions.  The Hue nodes are discovered and do indeed appear there in PG3 under the Hue “Nodes” tab, so that’s promising.  But when I restart the Admin Console they don’t appear there. This is my first node server installation.  I don’t see the PG3 slot 1 (the slot where I installed Hue) node server in the Admin Console under the “Node Servers” tab (it says Empty).  Am I not understanding the relationship between Node Servers in Polyglot PG3 and the Admin Console?  I definitely have the Polisy selected under the PG3 “ISYs” tab (the older ISY 994 is offline) and configured the user name and password there.  But PG3 and the Admin Console appear not to be talking to each other.  Suggestions?

Edited May 6, 2022 by dthomson
Forgot graphic

[DCardellini01]

Kind of surprised at lack of support on this thread.  Perhaps the information I seek is readily available and I just have not done my homework before asking here.  Or maybe this is just a fringe application (Philips Hue device control through ISY) that just doesn't get much interest on the forums.

Not just my questions, but roberthleeii and dthomson questions too.  Was ready to pull the trigger on the Polisy, but tepid support here makes me hestitate.

[kzboray]

@dcard I don't use the Hue NS, but here's some of your questions answered from the NS page itself. The PG2 version has been ported to PG3 so expect similar functionality.

UDI Polyglot v2 Philips Hue Poly

This Poly provides an interface between Hue Bridge and Polyglot v2 server. All Philips branded bulbs are supported (Dimmable, White, Color and Extended Color), bulbs could be added to the Insteon scenes as responders and should respond to all basic commands, including dimming.

Configuration

Once installed - push the button on the Hue Bridge and add Node server into Polyglot, that will allow it to pair with the Bridge. If you have been using v1 of the Hue Poly - you will likely have a file named bridges, copy that file into ~/.python_hue - you should be able to skip the pairing process and start this Poly out of the box.

Sometimes automatic bridge IP address discovery fails, in that case - you can specify Bridge IP address in a custom parameter ip for the Node server using Polyglot's frontend interface. Additionally - if username parameter is given - Node server will use it (in case you have a username established already and don't want another one created on the Bridge).

Notes

Poly assumes that Bridge IP address never change, so it is recommended that you create an IP address reservation for the Hue Bridge on your router.

Please report any problems on the UDI user forum.

Thanks and good luck.

History

1. Phue Library with minor modifications is used as a backend.
2. Original Implementation of the Hue Poly by UniversalDevices team was a base.
3. LiFX Poly was used as a template in order to re-write this Poly for Polyglot v2

[lilyoyo1]

1 hour ago, dcard said:

Kind of surprised at lack of support on this thread.  Perhaps the information I seek is readily available and I just have not done my homework before asking here.  Or maybe this is just a fringe application (Philips Hue device control through ISY) that just doesn't get much interest on the forums.

Not just my questions, but roberthleeii and dthomson questions too.  Was ready to pull the trigger on the Polisy, but tepid support here makes me hestitate.

What support are you looking for on a forum? Most people generally post on forums when they have a problem. Due to the nature of the title, most would've read it and moved on (unless they needed the info).

If you're looking for a response to your posts, you should've started your own thread vs piggybacking off someone else's only for it to get lost in the mix with other on going posts. By starting your own thread, you increase the chance of others seeing it and responding. . 

While UDI may chime in here from time to time, this is a mainly a peer driven forum. Members choose to respond to forum posts but are under no obligation to do so either. 

If a person is looking for developer support, they should properly tag that developer (by adding @ and start typing the name and then choosing it when it pops up) vs a member who may or may not check on often. Ditto for UDI support or better, submit a ticket. 

As you can clearly see, these forums are quite active with members willing to take time out of their day and families to help others in need. The tepid response is more about members improperly piggybacking on a post vs taking the time to start a new one to get their questions answered.... especially when it comes down to technical support. 

In regards to the information you seek, yes, polisy is running the isy software and has been since last year some time. There's a sub-forum (IOP) for it which can be found on the main page under the Polisy header. 

The first 2 posts under the original V2 Node server answers the rest of your posts. Since the V3 version is new and most members would've come from V2, you'll see a lot more information there than you will here for the time being

 

 

[DCardellini01]

@kzboray and @lilyoyo1:

Thanks so much for your help here.  I kinda knew I would get a bit of a beating for my more aggressive request for help.  Yep, I deserved that.  Perhaps the most important point was that I did not aim for success with new top-level thread post.  I tend to not want to do that, and see value in enriching an existing thread on related subject that had run its course (not hijack and change on-going discussion).

Apologies for any ruffled feathers.  I often look for solutions on forums first, and have done many times in past here over past 16 years.  When I absolutely hit a brick wall, Michael has always come through with fantastic support.

Again, THX!  I'll be ordering the Polisy shortly.  Just needed to build my confidence a bit.

[roberthleeii]

8 hours ago, dcard said:

@kzboray and @lilyoyo1:

Thanks so much for your help here.  I kinda knew I would get a bit of a beating for my more aggressive request for help.  Yep, I deserved that.  Perhaps the most important point was that I did not aim for success with new top-level thread post.  I tend to not want to do that, and see value in enriching an existing thread on related subject that had run its course (not hijack and change on-going discussion).

Apologies for any ruffled feathers.  I often look for solutions on forums first, and have done many times in past here over past 16 years.  When I absolutely hit a brick wall, Michael has always come through with fantastic support.

Again, THX!  I'll be ordering the Polisy shortly.  Just needed to build my confidence a bit.

@dcard I think you will like the Polisy. I have had mine for a few days and i really like it.  With the hue NS I have been able to keep track of light status so I can control the lights by app, wall keypad, and alexa keeping it all in sync showing the status with the LED light on my keypad. It is a complicated set of programs but I think it will solve all of my needs. 

[DCardellini01]

Thx for update, @roberthleeii.

Made my purchase this morning.

[Phil G]

On 4/30/2022 at 5:02 PM, jlamb said:

@StangManD

Can you post what your hue node server configuration screen looks like in ISY.  Mine is not populating automatically so I may need to add it manually, but not sure of the proper inputs into that screen.

Jasson

Jason,

I seem to be having the same issue. Did you find a solution?

I only see 1 node, huebridge, on both the IoP and the PG3. I have tried StangMan's directions. Also tried 'add all nodes' from the Node Servers > Configure drop-down, and the 'Re-Discover Bulbs' button for the IoP Hue node.

Thanks in advance for any help. 

[Bumbershoot]

19 hours ago, Hoosier Daddy said:

I only see 1 node, huebridge, on both the IoP and the PG3. I have tried StangMan's directions. Also tried 'add all nodes' from the Node Servers > Configure drop-down, and the 'Re-Discover Bulbs' button for the IoP Hue node.

 

I assume you've done the following two things:

1) pressed the round button on the Hue Bridge
2) restarted the Hue Node server within 30 seconds of when you pressed the button

Additional nodes should start appearing in the PG3.  You may need to try this more than once (I believe it took several tries in my case).

You might have to specify an IP address for the Hue Bridge (I just set a static IP reservation for it in my WiFi).

On 5/10/2022 at 2:14 PM, kzboray said:

Sometimes automatic bridge IP address discovery fails, in that case - you can specify Bridge IP address in a custom parameter ip for the Node server using Polyglot's frontend interface. Additionally - if username parameter is given - Node server will use it (in case you have a username established already and don't want another one created on the Bridge).

 

 

[Phil G]

21 hours ago, Bumbershoot said:

I assume you've done the following two things:

1) pressed the round button on the Hue Bridge
2) restarted the Hue Node server within 30 seconds of when you pressed the button

Additional nodes should start appearing in the PG3.  You may need to try this more than once (I believe it took several tries in my case).

You might have to specify an IP address for the Hue Bridge (I just set a static IP reservation for it in my WiFi).

 

 

Thank you for the reply. I discovered that the Hue NS is still installed and connected on PG2 to my old ISY. Don't know how I managed mess this up, but now I need to figure out how to delete the PG2 NS that is showing 'connected' to an ISY that is now sitting unpowered on my spares shelf.

Very surprising, because I remember deleting all node servers on PG2 before moving over to Polisy and PG3.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Hoosier Daddy

[jlamb]

On 6/1/2022 at 3:28 AM, Hoosier Daddy said:

Thank you for the reply. I discovered that the Hue NS is still installed and connected on PG2 to my old ISY. Don't know how I managed mess this up, but now I need to figure out how to delete the PG2 NS that is showing 'connected' to an ISY that is now sitting unpowered on my spares shelf.

Very surprising, because I remember deleting all node servers on PG2 before moving over to Polisy and PG3.

So, what seemed to be happening to me was that some sort of configuration file was still trying to populate information from hue.  I ended up trying several things including deleting node servers, directories, and deleting pg3 at one point and reinstalling.  I even did a factory reset of the Polisy.  None of that worked as every time I would try to add hue after all that, it would pick up previous config file of some sort.   It seemed polisy (pg2 and pg3) were loading some previous config based on IP address.  What I did was changed the static IP address on the hue that I was using to a new address and then updated the router to reflect IP address reservation.  After that, the hub was found and loaded all nodes as expected in PG3 using the regular install instructions.  I hope this helps your situation.

Jasson

 

[Phil G]

RE: changing Hue bridge ip / static

Good idea but still no success. Only getting 1 node. I set the bridge with a new and static ip, then logged in to Hue's site (meethue.com) to verify that the bridge successfully registered with its new ip since the NS tries to find it there. Speaking of that, I what the NS is passing to Hue in order to discover the bridge ip?

Here are some log excerpts:

hue:connect: Saved bridges information is not found

hue:connect: No bridge configuration found, trying discovery...

INFO phue:connect: Attempting to connect to the bridge...

INFO phue:connect: Error opening config file, will attempt bridge registration

INFO interface:_message: Successfully set key = notices

2022-06-03 14:49:50,347 Thread-1 udi_interface INFO phue:get_ip_address: Connecting to discovery.meethue.com/

2022-06-03 14:49:50,392 Thread-1 udi_interface ERROR hue:connect: Cannot find Hue Bridge

Then it tries to connect to this ip, below, but times out, my LAN range is 10.0 so this is an invalid ip:

ERROR phue:request: POST Request to 192.168.1.2/api timed out

Looks like a lot of python errors too, regarding failed communications. I don't know how to connect with the dev since the PG3 store links to the Hue dev site. I guess I could create a dev account and try to track him down but it's a free app, so not much motivation to solve this.

I think I'll try a factory reset on the bridge next.

Thanks for your help,

Phil

Edited June 3, 2022 by Hoosier Daddy

[Geddy]

@Hoosier Daddy ...just ran into a similar issue after realizing that I couldn't control the Hue lights through the ISY anymore after a router change.  When you logged into the hue website did you look at the applications that were connecting to your hue? The Python was in there. It was the ISY connector. Said it hadn't been seen since May (about the time I changed the router). 

Since I never really handled the lights through ISY I didn't bother about trying to set it up again, but I kept getting errors with PG2 setup and figured it was because the IP had changed. In the logs it was still looking for the old 192.168.x.x address. I tried to add a custom entry for the new ip, but it didn't seem to take. I removed from PG2 and tried PG3 and same issue. 

Since I hadn't ever really relied on the ISY to control the Hue bulbs I just left them out of it for now. I can control them with Home Assistant now, and in reality just have them setup in the Hue app for schedule as well as connected to Alexa for voice handling so not missing out on much. 

Just thought I'd suggest looking at that "All applications" area and see if you remove the python from there if it makes any difference for you. 

The PG2 had a link to the readme for configuration tips, but the PG3 version went to Hue's site.

I'm not sure if @xKing is still supporting this node server for PG3 or if it was just ported by UDI to be available in PG3. 

 

[RJ K]

I'm seeing this exact same thing, also tried swapping the IP address as mentioned above a few weeks ago but it still doesn't seem to find it.

I created a ticket and asked @Michel Kohanim how to fully clear and reset everything as I'm just starting up from scratch in a new house but I'm still seeing the same thing.  I've looked around but couldn't seem to locate any sort of database on my own that might be holding this.

[DCardellini01]

OK.  I made the leap and bought a Polisy.

I was a bit worried that it would be a time-consuming geek project, playing with an ssh session or two, getting ISY loaded up, then getting the HUE Node server integrated.

I received the Polisy, booted up, got my admin console app, and connected to new polisy.   And there it was.... ISY already installed, and looked no different than my existing ISY.  Plugged in my serial PLM with the db9 cable I just ordered, and Insteon devices now connected.  Plugged in USB Zwave dongle, and got my Z-Wave devices going.  Then pressed the link in ISY for the Node server, a web page pops up, entered my admin user and password, went to the store and loaded the free Hue  Node server.   Magically, all my Hue devices now show up in ISY.

And the functionality within ISY is identical to Z-Wave (and very nearly identical to Insteon).

It is seam-less and it is brilliant.  Congrats to Michel!   Why did I wait so long?

My only complaint is the form factor of the Polisy.  I have made a small shelving unit to hold all my "small electronics" to keep it organized:  Hue, ISY, Roku Ultra, EtherSwitch, Intel NUC server, Harmony Hub, ViewHD HDMI switch, HDMI splitter, etc..   Without some attempt at organization, that is a messy proposition.

The size of the Polisy just won't fit on that shelving unit., and the ZWave dongle sticking out even worse. (yes, a right angle adapter on way... just not sure about the antenna pattern in that orientation).

I thought this whole home automation thing was dead with the expired INSTEON business.  I now see the future if Insteon is permanently gone. 

As of yesterday, my PLM is going bad (reset/reload several times) and spotty connection to devices.  But the fact that most my Insteon devices still work with no connection to the ISY makes me remember what a brilliant system that was (is?).  Sorry that Michel did not get the biz, but hopeful good, cooperative relations there.   But NOT paying $500 for used PLM.  Have an eBay Re-Cap kit on its way.

[larryllix]

Polisy runs about 1200% times the CPU power of ISY994 and that would require a fan to make noise and wear out. This way the large metal case avoid all that, acting as a heat sink.

Don't try to wash your hands of polisy now. "heat sink" is not a warm water wash station.

[Michel Kohanim]

18 hours ago, dcard said:

The size of the Polisy just won't fit on that shelving unit

@dcard, yes, we have been thinking about the same and currently working on two fronts:

1. Internal Z-Wave/Zigbee board for Polisy
2. For new customers, considering Polisy-mini which has a smaller form factor + mounting brackets. Z-Wave/Zigbee will be external dongles, this way, we can address not only the size but also improve the range

With kind regards,
Michel

 

[Phil G]

On 6/25/2022 at 8:15 PM, Geddy said:

Just thought I'd suggest looking at that "All applications" area and see if you remove the python from there if it makes any difference for you. 

No python in there now, but thanks for the suggestion.

[Phil G]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:55 PM, RJ K said:

I'm seeing this exact same thing, also tried swapping the IP address as mentioned above a few weeks ago but it still doesn't seem to find it.

I created a ticket and asked @Michel Kohanim how to fully clear and reset everything as I'm just starting up from scratch in a new house but I'm still seeing the same thing.  I've looked around but couldn't seem to locate any sort of database on my own that might be holding this.

@RJ K any success with your ticket? I also submitted one, but Michel wasn’t able to help out on this. My Eero router switched the LAN to 10.0… from 192.168… a few months ago (I probably caused that while trying to fix an HP printer problem) and I'm wondering if that may have created a problem. Any chance you have same situation?

Edited July 9, 2022 by Hoosier Daddy