Thinking of migrating ISY to Polisy - need a little help

[MJsan]

I've been happily using the ISY for years - full house of Insteon (some modules, believe it or not, still working since 2004).

I've pretty much used up my "stock" of replacement appliance-link and dimmer modules, so at some point soon, I'll have to migrate. 

I've decided on Polisy as my "bridge to the future" and wanted to get some input from those that have traveled this road already. I'm looking forward to migrating to UD's portal and mobile app (currently using Mobilinc). 

Specifically, it looks like any number of Wifi plugs could work - the consensus seems to be the TPLink ones. That's great.

What I'm hoping to figure out - I have LED accent lights all over the place - all controlled by Insteon for on/off, but each LED controller is also controlled by Wifi. These are all linked to FluxWifi (FluxSmart). Has anyone worked with those - is there a Node server available?

This is going to be a journey, but glad to know lots of folks have already done this. 

Thanks in advance,
MJ

[Athlon]

I moved to Polisy from an ISY, so now I have IoP.

I have Insteon, TP-Link, Ecobee, Harmony, Sensibo, IFTTT, Roomba and a Virtual Switch running on it. All are Node servers except for Insteon of course. My 'voice' system is Alexa.

They all run without a hitch, and it was easy to set up. If you get stuck or have an issue the support here is fantastic.

I do not see a Node for Flux Smart, however I did find this:

https://github.com/beville/flux_led

A developer here 'might' be able to make use of it...

[MJsan]

Athlon-  I don’t know how you found that - I searched like crazy, you’re brilliant!

So either I dust off my very old Python skills or hope a developer here wants to take a crack at it (with a very willing tester!)

There are a ton of LED bulbs and strip controllers who all utilize this - I’m surprised it hasn’t come up already.

I’m going to set up a Polisy system in tandem with the current system (providing I can find a 2nd PLM). Thanks much for the guidance.

[larryllix]

3 hours ago, Athlon said:

I moved to Polisy from an ISY, so now I have IoP.

I have Insteon, TP-Link, Ecobee, Harmony, Sensibo, IFTTT, Roomba and a Virtual Switch running on it. All are Node servers except for Insteon of course. My 'voice' system is Alexa.

They all run without a hitch, and it was easy to set up. If you get stuck or have an issue the support here is fantastic.

I do not see a Node for Flux Smart, however I did find this:

https://github.com/beville/flux_led

A developer here 'might' be able to make use of it...

I think I was inspired by this fellow's code hacks to write my NRbridge.py that I use for my MagicHome bulbs and strips. Then it disappeared from the flux websites.

[bpwwer]

The MagicHome node server currently in the non-production node server store uses flux-led so would probably work.

[MJsan]

Ok, I’m convinced this is definitely worth the effort. Am I nuts for wanting to build “new” system in parallel with “old” system? It requires that I go find a PLM and that is apparently a gold rush level of searching!

I’m afraid to migrate the PLM to the new system until things are stable/tested. 

[stillwater]

@MJsan Unless I'm missing something, you couldn't operate  the "new" (Polisy/PLM)  and "old" (ISY994i/PLM) systems in tandem -- if by in tandem you mean having them operating at the same time with the same devices.  All the insteon devices need to have a single PLM Insteon address in their memory to operate.   ISY/ioP (ISY on Polisy) have the very convenient option for migrating from one PLM to another, but it involves rewriting the PLM memory and rewriting the PLM address in all of the insteon devices, and so takes some time in anything but the smallest system.    I haven't tried it but it seems plausible to me that one could conveniently switch back and forth between ISY and IoP with a single PLM.  Or one could have parallel ISY/PLM and IoP/PLM combinations with each one controlling a subset of the insteon loads, (not splitting groups/scenes),   but most likely in practice this would amount to having a small experimental new system alongside the "production" old system, and I'm not sure what would be gained.   I suppose you could keep backups to restore the whole topography after the split.   I have a polisy and my strategy is just to wait until the bug reports with new versions settle down to the same level as the ISY-994i, and then I'll switch over all at once.  

If access to PG3 is driving you to use Polisy soon, but you are reluctant to rely on IoP until further tested, you can always run PG3 (and PG2)  on Polisy and have it talk to your existing ISY-994i which will continue to control the Insteon devices through the PLM until you decided to switch over to IoP.  

Again I may well be missing something -- others with more experience may have more informed views.  

 

[oskrypuch]

@MJsanA lot of information in the Polisy & IoP and 700 section.

I made a couple of posts, I just recently moved 994 -> Polisy/IoP and added in some ZWave.

It all works well. Making the move all at once, actually makes it a lot easier.

* Orest

[Geddy]

23 hours ago, MJsan said:

Am I nuts for wanting to build “new” system in parallel with “old” system?

Yes, you would be nuts! This should not be something you attempt.

As @stillwater points out you cannot run 2 PLM for only Insteon devices. Now, if you wanted to run two different systems you could, but Insteon can only be controlled by one (1) PLM at a time. Others here have had Insteon on the existing ISY+PLM and run different systems on Polisy and IoP. I don't entirely know the setup for if you get into node servers of how to point some at the ISY and some at IoP. So, really, you'll end up making it harder on yourself. If you attempt to have some items moved over to IoP you run a big risk of having 2 PLM sending powerline signals and creating noise and disrupting the path from one controller to device. So I wouldn't even suggest having a sub-set for testing. 

Make sure you follow the steps in the Polisy User Guide in the wiki for migrating from ISY994 to IoP (ISY on Polisy). 

Many have completed the migration over the last several months. While some processes might have altered slightly you should read through this thread to know about any "gotcha" moments that might get you.

Remember...lots of user-to-user help here if you run into issues. Good luck!

 

[MJsan]

As I've always felt on this forum- this is the place to go for answers and ideas. Thanks everyone!

I'm now going to just make the migration one weekend late in the summer - let my Mobilinc subscription run out and them do it. In the interim I'll start playing with the FLUX led idea and see how well "other" plugs work on Polisy by building a mini non-Insteon system as my sandbox. Then I'll add the ISY and PLM migration.

Cheers!!

[Geddy]

@MJsan excellent! Indeed lots of great help around here! 

That's exactly what I've been doing. Checking out a few little things with PG3 and node servers and small non-Insteon things I have. 

Good luck when you make the migration. Let us know how it goes or certainly post back with any issues you might have.