Restarting Nodes or PG3 Remotely

[TJF1960]

Is it possible to restart PG3 individual node servers or PG3 as a whole, remotely?

I am on the latest v of IoP and PG3.

Thank you,

Tim

[Bumbershoot]

You can certainly restart PG3, but I don't think you have control over individual node servers.  If you can SSH into your Polisy, you can enter this command:

[admin@polisy ~]$ sudo service pg3 restart

I don't know of any other way, unless you have port forwarding turned on.

[Geddy]

On 12/15/2022 at 4:37 PM, TJF1960 said:

Is it possible to restart PG3 individual node servers or PG3 as a whole, remotely?

The only way I'd see to be able to remotely restart anything would be through the admin console in the Polisy System Settings there is a "Reboot" button. I presume that would reboot the entire Polisy device.

As @Bumbershoot points out you'd need to have port forwarding open to possibly connect to the device itself. Otherwise I've seen some comment on using Teamviewer to connect from a remote location to the local network (i.e. leaving a computer running 24/7 w/ Teamviewer running). You would then access it as though you were local. Otherwise, you would need a router that could handle inbound VPN system to put a remote computer on the local network. 

 

[bpwwer]

PG3 can be restarted using the shell:   sudo service pg3 restart

So that assumes you have a way ssh to the Polisy remotely.   With the current version of PG3 there isn't any way to restart node servers other than through the PG3 UI.

[gzahar]

On 12/15/2022 at 3:37 PM, TJF1960 said:

Is it possible to restart PG3 individual node servers or PG3 as a whole, remotely?

I am on the latest v of IoP and PG3.

Thank you,

Tim

If you have a VPN connection to your local network, you can control (restart) PG3 and individual node servers through the normal web page UI (<ipaddress>:3000).  I'm sure you could also do this using port forwarding, but that is generally not recommended.

[residualimages]

Would be nice if ISY gave us programmatic control / ability to reboot specific node servers (or if there was a REST or network-based method to do so).

While continuing to struggle through various Polisy and PG3 updates, I have a couple Nodeservers that don't play nicely with the newer versions, and I need to reboot multiple times a day. Would be handy if I could do so via ISY programs (with or without monitoring checks to see if they need rebooted yet or not), or through specific IP calls.

[bpwwer]

21 minutes ago, residualimages said:

Would be nice if ISY gave us programmatic control / ability to reboot specific node servers (or if there was a REST or network-based method to do so).

While continuing to struggle through various Polisy and PG3 updates, I have a couple Nodeservers that don't play nicely with the newer versions, and I need to reboot multiple times a day. Would be handy if I could do so via ISY programs (with or without monitoring checks to see if they need rebooted yet or not), or through specific IP calls.

Restarting node servers or restarting PG3 multiple times a day is not normal or even close to normal behavior.  Trying to fix it by automating the restarts doesn't do anything to resolve the underlying problem.

I understand that not all node server authors are responsive and there are currently quite a few that are basically unsupported at this time.  But the first step should always be to try and contact the author for help.  If the author is unresponsive or says they can no longer help, PM me and let me know. I'll do my best to help.

Also, and this is more of a general comment, when looking for help on a node server, the log file is critical. When one isn't working as it should there's a good chance that the log file will include the reason and simply reviewing it lead to a resolution.  Ideally, capturing the log file with the level set to debug is best.

[residualimages]

3 minutes ago, bpwwer said:

Restarting node servers or restarting PG3 multiple times a day is not normal or even close to normal behavior.  Trying to fix it by automating the restarts doesn't do anything to resolve the underlying problem.

At times, I get exhausted trying to help UD / NS authors / manufacturers troubleshoot their products interactively.
I sometimes just want a break from it (to eat my cake) but still want my home to work as solidly as it did under my ISY+PG2 (and have my cake too).
For me and my time, it's easier right now to restart a couple nodes when one or the other of them get out of whack. One of which has a known issue and the author already worked with me for weeks to identify an issue, and has a likely fix in the next version whenever it gets published. Since that NS is currently the first one that began exhibiting issues, I'd like to resolve that before bugging a different author about the separate NS, in case the first is part of the issue on PG3.

However, from my perspective, it's completely within the realm of possibility and reasonable use cases to be able to programmatically start, stop, or restart Nodeservers. Something outside of a Nodeserver's control or knowledge, but within the capabilities of something else programmatically, could use the admittedly niche functionality to start, stop, or restart nodes.

"Manufacturer knows best" isn't a look I'm super fond of encountering, but I know most of your post was an encouragement to address any perceived weaknesses of individual components to make it better for all. I'm just tired, right now, of everything being so fragile -- but don't have capacity this month to help address it. 😅

[gzahar]

1 hour ago, bpwwer said:

Trying to fix it by automating the restarts doesn't do anything to resolve the underlying problem.

True, but a lot of times, the end user has little or no control over fixing the underlying problem.  This would be a great second step to keep the user up and running until the problem is identified and resolved.  I understand this is not ideal and know the reasons some would not want to do this.  But in my OPINION, keeping the system working for the end user is more important.

[bpwwer]

I understand, I really do.

I just don't like adding band-aid features as those "temporary" fixes tend to turn into long-term solutions that have to be maintained and real problems are left unresolved.

I can only speak for myself here, but I only use a small number of the node servers I've actually written.  So unless the people using them speak up about problems, I won't know the problems exist and I won't fix them. 

In my opinion, it's worse to have broken node servers out there because they'll frustrate anyone who installs them and that taints the whole experience.  @residualimages you're experiencing this now and my goal is prevent this from happening to others.  Which is why I say you can always contact me.  I'll try to help resolve node server issues.  I may not always be able to, but I'll try.

[larryllix]

I understand, I really do.
I just don't like adding band-aid features as those "temporary" fixes tend to turn into long-term solutions that have to be maintained and real problems are left unresolved.
I can only speak for myself here, but I only use a small number of the node servers I've actually written.  So unless the people using them speak up about problems, I won't know the problems exist and I won't fix them. 
In my opinion, it's worse to have broken node servers out there because they'll frustrate anyone who installs them and that taints the whole experience.  @residualimages you're experiencing this now and my goal is prevent this from happening to others.  Which is why I say you can always contact me.  I'll try to help resolve node server issues.  I may not always be able to, but I'll try.

Yeah..how many times has.

...'that's good enough for now' ...
been regretted by people with real life experiences?

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