migrating from the ISY994 with Elk module to eisy

[srjacob]

I have a Insteon network, an ISY994, and an Elk M1 System.  I would be interested in getting an Eisy and replacing the ISY, but I am really concerned about the ISY-Elk interface.  I use this heavily, and have dozens of programs written in the Elk (rules) and in the ISY to both control lighting, garage doors, and an electronic gate.  I would hate to rewrite and convert all of these programs just to migrate from the ISY to an Eisy.

Is there an easy to do this migration, or should I leave well enough alone (there is no pressing need to convert)?  Everything seems to be working fine, and I have spares for the ISY and serial modem.

Thanks in advance.

Steve 

[DennisC]

8 hours ago, srjacob said:

I have a Insteon network, an ISY994, and an Elk M1 System.  I would be interested in getting an Eisy and replacing the ISY, but I am really concerned about the ISY-Elk interface.  I use this heavily, and have dozens of programs written in the Elk (rules) and in the ISY to both control lighting, garage doors, and an electronic gate.  I would hate to rewrite and convert all of these programs just to migrate from the ISY to an Eisy.

Is there an easy to do this migration, or should I leave well enough alone (there is no pressing need to convert)?  Everything seems to be working fine, and I have spares for the ISY and serial modem.

Thanks in advance.

Steve 

Well, the 994 is no longer supported by UD. If UD assistance is required for a problem, you will need to pay for it. There will be no further development work done for it, so no firmware updates or new features. Currently, there are some new devices that will not work with the 994.

If your existing unit fails and needs to be replaced, how inconvenient will it be to not have your automation working for a week or two? (I realize you said you have a spare ISY, but do you know it works?)

From my perspective, I would rather plan a replacement/upgrade rather than have to do it on an emergency basis.

Also, UD is offering a 15% discount right now.

As for needing to update programs, including Elk, yes there will be some of that. However, if you copy all programs to clipboard and then paste to a document file, you will have a good reference to simplify the task.

Are you still using the old Elk Module, or are you using the Elk plugin? At some point, UD might be shutting down the Elk Module since support has ended.

If you are not using any plugins, a lot of new features have been added via plugins.

Once again, I would prefer to do this as a planned activity.

Only you can answer what is best for you.

 

[paulbates]

To add to @DennisC's great answer, UDI offers consulting help. It would be a good idea to buy that and let them remote in and evaluate and propose an higher level migration plan for you. Scroll to the bottom of this page.

https://www.universal-devices.com/store/#top-row

[Geddy]

@srjacob in addition to what @DennisC and @paulbates outlined above be sure to review the migration steps in the wiki:

https://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=Eisy:User_Guide#Migration

But also review the ELK portion of the forums for pitfalls and issues that others might have posted about in the past.

https://forum.universal-devices.com/forum/309-elk/

Since the eisy handles extended systems through plugins rather than how you currently have the ISY994+Elk Module there will be a big difference in how programs are handled. As @DennisC points out making copies of your current programs is key to migration. I don't run Elk, but from reading past posts in the forum area many seem to like some added feature/function from the plugin over the way your system is currently incorporating ELK. 

There will be a learning curve, but take your time and read and test and you should be able to get things setup as good (or better) with current hardware and support from UDI (as well as the help from many on the forums). 

[dbwarner5]

@srjacob Be sure to to open up the ELK desktop program and get all your "connection" information copied, such as ip address, passwords, and settings in the Elk MEXP module. This will be needed to populate the config files in the Elk Plug in.

By the way , the elk plug in works really well. Have not had any issues with it, but it does require rewriting most of your elk programs. Some of them you can do a find / replace in. 

Key as mentioned above is to right click on the top of your program hierarchy and click copy folder to clipboard and then past it into a text application. This way you can easily see what the original program was meant to be. If you use Resources, it's good to also export a copy of that as well. 

 

[srjacob]

Thanks everybody for their information.  After much thought, I think I will keep on the ISY/Elk for a while longer.  I dread rewriting and debugging all the Elk programs on both the ISY and the Elk.  So far, everything is working fine, and I haven't encountered incompatible devices yet.  The backup ISY works fine (I test it regularly), and the spare Insteon modems work fine also.

If for some reason, both the main ISY and backup ISY fail,  I will then have to consider an Eisy.

Thank everyone for replying

Steve