Clicking Start Linking doesn't do anything

[bill02888]

New ISY in my new house. I've used ISY before without issue. I'm trying to add my first device, an appliance link 2456S3. I start up the Administrative Console and click the Start Linking button. Nothing happens. After doing that, when I try to do other things I get the message "Discovering Nodes; Retry!"

 

I'm running the latest non-beta ISY firmware version: 2.8.16.

 

Windows 7 64-bit OS.

 

What should I be looking for? Gotta be something simple!

 

I did click "Add Insteon Device" at one point. Is it still trying to complete that task even though I've unplugged the ISY and it's connected dual AP/PLM from 120VAC power, then reconnected both?

 

Thanks,

Bill

[Brian H]

I think 'Add Insteon Device' is the better way to go.

 

Now when you used the Start Linking Method.

Did the PLM's LED start blinking indicating it was in the linking mode?

 

If it was blinking. Did you then hold the linking button on the ApplainceLinc and what happened?

 

Do you have at least one dual band device on each of the homes phases and tested them for communicating with each other?

[oberkc]

Brian H knows a lot more about this stuff than do I, but I would expect to be able to attempt to link, at least, even if there are no dual band devices. My gut reaction is to suspect that there is a PLM problem, or the ISY-to-PLM connection is faulty, somehow.

 

When I select "start linking", I immediately get a "linking in progress" dialog box, and the LED on the PLM starts flashing.

 

What do you get when you select "tools>diagnostics>PLM info"?

[bill02888]

The PLM is on the 1st floor and my PC is on the 3rd floor so I really can't tell you the status of the ISY or PLM lights when I click on Start Linking.

 

When I use Tools -> Diagnostics -> PLM Info/Status I get the same pop-up saying "Discovering Nodes; Retry!"

 

- Bill

[Brian H]

Was that the message after you tried a start linking?

All the PLM Info/Status tab should give you is the PLM's six digit ID and a connected message if properly talking to the PLM.

 

Hopefully the UDI team will jump in here and have better information for you.

 

One thought. The PLM is not on a surge strip that may have a power line filter in it. That could degrade the power line signals from the PLM to other modules.

[oberkc]

When I use Tools -> Diagnostics -> PLM Info/Status I get the same pop-up saying "Discovering Nodes; Retry!"

 

Comparing that response to that of mine, I would conclude that there is some problem with the ISY/PLM interface. Pending more learned response, my tempation would be to temporarily bring the PLM to a point nearer the computer (not in a surge supressor) and temporarily plug it into the ISY. See if this helps.

 

The PLM is on the 1st floor and my PC is on the 3rd floor

 

So, you have a really long Cat-5 cable between the PLM and ISY?

[bill02888]

My 3rd floor office doesn't yet have Ethernet (one more hole to drill) so I'm using WiFi. My router is in my entertainment center on the 1st floor. My TiVo, TV, HTPC, and the ISY are plugged into the Ethernet ports of the router down there.

 

I unplugged both the PLM and the ISY from the wall. Reconnected. Then I asked for a PLM status. It displayed the version info of the PLM (which I don't recall now).

 

Bill

[oberkc]

My 3rd floor office doesn't yet have Ethernet (one more hole to drill) so I'm using WiFi. My router is in my entertainment center on the 1st floor. My TiVo, TV, HTPC, and the ISY are plugged into the Ethernet ports of the router down there.

 

I unplugged both the PLM and the ISY from the wall. Reconnected. Then I asked for a PLM status. It displayed the version info of the PLM (which I don't recall now).

 

OK. So you have the ISY and PLM on the first floor, with your computer on the third. Do you have a cable between the PLM and ISY port A? Your PLM is not connected directly to the network, is it?

 

It sounds as if your PLM status showed correct one time when it displayed the version info, but now is not (when you got the discovering nodes error). I continue to believe this is your basic problem (as opposed to lack of access points), but can only offer a few ideas which may or may not help.

 

If this were mine, and I was confident that it was wired correctly, I would cycle power on both, again. If PLM status showed the correct response (no node discovery errors), I would then perform a "restore PLM" from the ISY diagnostics. Beyond that, I cannot help but suspect a hardware failure issue which is best taken up with ISY tech support.

[LeeG]

As an FYI, the Discovering Nodes message is the result of entering Start Linking mode and not ending it. There should have been popup message with a Finish button that completes the Start Linking process. Since this popup has not been mentioned it is likely it did not get displayed. Since 2.8.16 works in this basic area the environment is suspect. Firewall may be blocking communication between the Java Admin Console and the ISY.

 

Unplugging the ISY and PLM caused the ISY to restart which likely cleared the pending Start Linking process. That is why the PLM Info now works and did not before. The ISY was previously looking for device identifications or a Finish button press. Once in Start Linking mode the other unrelated ISY functions may not be available. Had the popup with the Finish button been displayed it would be clear what the ISY required. Without that popup other ISY functions do not work because of that pending Start Linking but there is no obvious indication.

 

The issue that is preventing the Start Linking popup must be resolved before anything else can be accomplished. There was a point where both Java 32 bit and Java 64 bit was required in a 64 bit environment. Don't know if that still applies to 2.8.16.

[LeeG]

I reloaded 2.8.16 and confirm that Start Linking displays a modal popup with a Finish button. The popup being modal blocks all underlying Admin Console function. It should not be possible to interact with any Admin Console function except the popup while in Start Linking mode. The lack of the popup exposes all kinds of error situations that normally can never exist because the modal popup blocks access to other functions.

 

The display of the popup must be resolved before anything else. It indicates either a Java or firewall issue that will not be limited to the lack of the Start Linking popup.

[bill02888]

Is there any documentation re: ports being used by ISY/console that could possibly be blocked by a firewall? I'm using Kaspersky on all of my computers.

 

I will try running the console on one of my older XP Home (32-bit) systems later today to see how those behave.

 

Thanks!

Bill

[oberkc]

You may find it useful to perform a forum search on kaspersky. I recall lots of discussion on this, including:

 

http://forum.universal-devices.com/viewtopic.php
t=6300&highlight=kaspersky

[LeeG]

Here is another reference that may be useful

 

http://forum.universal-devices.com/view ... =kaspersky

 

There a number of topics discussing the issues with Kaspersky. Searching for the word Kaspersky will find them.

[bill02888]

That link was most helpful! The menus have changed a bit in recent versions (I have 2011) but I made those updates and voila! Everything is working wonderfully now! Phew!

 

Thanks LeeG!

Bill