junkycosmos Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 This time of year the garage is rather cold and I have found that having my ISY mounted on the wall next to my service panel where it occasionally experiences very cold temps has given me trouble. Specifically what I have noticed is any time the ISY is under 20 degrees F it looses ability to communicate on the Ethernet. This manifests in poor backup speeds (15mins vs usual 2min), loss of connection to mobilinc, no longer receiving any communication emails. Checking the switch that the ISY is connected to reveals lots of packet errors coming from ISY. Interesting (and thankfully) all Insteon related communications, programs etc remain fully functional. And when temps return to above 25 the ISY regains full Ethernet connection ability. Now I really cannot blame ISY for being semi non functional in the artic temps however I am looking to resolve my issue. Currently the ISY is connected to the PLM by a 1 foot cat5 cable. The PLM then plugs into an outlet right next to main service panel. I should note that having my PLM right next to my panel worked magic to fix remaining Insteon issues I had prior. I am interested to know if others have tried a longer Cat5 cable between their ISY and PLM with much success. If so how long ? Has anyone run into troubles, if so what were the symptoms you encountered? Appreciate any input here or other ideas as my next step may be moving the ISY to an inside location while leaving the PLM in place but this would mean using nearly a 35 foot cat5 between the ISY and PLM. Stats from switch for ISY port. I have tried other drop cables and other ports with same results. Port 3 TX Bytes 2416799963 UnicastPkts 9145633 DropPkts 0 MulticastPkts 6763038 PausePkts 0 BroadcastPkts 2257165 FrameInDisc 0 DeferredTransmit 0 Collision 0 LateCollision 0 ExcessiveCollision 0 RX Bytes 2215242106 UnicastPkts 8911522 DropPkts 0 MulticastPkts 319600 PausePkts 0 BroadcastPkts 4551 ExcessSizeDisc 0 UnderSizePkts 0 OverSizePkts 0 Jabbers 0 Fragments 1873 FCSErrors 2328 SAChanges 0 64 BytePkts 4441348 65 to 127 BytePkts 1483523 128 to 255 BytePkts 19835 256 to 511 BytePkts 1850860 512 to 1023 BytePkts 953916 1024 to 1522 BytePkts 493443 thanks J (isy 99irpro) Link to comment
Teken Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I would advise you to relocate the ISY in a interior controlled environment. Air born debris, salt, chemical fumes, in the future will be your next problem. Using a 35 foot CAT5e cable will not present any problems to you what so ever. Please relocate this device so you're assured long term reliability and use. Regards Teken . . . Link to comment
jaycanter Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 I am running a 65 ft cable between mine in the walls then another couple cables from the wall outlets to the isy and plm so I am Probably over 70 ft with no problem I think somebody said the cable shouldn't be over 50 ft but I didn't have a choice. Jay Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk Link to comment
LeeG Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 The Serial Port connection between PLM and ISY has a theoretical limit of 50'. Ethernet connection between the ISY and a modem/router can be several hundred feet. Don't remember the actual max as it varies by speed and type of cable. Perhaps some insulation around the around the PLM and ISY as they both generate heat. However, check frequently in the beginning to be sure they are not getting too hot with no air circulation. Getting too hot could be terminal for either one. Link to comment
junkycosmos Posted January 22, 2012 Author Share Posted January 22, 2012 Thank you all for the input. I really like the UDI Forum! For some reason I was recalling a max suggested length of 5' or something on the serial cat5 link between ISY and PLM. Great to hear others are having success with longer serial cat5 cable runs. Have moved ISY into environment box that keeps 45-75 degrees (with network gear). ISY is now connected to PLM via approx a 60 foot cat5/6 cable. All appears to be running great. Noted ISY board does have a capacitor, a crystal and a battery; suppose one of those might be who was giving trouble staying loosing sync with Ethernet traffic in temps under 25 while the Insteon traffic and programs still ran fine. As Lee noted PLM does generate some internal heat so clearly the components in it are not actually facing the lower temps although the air temp around the PLM has dropped well below 0F. Thanks Again. J Link to comment
Michel Kohanim Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 junkycosmos, Thanks so very much for your input. If the problem is network related, what's the point of moving ISY and leaving the PLM? Also, what's your topology? Is ISY connected to a switch and then to your router? If so, have you tried connecting directly to the router? With kind regards, Michel Link to comment
junkycosmos Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Hi Michel Thanks for the reply. Pardon if I was not completely clear. I understand your question on network and I did try removing it during troubleshooting. Switch is a sits behind a Cisco router and a Sonic wall. ISY has worked great with this switch since I started with it. Prior setup: Network switch <-- 60 foot cat6 drop, 1 foot cat5 jumper --> ISY <--1 foot cat5--> PLM which is plugged into outlet next to service panel in garage Leaving the PLM plugged into the outlet right next to my service panel/circuit breaker box gives benefit of PLM (with piggybacked AP) as close to all branch circuits as possible. Last spring when I moved it to this location I immediately noted improvement in Insteon communications; near complete reduction of errors and also improvement in Insteon query speeds. Disadvantage was when the temperatures got cold this winter I ran into strange issues. Had posted prior of Ethernet packet /network errors and we concluded possible Ethernet line noise. I went through a bunch of experiments: new cables, new connectors, even tried a different network switch, straight to router, replaced original SD card with san disk extreme, all no dice. More crazy yet was the mysterious problem would only come when temps were rather cold AND problem was only for Ethernet communications (ISY to PLM and powerline traffic was fine). Setup now: Network switch <--1 foot cat5--> ISY <-- 60 foot cat6 drop, 1 foot cat5 jumper --> PLM which is plugged into outlet next to service panel in garage. This moves the ISY into an temp controlled environment along with the network gear. Was originally slightly concerned on spanning the serial connection from the ISY to PLM over such a distance but all appears to be running just fine after move yesterday and from other posters. I did not move the PLM into the same location for two reasons: the environment box is only UPS powered (insteon traffic outside of UPS only) and I did not want to add back in a 60 foot span of romex for all PLM power line communications. I surely do not blame the ISY for not handling temps under freezing well but I also could see others running into since it is a common scenario to mount your ISY close to your service panel. thx J Link to comment
Michel Kohanim Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hello J, Thanks so very much for the detailed information. Although ISY was not designed for industrial temp but the I am concerned that the temperatures you are experiencing should be within the supported range. As such - and if you don't mind - we would like to run some experiments on your unit (we'll provide you with a replacement while we do the experimentation). If you are OK with this, please do be kind enough to send your shipping address to tech@universal-devices.com and I'll take it from there. With kind regards, Michel Link to comment
junkycosmos Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Thanks Michel. Just sent email with details. Look forward to hearing from you. here is an updated Stats from switch for port ISY is connected to: no errors I reset the counters day I moved ISY to warm cabinet. Port 3 TX Bytes 291531819 UnicastPkts 1218485 DropPkts 0 MulticastPkts 796259 PausePkts 0 BroadcastPkts 248689 FrameInDisc 0 DeferredTransmit 0 Collision 0 LateCollision 0 ExcessiveCollision 0 RX Bytes 307564793 UnicastPkts 1214850 DropPkts 0 MulticastPkts 42488 PausePkts 0 BroadcastPkts 609 ExcessSizeDisc 0 UnderSizePkts 0 OverSizePkts 0 Jabbers 0 Fragments 0 FCSErrors 0 SAChanges 0 64 BytePkts 595309 65 to 127 BytePkts 200376 128 to 255 BytePkts 2652 256 to 511 BytePkts 258345 512 to 1023 BytePkts 132495 1024 to 1522 BytePkts 68770 Link to comment
Michel Kohanim Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 junkycosmos, Thanks so very much for your help. With kind regards, Michel Link to comment
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