Why does ISY99i sometimes lose ability to show device status

[SunSentry]

I wanted to make one other comment that my son reminded me, but I forget.

 

When we were using ISY version 3.3.4, the ONLY way we could consistently get the UI to come up every time WITHOUT having the status update problem was to go into the Windows control panel for Java and turn off the ability to keep temporary files on the computer. The downside to this is that the Java apps have to download every time the UI is started, but at least we didn't have the problem of losing status and and other menu feature problems. This should be a clue to someone about what is the source of the problem. It is not a firewall or antivirus issue (although it could be another factor to some people).

RGH

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello SunSentry,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback. The are some "Java" differences between 3.2.6 and 3.3.4 the most important of which is the compiler: 3.2.6 was compiled with a 1.6 compiler whereas 3.3.4 is compiled with a 1.7 compiler.

 

So, I am wondering that perhaps you're still on Java 1.6? Or, better yet, you are not on Java 1.7.9? Would you please check your Java version?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[SunSentry]

Hello SunSentry,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback. The are some "Java" differences between 3.2.6 and 3.3.4 the most important of which is the compiler: 3.2.6 was compiled with a 1.6 compiler whereas 3.3.4 is compiled with a 1.7 compiler.

 

So, I am wondering that perhaps you're still on Java 1.6? Or, better yet, you are not on Java 1.7.9? Would you please check your Java version?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

 

It is Java 1.7.9

[KenN]

I'd sure like to get an update on what's happening as I'm getting the same problem!

 

I'm at 3.3.4 right now, deciding whether to upgrade to 3.3.5 or just roll back to 3.2.6.

 

Java 1.7.9 is confirmed installed with all previous versions of Java uninstalled. Using Kaspersky, and the IP for the ISY is whitelisted as a safe site, and I've also whitelisted it in my chrome browser settings.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi KenN,

 

What's your operating system including 32 vs. 64 bit?

 

Have you tried https instead of http? If it works with https, then the problem is Kaspersky.

 

With kind regards,

 

Michel

[KenN]

I'm running Win7 64 bit (Home Premium, I think).

 

Haven't tried https, though I have tried disabling the firewall within Kaspersky. I'm at work now, so will try the alternate url this eve.

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

Ken.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Ken, thank you.

 

One cannot really disable firewalls since they get themselves hooked up at the lowest layers. High level functions may be disabled but all the packet filtering rules stay put even if you disable them. What you need to ensure is that indeed Kaspersky has the correct IP for your ISY.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[KenN]

Okay, I can confirm that using the secure https:// route to the ISY does work every time and gets me the status updates. However, it is a bit awkward that way, as it means double login prompts (once with the java logo, then a second time with the ISY blue background) and the browser stopping midway to give me some horror story about the security certificate.

 

So ... is there a way to get the "99i administration console" java applet to address the https route rather than http? I did some exploring and couldn't find a way. Alternatively, does anyone know how to force Kaspersky not to block? I also explored that avenue without any luck!

[SunSentry]

Just to put in two cents more...

There could be multiple reasons for this problem. I mention it because we have this status failure problem on a computer that is a fresh Window 7 build. It does not have antivirus on it and never did. It is an internal home server.

 

Also to make one more comment. I was intimately involved in "BitDefender" AV and I can tell you for certain that when that program is temporarily disabled from the menu, then it is completely disabled. I don't know about the other programs. Perhaps other AV software may work differently and be an issue even when disabled, but BD does not. For testing purposes, when it is disabled, it won't affect anything. It was designed that way.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello Ken,

 

You do not have to do double sign on. You can use the application (http://www.universal-devices.com/99i/3.3.5/admin.jnlp) which should put an icon on your desktop. Once that's done, click on the Add button in ISY Finder and then enter your ISY's httpS URL.

 

Hi SunSentry,

 

The difference between http/https is that ISY allows for more un-acked packets in HTTPS. We shall take a look as it seems that this problem happens much more often in the presence of firewall software. By the way, how are the new UI Themes working out in 3.3.5?

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[SunSentry]

As mentioned in my other post. The new themes are great.

 

Now that I upgraded, I can use the interface wonderfully and focus on setting up new devices.

I do still get that occasion missing status problem that this post is talking about. I can now experiment more.

THANKS a million!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi SunSentry,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback and so sorry it took us so long to get it working.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[SunSentry]

Gee, I have to type this all over again, since the board didn't take my reply the first time.

 

No we don't use Elk. We only have Insteon devices and a couple X10 devices. The thing is that Dad reports everything working perfectly with no flaws during the first 6 months of using this device with firmware 3.2.6. After upgrading to 3.3.4, strange things like this are happening, so he wants me to move it back to 3.2.6.

 

When I mean strange things happening, example, a 3-way chandelier only comes on at about 15% brightness when the program fires the scene, yet the scene and chandelier is set to 40%. Another lamp doesn't come on at sunset like it used to. Wall button lights don't stay in sync with actual lamp when a program turns on the lamp (wall button stays off).

 

We have tried all sorts of things like restoring all the devices, making sure we set scenes with ISY (not at the device), comparing the program in devices to ISY, etc.

 

Dad is not dumb at this stuff. He was an electronic design engineer and software engineer for 30 years, so he understands electronics and software well. However, this device and interface seems to not be working well. The fact that it recently started during an upgrade seems too much of a coincidence. I don't think we will ever upgrade again once this is fixed. We will be experimenting more tomorrow.

 

 

Well, I am back to say that after much experimentation over the holidays, we were never able to figure out why the blank "Current State" values appear when starting the UI. In fact, it seems to happen more often that not, so it is very frustrationg. To me, it is something to do with the JAVA app. Frankly speaking, I have never been a fan of running a JAVA app in a Windows environment. I much prefer a native app which we will probably never see for this program. It's ironic for me to shun a JAVA app especially when we were the ones who first coined the phrase of JAVA and sold it to Sun!

 

We did figure out the issue with the strange operation of devices and that was due to something wrong in the data file. When we back tracked to an older 3.2.6 version of the ISY, all was well, but upgrading to 3.3.6 cause strange things to occur. We repeated that process 3 times to confirm. However, by manually re-entering all the device and program information into version 3.3.6 (starting fresh) everything has again worked perfectly. This tells me to never update the ISY again unless there is some sort of wonderfully new feature that I really need.

 

At any rate, the software is great once I get it going and the home devices work perfectly the way we want. The ISY is sure a nice device and is rock solid in operation. so aside from the annoying problem of having to clear the JAVA cache and reload the app to get it to run, all is well. I'll live with it because now that things are set up, I don't need to go in there often to change anything.

[StarRider]

I started having this problem a few days ago. Tried clearing the Java cache several times. Still can't see the status of any devices. Anything new on this problem?

[SunSentry]

I started having this problem a few days ago. Tried clearing the Java cache several times. Still can't see the status of any devices. Anything new on this problem?

 

 

Yea, same here. I did not have the problem for a long time, and about a month ago I upgraded my device to the new 994. All was working well till two days ago. After restarting the interface a couple of times, it came up properly. Other than this occasional annoying problem, the system works well and we really like it. Nice and reliable.

 

Richard