Vera Bridge
If you are a new Vera user, click the button below. I have a new controller to set up. If you already have an account, please login. UNIVERSAL RTS INTERFACE II Operating Instructions The addressable Universal RTS Interface II (URTSI II) can be used to communicate between home automation or other third party systems and SOMFY’s RTS Motors and controls. It is capable of individual or group control, and can be operated via infrared remote, RS232 and RS485 serial communication.
This plugin is useful for users transitioning from Vera to Indigo or for peoplethat have remote buildings on their property that need a few lights to becontrolled but where Z-Wave and/or Insteon won’t reach.
So, if you're a switcher you can keep the following device types connected toyour Vera while transitioning them to direct Indigo control: on/off devices(relay), dimmers, locks and thermostats. You will also be able toexecute Vera scenes from Indigo. All other device types will need to be moved todirect Indigo control. We have no plans to expand the supported device type list,see the Vera vs Serial Interface section belowfor details.
Configuring the Plugin
When you first enable the plugin (select the Plugins->Vera Bridge->Enablemenu item) or select the Plugins->Vera Bridge->Configure... menu item, youwill see the Configure Vera Bridge dialog:
In this dialog you'll enter the IP address (or hostname) of your Vera and enterthe port (though for most everyone the default of 3480 will be fine). There'salso an option to enable thread debugging: you really only want to do this ifinstructed by someone from Indigo Support - enabling it then toggling debuggingwill very quickly fill up your event log with relatively useless information.
Adding Devices
Adding devices is simple:
- Select DEVICES or a subfolder under DEVICES in the Outline View ofthe Home Window
- Click the New button above the device list
- Select Vera Bridge from the Type: popup
- In the resulting Synchronize Vera Device... dialog (if you're editing anexisting device you should click the Define and Sync… button afterselecting Vera Bridge), select the device you want to add from theVera Device list. This list shows all the supported devices that areconfigured in the Vera. If you switch to the Vera UI and create a newdevice, just click on the Refresh List button and we'll rebuild thelist.
- Click the Sync button. We will query the device to find out it's typeand name.
- Close the Configure New Device dialog and begin using the device.
Device Details
Once created, all devices behave as you would expect. Locks are implemented as astandard On/Off device. On means locked, Off means unlocked. You use the samestandard controls for a lock that you use for an On/Off device.
The lock device will show it's battery-level in the Device Details tile (aswill any thermostat that's battery powered).
![Vera Serial Interface Garam Vera Serial Interface Garam](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126339449/521721147.png)
Performing a Status Request on any device will actually instruct the plugin torefresh the status of all devices. This happens because of how the Vera APIprovides updates. We have to poll the Vera for device updates and it'shard-coded to poll every 3 seconds so as to not completely overwhelm yournetwork. Most polls will only ask for any changes since the last update so thereturned data is small, but when you do a status refresh we will ask for a fullupdate with every device and state.
Running Scenes
Executing Vera scenes is even easier. Just add an action and select the VeraBridge Actions->Run Scene menu item from the Type: menu and select thescene from the popup in the resulting dialog. You can also run scenesinteractively by selecting the Plugin->Vera Bridge->Run Scene menu item.
Notes on the Vera and Performance
There are several performance issues with the Vera that you should be aware of.First, Lock devices are relatively slow. In our testing, the Vera Litecontrolled locks usually take 3-4 seconds to respond to a command when it'sissued from the Vera UI, and the UI updates a second or two after that.
Second, we often don't see state changes through the API very quickly. Oftentimes the update for a lock change will come as long as 18 seconds later (againwith the locks, right?). There doesn't appear to be anything we can do aboutthis unfortunately. Fortunately, on/off devices and dimmers seem to respond tocommands much faster and if there are no lock changes their status changes comethrough at a reasonable rate.
We've done quite a bit of work trying to optimize the performance of the plugin,and it's performance may vary because of other issues as well, but we think thesolution is usable given the primary tasks it was created to handle.
Vera vs Serial Interface
You may be asking yourself why use the Z-Stick or UZB (or any future serial-typeinterfaces) at all since the Vera can already control my Z-Wave devices? Thereare actually several reasons:
- Managing devices in the Indigo/Vera combination requires you to use 2 userinterfaces: you have to use the Vera UI to add the device to the Vera'snetwork (which in our experience is a pretty confusing experience) and thenyou have to add the device in Indigo. With a serial interface, you only needto do the network inclusion with the interface (which is really easy) andthen add the device in Indigo.
- Indigo can manage associations, scenes, etc., directly (and automatically insome cases), making the experience much more seamless.
- Communication from Indigo->serial interface->Device is significantlyfaster than Indigo->Vera->Device because the Vera hardware is trying todo much more than the serial interface. We've seen consistent delays in the1-3 second range when controlling devices through the Vera.
- We can create easy to understand UI for special configuration options forthe more popular Z-Wave devices.
All of these factors, combined, mean that the overall Indigo experience issignificantly better and makes the UI significantly easier to use than the Vera.And ease of use and speed is why you wanted to use Indigo in the first place,right?
So, how exactly does it work then? It's actually rather simple: Z-Wave networksrequire one primary controller - which has it's own unique network id. When adevice is included by the primary controller, it is assigned a unique node idand given the network ID. So, when using both Indigo/serial interface and theVera, you're creating two distinct Z-Wave networks. One is managed byIndigo/serial interface and the other is managed by the Vera (and Indigo is justa 3rd party controller). Having two different Z-Wave networks in the samephysical location is not a problem - a device is either on one network or theother and they won't get confused or interfere with each other. In fact, forlarge Z-Wave networks (over 232 devices) it is the only way it can work.
So, bottom line: using Vera to control locks or other simple devices whileIndigo's Z-Wave network does everything else (through the serial interface) willnot cause any issues but we recommend migrating your devices over to Indigo foroptimal performance and reliability.
As stated above, we have no plans to add more device types to the Vera Bridgeplugin because we believe that it is a significantly better experience to haveIndigo directly control devices.
Scripting Support
Here's the plugin ID in case you need to programmatically restart the plugin:
Plugin ID: com.perceptiveautomation.indigoplugin.vera
Support and Troubleshooting
![Garam Garam](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126339449/167521353.jpg)
For usage or troubleshooting tips, join the plugindiscussion on our forum.