Alert if Vera offline

[RexBeckett]

That looks like a good solution. It's a classic watchdog timer. I would not expect much resource impact on either Vera with a five minute cycle time.

The PLEG logic at the receiving end needs some care to ensure it catches the reset cycle stopping during a restart.

[karenbobiv]

I also have a vacation rental, about 7 hrs away, and I can't afford to have the system go down, so I put in redundancies.  First, I have two Vera boxes.  The Primary Vera is attached to two iBoot devices that have auto-ping function.  It pings both the Vera box and the internet.  After a set number of failures (either one) it cycles and then tries again.  If it fails a second time then it turns off the Primary Vera and DSL Modem and switches on the Backup Vera that is connected to a 4G Hotspot device (using wi-fi dongle into Vera WAN).  This gives me complete redundancy of both Vera and communication pathway.  Backup Vera has a scene that notifies me that it's operational. 

But that's not all....  I also have everything on UPS and a TED5000 (plus Vera plugin) that I use to determine if the power is out, which Vera then uses to launch a notification.  UPS lasts about 95 minutes before it dies, so even with a sudden power outage I get a notification.  I also have a Dataprobe "Power Pal" that I can use to phone in and check on the power state, as well as reset everything back to the Primary Vera.  I also use a Cisco VPN to tunnel in so I can check on things, such as the two iBoots status or TED5000 webpage.  Using the VPN access, I can reset the iBoot counters or manually switch power.  Given amount of home automation I have, as well as volume of guests throughout much of year, I can't afford to lose contact with the house.  Lots of trial and error.  As soon as I think I've got all the bases covered, something new happens.

[ldomingues]

Hello,

I'm looking for a similar solution, to be notified that the Internet is done, and thus any push notifications from Vera are not being sent.

I don't want to invest in a virtual server neither a 4G Dongle.

The best/cheapest solution I could find was using an old Android phone with Tasker ((https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm).

I would then use a script to ping several servers, and if the connection fails, send me a text message.

This approach has the following advantages:
no monthly cost, except the cost of each text message sent
cheap old android device
no need for additional internet connection
text message will work even if I had disabled data services while I'm travelling to reduce roaming costs
the phone battery will be the UPS - so, if the internet fails because of power failure, the text message would be sent anyway
I can also setup an alert when the power fails (tasker can be setup to send a text message when the phone is running on battery and again when the power is back)

So far, it's only theory, I haven't yet implemented any of this. Any suggestions?

[integlikewhoa]

Hello,

I'm looking for a similar solution, to be notified that the Internet is done, and thus any push notifications from Vera are not being sent.

I don't want to invest in a virtual server neither a 4G Dongle.

The best/cheapest solution I could find was using an old Android phone with Tasker ((https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm).

I would then use a script to ping several servers, and if the connection fails, send me a text message.

This approach has the following advantages:
no monthly cost, except the cost of each text message sent
cheap old android device
no need for additional internet connection
text message will work even if I had disabled data services while I'm travelling to reduce roaming costs
the phone battery will be the UPS - so, if the internet fails because of power failure, the text message would be sent anyway
I can also setup an alert when the power fails (tasker can be setup to send a text message when the phone is running on battery and again when the power is back)

So far, it's only theory, I haven't yet implemented any of this. Any suggestions?

Where are you located and what text plan do you have in mind on using without a monthly cost or recharging every few months required?
In the USA it doesn't seem to have many no monthly options without you having to add or use so much to keep your account active.

What happens when power is out at the house (modem, switch, router, vera)?

After you get a text (I would assume your away from home) what is your next step?

How often do you loose power or internet?

What's your option to remotely restore either of these? (this is kind of a repeat maybe of questions 2)

[hellovn]

I just know about IFTTT and already use it for my home automation. I think you can check if Vera or Luup code is offline by using IFTTT. You will have to open port from your vera and use IFTTT by:

1. The Maker Channel.

2. Phone Channel.

The Maker channel will send a request to your vera web server and will trigger an event. You can set it up to call or SMS to your phone.

[RichardTSchaefer]

If I loose Internet  connectivity (And it happens often ... since I live way outside a city/town using multi-hop radio links) my Vera's reboot automatically when the connection is restored. I did not have do anything.

Then I get notified by the "Vera Alerts" plugin  when Vera Restarts.

So I do not know when it happens ... but I am never off the air for more than an hour.

[integlikewhoa]

If I loose Internet  connectivity (And it happens often ... since I live way outside a city/town using multi-hop radio links) my Vera's reboot automatically when the connection is restored. I did not have do anything.

Then I get notified by the "Vera Alerts" plugin  when Vera Restarts.

So I do not know when it happens ... but I am never off the air for more than an hour.

I'm in the same boat, I just curious to as what you can do when your away from home get a text your ISP is down. Never been worth my hassle to setup a sim card just for this purpose. Last time I looked here in the US, every prepaid phone had some min. payment every so often to keep your phone number or account active. So even if I thought I wouldn't use it much I had to keep recharging so much anyways as it expires. I think if I got to far into it, it would be better for me just to add on to my unlimited sprint data plan for so much a month. Then I can use the router on the UPS to fall over to LTE backup and keep vera up even during a power loss. But that would cost me 20ish a month which I have avoided. 

[ldomingues]

Where are you located and what text plan do you have in mind on using without a monthly cost or recharging every few months required?
In the USA it doesn't seem to have many no monthly options without you having to add or use so much to keep your account active.

I'm in Portugal. Vodafone provides a free SIM card. You just need to use it once a month, otherwise you get billed for ?0.50/month.

Sorry, content is in Portuguese, the plan is Vodafone Flat: http://www.vodafone.pt/main/particulares/tarifarios/plano-flat.html

There should be similar plans for other Vodafone countries in Europe.

What happens when power is out at the house (modem, switch, router, vera)?

If the power is down, the Android phone has battery and will detect power is down and text me.

After you get a text (I would assume your away from home) what is your next step?

I cannot access Vera neither the cameras, so I would call my neighbors to check if there's anything wrong. In any case, when the power is back I can use the cameras if there was any burglary (providing they didn't steal the cameras attached to the ceiling ;-)

How often do you loose power or internet?

Not often, sometimes when the router gets automatic firmware upgrades from the ISP.

What's your option to remotely restore either of these? (this is kind of a repeat maybe of questions 2)

Call the neighbors. Everything should be working again once power is back up, or the router reboots.
So, the approach would be, if it's down for too long, there's something wrong. If it's down for 5 minutes is business as usual.

[HarriettDigTD]

hell, the file properties are not giving me the option to change the file type. Still researching this problem.... any ideas?

[Derek]

I may be missing what you're trying to do, but UI7 has an option for the Vera mothership to send an alert when you're Vera is offline.  I have my Vera reboot itself every day (using a cheap timer plug in from Walmart that it's plugged into) and I get an alert every day of it being offline and then back online.

The setting is under User/Account Info, Notification Settings, and "Controller Offline Alert (Your Vera lost its Internet connection.)

Hello,

I'm looking for a similar solution, to be notified that the Internet is done, and thus any push notifications from Vera are not being sent.

I don't want to invest in a virtual server neither a 4G Dongle.

The best/cheapest solution I could find was using an old Android phone with Tasker ((https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm).

I would then use a script to ping several servers, and if the connection fails, send me a text message.

This approach has the following advantages:
no monthly cost, except the cost of each text message sent
cheap old android device
no need for additional internet connection
text message will work even if I had disabled data services while I'm travelling to reduce roaming costs
the phone battery will be the UPS - so, if the internet fails because of power failure, the text message would be sent anyway
I can also setup an alert when the power fails (tasker can be setup to send a text message when the phone is running on battery and again when the power is back)

So far, it's only theory, I haven't yet implemented any of this. Any suggestions?

[herbertsherbert]

I am finding it quite a disappointing that Vera does not have a contingency to warn the user if their box has failed.  I have always assumed that there was some kind of minimal communication from Vera to our vera units that checked that it was working. 

I have set some units up in some very remote places and will have to replace them with something that does not put me in a bad position. 

[RichardTSchaefer]

I do not use the Vera app ... but I would think it would complain if it could not talk to your Vera.

I use Vera Proximity for my GeoFencing. It let's me know if it can't talk to Vera when it tries to update the status of location.
But my house is so automated ... I know when Vera is down ... I have to remember where the light switches are and how to use them

[integlikewhoa]

I do not use the Vera app ... but I would think it would complain if it could not talk to your Vera.

I use Vera Proximity for my GeoFencing. It let's me know if it can't talk to Vera when it tries to update the status of location.
But my house is so automated ... I know when Vera is down ... I have to remember where the light switches are and how to use them

Yes but on vacation houses or remote houses your not there everyday (sometimes several months) and your also not opening the app everyday to that house to manually test the connection. When I finally do check on it, it may have been down for sometime (and probley no way to tell at that point how long either). Also everyone has different redundancy's (power/internet) but If I find out a week later that my vera is down and power or internet was cut to the house a week prior during an break in I would be a bit upset.

It would be nice to have vera's server send a notification when vera is down or up. This would log times and let you know somethings up check cameras or other devices at the house to see if all connections are lost, is vera just locked up or whats going on before finding out who knows when you manually check the next time.

[herbertsherbert]

Vera has this option but Vera had to do some magic to make mine work.  Be aware, that the option is login dependent so you can't just use the admin login to alter whether you want to system notifications turned on or off for each user.

My issue now is that the unit (units in my case) continually go up and down for unknown reasons.  I checked my unit once during a warning and it was offline while my internet connection was perfectly sound.  I emailed Vera about this and got no response.  Too many errors is just as bad as no errors. They just get ignored.

It would be nice if you could specify "don't warn me unless the unit or error has persisted for over an hour or some specified time".  That is, if the mysterious and continual controller down/controller up messages persist.

[Mike Yeager]

I am looking for a way to know that the controller is "offline" from the perspective of remote access. I've had several days of not being able to access mine remotely when it was perfectly fine. Vera told me I needed to check the Ergy plugin and that it might be causing memory issues, but I removed that obnoxious hog a year or so ago. Will try the settings method to see if that does what I need, but will keep looking...