Re: leviton vizia RF switches (Z-wave)

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

"Dan Wright" <No_way@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>"Robert L Bass" <no-sales-spam@bassburglaralarms> wrote in message
>news:KsqdnRoRz7lZz2DYnZ2dnUVZ_vGinZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> Like the little video on the InTouch
>>> site illustrates, devices at opposite
>>> edges of the network cannot reach
>>> each other.
>>
>> That statement is misleading.  Devices
>> at opposite ends do not need to reach
>> each other.  They only need to reach
>> the closest device to them.
>
>What is not clear to me is how Z-wave networks determine routing.  Does each
>node only look for its immediate neighbors or all it can find?  Also its not
>clear if the routing structure is node based or shared throughout the
>network.  There are development kits and additional information out there,
>but I have not pursued any of it.
>
>If I understand the HS addon correctly, it allows route editing to help
>reach more distant nodes.  Again, I have not purchased it so I can supply
>anything definitive.  If that is true, that is great for HS based
>installations where their Z-troller is the primary.  It does not do much
>good for non-HS installations.  Presuming Z-wave grows, there would look to
>be a market for tools, not unlike the Monterey or Elk X-10 analyzers.
>

I see that Bass still doesn't understand even the most basic fundamentals of
how Z-Wave works. It doesn't matter whether a device only needs to talk
directly with a nearby node if the number of hops required to reach the
distant device exceeds the max-hops limit. That's why Intermatic added 4
hops.

I also wonder how how it determines which of many possible routes is best.
It might take a z-g-zag route and quickly run into the max hops limit. It's
supposed to be self-organizing but, at least as far as I understand it, the
routing tables are stored in the master controller (although they can now be
transferred to secondary controllers). If a network analysis tool is
required to fine-tune the network, it would appear that its not terribly
efficient at self-organization. So how does a node that is not a controller
determine how to address the next hop?

I think it will create a nice market for installers as well as sophisticated
diagnostic tools. ;)

http://davehouston.net
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