I am trying to get my arms around a latency problem, but I think it is not the typical type of latency that occurs randomly between switches and loads or between switches and other linked switches. Controller-to-responder latency in my Insteon network is rare, and typically brief when it occurs. I would say that responses to physical switches are near immediate over 95% of the time, even between linked switches, and no more than 3-4 seconds the other 5 % of the time.
After 3 days of troubleshooting, my latency problem appears to be related only to commands that are issued by indigo. And it presents as if Indigo goes to sleep for exactly 25 seconds, during which commands issued by indigo seem to stay in a state of suspension, and then after the 25 seconds is up, Indigo will execute the commands that were issued during the 25 second “sleep” period. It goes to sleep at 1 minute intervals, and oddly enough, it is exactly on the minute, based on the National Bureau of Standards time. I have a watch that updates its time daily by radio, and have confirmed that this “sleep” cycle happens on the minute, every minute.
I have had trigger reliability issues for quite some time (although the occurrences seemed to be random), but I decided to postpone serious troubleshooting until I replaced my aging Late-2012 mac mini, which I did last weekend.
Here’s an example of what I have seen in testing, over the past 3 days:
• I can toggle a light switch on and off repeatedly (one toggle about every 1 ½ to 2 seconds) from the Indigo UI device list, and the light will respond with no delay until the sleep period starts at the top of the minute. “Sent INSTEON” entries appear in the log immediately, each time I toggle the switch.
• At the top of the minute, the light will quit responding to the toggles and no entries will show up in the log until 25 seconds after the minute.
• If I keep toggling the switch after the light quits turning on and off, those extra toggles will get executed, beginning at 25 seconds after the minute, once the software seems to “wake up.” Corresponding log entries will appear as each command is executed.
• At one point, before I began formal testing, I would occasionally get “Error “[device] off [or on]; send failed (no acknowledgement). Before I began troubleshooting, I did a batch sync, and I have not gotten the error messages with the switches I have tested.
• If, during the 25 second sleep period, I toggle a light switch on/off from a linked keypad, the light toggles without delay and a “Received INSTEON” log entry appears with each toggle. I think this tells me that I’m not dealing with a typical signal noise issue. But, I'm looking for an outside opinion.
• I can repeat this any time of the day, with the same results every time.
NOTES ABOUT MY SYSTEM
I am running Indigo on an 8GB mac mini m1, plugged into a dedicated circuit about 15 ft from a subpanel. My 2413u interface is plugged into a separate dedicated circuit. The problems I am describing began some time back, when I was running the Late 2012 mini, so I waited until I replaced the mini to begin troubleshooting.
I have a large Insteon system with 71 switches (I can only imagine how many collisions take place when a command is executed) and a multitude of sensors in and around a 7500 sqft house. Most of the switches are in the 5000 sqft main house, with only a few in the 2500 sqft apartment under the same roof. The sensors are both inside and outside.
QUESTIONS
Of course, my primary question is whether someone can offer any suggestions regarding what is causing this problem. But I would also like to know the timing of when events hit the log. For example when Indigo issues a command, does it get logged immediately, or when it hits the interface, or when an acknowledgement arrives at the interface from the target device? This would help me differentiate a delay in the software execution versus out in the Insteon network.