Z-stick becomes unresponsive sometimes

It has happened to me twice in a few weeks that my zwave network is down and I see this in the log :

Z-Wave Error serial port communication error: read failed: [Errno 6] Device not configured
Z-Wave Error Z-Wave 3.95 static controller might be disconnected
Z-Wave Error silently retrying serial connection every 5.0 seconds
Interface Failure lost connection with interface


I am using Indigo 6.1.1, and I am using a high quality Ethernet-USB extender... I don't have the option to plug the stick directly into my Mac.

I am asuming that my problem is caused by the extender, so my question is if it would be a good idea to shedule a restart of Indigo every night or so ?
Would this keep my zwave problem free ?
Or could I script a schedule inside Indigo that reloads Zwave every night ? I don't see this as an Action inside the schedules so I guess this is not an option.

Any pointers on how to restart Indigo, or should I just schedule a restart of the complete mac (I'd rather not do that... but if it solves my problem...)

Personally I use my Z-Wave stick on a cheap USB extension cable (just so I can get it in a place that has better signal than the back of my Mac) and have no issues whatsoever.

As a test, what is preventing you from plugging directly into the Mac? Your extender could absolutely be the issue in that it might be bad, but your stick could also be bad and the best way to determine that would be to try to run it directly from a USB - even as just a temporary solution to eliminate the extender as a possibility.

Another thing to consider is if the outage happens regularly, such as when some certain event fires up. I know that I once had an issue where I had a script running at 2am that was trying to do something on a remote computer but that computer had died a week or two earlier and wasn't replaced (and I forgot to change the script), so when it tried to run the script it totally hung up Indigo for a couple of minutes trying to communicate with an nonexistent computer and it was driving me nuts why at 2am every day all my other indigo actions (including talking to my Z-Wave stick) were failing.

The reason for the extender is range.
Indigo is running on a Mac Pro which also serves as my SecuritySpy server and also general file server for my network. It is tucked away in the attic.
I live in a very old house, walls are 50cm thick with no air gap in between.
The z-stick with extender is positioned just behind an indoor window, and this location gives me a workable range... allthough I am constantly looking to improve... I still have a few sections in the house that are not very reliable.
The extender can be powered at the end (where the z-stick is mounted) and I have done so since yesterday... it might very well be that power was cut off from the Mac momentarily, or power was insufficient. Ifso, the extra power supply should help.

I'll keep an eye on my logfiles, that's a good suggestion, thanks.

You were correct. It seems this has nothing to do with my usb extender, but it sometimes happens when I disarm my Alarm script.

All I do is set a variable Alarmarmed to false and then turn off the sirene (even if it is not on).
It seems this sometimes causes a problem. See my log below.

I have to add that this is the Gen5 Aeon Sirene, and while it works, it does not seem to be fully supported inside Indigo.
Could this be the cause of my Zwave network failing ? And more important, is there a way to prevent it from happening ?

I should add, this does not happen every time when I turn off the Alarm, but it has happened 3 times already after this exact command.

Event log:
2015-07-04 12:25:52.872 Action Group Alarm uit
2015-07-04 12:25:52.923 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1
2015-07-04 12:26:04.964 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:26:17.028 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:26:29.082 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:26:41.115 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:26:53.136 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:27:05.175 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:27:17.204 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:27:29.223 Z-Wave Debug SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 66 A1 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:27:41.447 Z-Wave Debug stopping node status polling
2015-07-04 12:27:42.227 Z-Wave Debug stopped zwave packet parser thread
2015-07-04 12:27:42.229 Z-Wave Error send setRelayValue failed after 9 attempts
2015-07-04 12:27:42.230 Z-Wave Error restarting serial connection in 5.0 seconds
2015-07-04 12:27:45.455 Interface Failure lost connection with interface
2015-07-04 12:27:47.238 Z-Wave Debug starting serial connection loop
2015-07-04 12:27:47.239 Z-Wave Debug starting zwave packet parser thread
2015-07-04 12:27:47.240 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9
2015-07-04 12:27:59.268 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:28:11.300 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:28:23.354 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:28:35.392 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:28:47.435 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:28:59.457 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:29:11.507 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:29:23.545 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9 (re-sent because no response)
2015-07-04 12:29:35.710 Z-Wave Debug stopped zwave packet parser thread
2015-07-04 12:29:35.711 Z-Wave Error send getVersion failed after 9 attempts
2015-07-04 12:29:35.712 Z-Wave Error restarting serial connection in 5.0 seconds
2015-07-04 12:29:39.456 Interface Failure lost connection with interface
2015-07-04 12:29:40.715 Z-Wave Debug starting serial connection loop
2015-07-04 12:29:40.717 Z-Wave Debug starting zwave packet parser thread
2015-07-04 12:29:40.717 Z-Wave Debug SENT getVersion: 01 03 00 15 E9

etc....

Edit :
upon further investigation, I have now created a script to first see if the Sirene device is turned on, ifso then turn it off.
Seems that now I see this in the event log as the turn off command :
SENT setRelayValue: 01 0A 00 13 03 03 25 01 00 05 0D CA

This differs from what I am seeing above, and might explain why the command above causes trouble... only question is why is this command different ?

[matt (support)]

That is really strange. So you see the errors above even without the USB extender? Those errors are low-level, and are normally the result of a USB extension cable (or hub). It could be the siren has a firmware bug or is malfunctioning and sending back data that is confusing the Z-Stick, but I've never seen that occur before.

ah indeed, I just assumed it had nothing to do with my extender, since it happened twice after the same event. Sadly I don't have the option to plug directly into the mac... but I'll see if I can find another usb extender to try.
I'll keep an eye on it and will report back when I find more info on how and when this happens.

[matt (support)]

An active USB extension cord (that is, not just a cable) might work best. Or a USB hub. I had a problem with a passive extension cable. There would be all sorts of low level USB communication errors.

Hello
I've seen your posts. I have a new problem without having change the USB wire. Suddenly last sunday, I had a ZWAVE problem :
2015-11-08 00:13:27.464 Z-Wave Error send requestMeterLevel failed after 9 attempts
2015-11-08 00:13:27.466 Z-Wave Error restarting serial connection in 5.0 seconds
2015-11-08 00:13:30.821 Interface Failure lost connection with interface

This problem occurs each hour at 6:12, 7:12, 8:12, ... exactly at 12 minutes.I tried to understand if a schedule can be the origin of the problem but I have noting specific at this time each hour. I changed nothing concerning the usb wire connected with an active longer wire for the Z stick.

Sometimes the Zwave Z stick reconnect just after, and sometimes it stays blocked with green bar and the word ZWAVE stays red (left bottom corner of the home window)... all my domestic is out of order when it occurs (during the 2 last nights !)

Please HELP.
Thanks a lot
Patrice

I put a copy of the debug Zwave messages I have each problem :

2015-11-08 13:12:00.890 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8
2015-11-08 13:12:09.180 Trigger TRIGGER Tendance vent Hausse
2015-11-08 13:12:12.865 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:12:21.136 Schedule SCHEDULE Recuperation variables Temperatures Les Saisies
2015-11-08 13:12:24.897 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:12:36.929 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:12:42.137 Schedule SCHEDULE Mise à jour position Volets et msql 2
2015-11-08 13:12:48.975 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:12:51.134 Schedule SCHEDULE Mise à jour position Volets et msql 1
2015-11-08 13:13:02.190 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:13:11.663 Schedule SCHEDULE Mise à jour TEMP Ambiance pour Smart Thermostat et Moyenne Thermostat PAC
2015-11-08 13:13:11.691 Schedule SCHEDULE Mouvemente et portes msql
2015-11-08 13:13:12.334 Trigger TRIGGER Tendance vent Baisse
2015-11-08 13:13:13.079 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:13:25.114 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:13:37.144 Z-Wave Debug SENT setHvacMode: 01 0A 00 13 43 03 40 01 00 05 5A B8 (re-sent because no response)
2015-11-08 13:13:39.130 Schedule SCHEDULE Mise à jour position Volets et msql 2
2015-11-08 13:13:49.225 Z-Wave Debug stopping node status polling
2015-11-08 13:13:49.494 Z-Wave Debug stopped zwave packet parser thread
2015-11-08 13:13:49.495 Z-Wave Error send setHvacMode failed after 9 attempts
2015-11-08 13:13:49.496 Z-Wave Error restarting serial connection in 5.0 seconds
2015-11-08 13:13:53.133 Interface Failure lost connection with interface

[matt (support)]

Are you using Mac OS 10.11? There are several reports of USB problems with it, unfortunately. Try different USB ports to see if that helps.

The error you are seeing means Indigo send a command to the Z-Stick and got no reply at all. So either the USB communication is flakey or the Z-Stick itself is locking up. Also try unplugging all USB devices except the Z-Stick, mouse, and keyboard.

It is strange that the problem occurs exactly every hour... you might also try disabling all the Indigo plugins temporarily to see if that helps.

Matt
Thanks a lot for your reply. I finally found the origin... The usb extender moved very close to a relay device. Each hour (I guess during synchro) the devices probably was trying to communicate with Zstick and the Zstick was unable to listen ...
After changing the wire place everything works perfect during the night...

Just a small demand, I'm very interested to know a backup Zstick solution because I 'm nervous to loose my network and solutions of some posts seems risky! You know something about that

Thanks again
Patrice