Regarding secondary z-wave controller

This is more like a question to Matt/Jay, about how Indigo would behave if I would try the procedure below.

Before I list the steps, some background info:

I have been using the same z-net like remote z-wave interface interchangeably between Indigo (my main HA system) and Homeseer for years, without any problem. To tell you the truth, I now mostly use Homeseer only to make regular backups of my z-net like remote interface, for example when I have to add or remove a z-wave device, in order to have the previous situation saved. I have to use Homeseer because Indigo still does not have this functionality built-in.

To make a new backup, all I have to do is stop the Indigo server, start Homeseer which is already set to use the same remote z-wave interface, use it's built-in backup function, save the file somewhere safe, shutdown Homeseer and put Indigo back online. I can then add or remove a z-wave device in Indigo at will without fear of having it getting stuck in the middle of an add/remove operation, which sometimes result in "ghost" nodes. In case of a problem, I can use Homeseer's restore network function and have my z-wave network interface the way it was before.

Well, now that the background info is laid out and understood, I'm willing to learn if Indigo would somehow go haywire in case I would also use Homeseer to add a secondary z-wave controller, which is something Homeseer also supports, but Indigo unfortunately still does not yet, once I had it done in Homeseer, had shutdown Homeseer and brought Indigo back up...

Steps:
- stop Indigo server;
- start Homeseer set to use the same z-net like remote z-wave interface (in my case, a raspberry pi with a zwave.me Razberry GPIO card - been using it for years successfully);
- Use Homeseer to add a secondary z-wave interface (let's say, a z-stick gen 7 or a UZB-7...);
- Shutdown Homeseer after successfully adding the secondary interface;
- Bring Indigo's server back on.

I mean, if I would try adding a secondary z-wave controller to my z-wave network which resides in my already mentioned z-net like remote interface, I'm sure I would not have a single problem if I would keep using both the main z-net like remote interface and the secondary z-wave interface in Homeseer ONLY, as it's supported.

But, I'm willing to learn what do you guys think would be the most likely outcome, if I then would try again to use the main remote z-wave interface back in Indigo, while keeping the secondary z-wave interface still operational, on another point of the house? Do you think Indigo would just IGNORE IT? Or do you think Indigo would REMOVE it? Or maybe, mark it as bad? IDK what else could be cause by Indigo finding something it thinks it's not supposed to be there...

Sorry if my explanation is confusing. English is not my main language.

PS: the final objective would be, of course, someday to promote the secondary to primary and eliminate the current z-net like remote interface altogether, but I'm wiling to run it in a primary-secondary basis for a while, in order to be absolutely certain everything keeps working in Indigo and that the secondary did not ruin things up.

Cesar

[matt (support)]

Hi Cesar,

I don't know for sure what will happen (never tried it), but Indigo shouldn't remove the secondary or flag it as bad in any manner. I'd be curious to know if it works or not.

I still have on my list to look at adding Indigo support for promoting a secondary to be a primary. I believe one issue with doing so is that the secondary after it is promoted won't receive lifeline/update messages from remote modules correctly because they'll still have their associations pointing back to the old controller node ID. So I think work will need to be done to automatically change all the associations in the modules to point to the new controller after it is promoted. We have to do something similar with Insteon whens someone swaps in a new PowerLinc interface.

If you try the secondary controller experiment then please let us know the results.

Thanks, Matt.
I'm still wrapping my head around this idea and possible safeguards to roll back in case of problems, but will probably try it over the Holidays.
Will update this post with my findings.
Cesar