Apr 04, 2016 Network Resources allows the ISY to call other systems using HTTP/HTTPS/TCP/UDP/Multicast. Please note that you need PRO features for Advanced HTTPS/Cipher suites functionality Available HTTP/HTTPS commands include GET/POST/CONNECT/DELETE/HEAD/PUT/TRACE. POST and PUT allow the use of URL-ENCODED, RAW TEXT, and BINARY modes. ISY is not cloud based – All logic, programs, and communication with local devices run on ISY itself – Even if ISY’s network cable is unplugged, everything will continue to run – Real time clock on board. ISY Portal is the completely optional link between ISY and other cloud services such as Amazon Echo, Google Home, IFTTT, and Geo Fencing. Use your ISY as a web server to serve up your own applications, pictures, and files. The module also includes Wake On Lan (turn your computers on using ISY progrmas) and Network Resources which enable you to call any network resource (TCP/UDP/HTTP/HTTPS). This tutorial video goes over the basics of configuration an ISY. Topics include system setup, network, clock, email notifications, backup and restore.
Now that we have the ISY-994i, let’s get started setting it up.
Set-up is pretty simple with your existing network. Think of the ISY-994i as a tiny, low-power computer that bridges the gap between your home computer network and the Insteon network. It can run programs and manage devices and scenes from any web browser (and more than a few iDevices and Android devices, for that matter).
First let’s let at how things are connected. Generally, you’ll have an internet connection to the outside world, which is powered by your router. The ISY-994i connects to that router, which is how you access it from your network or the Internet. The ISY also connects to the PowerLinc modem through a serial port, which plugs into an electrical outlet; this is how the ISY communicates with wired devices on your Insteon network.
The PowerLinc modem is dual-band, which means that wireless devices can also connect to it directly. Remember, though, that because Insteon is a mesh network, they might not have to connect directly, so don’t stress too much about where to physically install this thing. If your PowerLinc is on the second floor of your house and there is a motion sensor in your basement, the motion sensor might be out of range. But, the motion sensor could connect to a dual-band light switch down there, which could in turn connect over the power lines to the PowerLinc. The beauty of the Insteon mesh network is that these are details you don’t really need to care about, or even understand – generally it will all just work!
Here’s a visual representation of how everything is connected:
Physically, you’ll connect an ethernet cable from your router to your ISY-994i. From there, you’ll connect the ISY-99i with an ethernet cable to the PowerLinc modem (but for you techies out there, don’t be mistaken – this is not an ethernet link, but a serial connection). Finally, plug the PowerLinc modem into the wall. Note that you shouldn’t plug the modem into a device that may interrupt the power line signal. For example, some surge protectors and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) devices have filters that can interrupt the signal, so if you have trouble, take those devices out of the loop and plug the modem directly into the wall.
When you power it up, the ISY will get a dynamic IP address on your network, and should show up in your PC’s “My Network Places”. So you should be able to connect to it by entering http://isy/ in your browser, but see the ISY User Guide or Universal Devices’ Wiki for more information on how to connect from your browser.
The ISY994i is great, but like the out-of-the-box AppleTV, it’s a little bit of a walled garden in the sense that you can’t deploy your own code to the device, and can’t really directly tweak the functionality of what’s available on it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly powerful – Universal Devices provides extensive APIs via web services or all of the major programming languages to extend the functionality from your desktop.
There’s also a somewhat hidden set of modules that you can purchase to extend the native functionality as well. To access these APIs, go to Help:Purchase Modules in your Admin Console, and you should end up at a not-so glamorous looking page like this:
There are no screen shots, no links to documentation, no graphics at all. It really feels like a forgotten corner of the Universal Devices web site but it does, in fact, work. After paying for your purchase using Google Checkout, the module automatically becomes available in your admin console the next time you fire it up. It is able to do this because the ISY’s unique identifier (the UUID) is sent along with the purchase, so the next time the ISY-994i starts up it checks with the server for modules available to it.
Isy Network Module
The key module that I’m recommending here is the Network Module, described simply as follows:
Use your ISY as a web server to serve up your own applications, pictures, and files. The module also includes Wake On Lan (turn your computers on using ISY progrmas) and Network Resources which enable you to call any network resource (TCP/UDP/HTTP/HTTPS).
In other words, there are a couple of key features with this module (the documentation can be found here):
- Wake On Lan. Turn on a computer in response to an event or program in the ISY
- Web Server. Serve basic HTML and image files and change the default home page for your ISY. Sorry, no ability to run CGI, Java, or PHP here – just regular old HTML.
- Network Services. Have the the ISY-994i make web requests to other applications, firing off specific external actions in response to events and programs.
- Dynamic File Generation. Have the ISY-994i dynamically create or append to files being served up via the web server (mostly useful for logging events).
While it would be nice to be able to use the Web Server to replace the existing UI, that just doesn’t seem possible because you can’t dynamically access the state of devices or scenes, so the web server seems to have pretty limited use.
The feature I do find very useful, however, is the Network Services component, which allows the ISY to make network requests to external services. Universal Devices even maintains a page on their wiki for sample services you can interact with. For example, applications like XBMC, TiVo (a module for this is available here), and Windows Media Center all have some form of network interface that allow you to send commands. So, for example, you could use the Network Module to tell XBMC on your AppleTV to play your favorite playlist when a certain scene is activated. The possibilities are endless, and I’ll provide some examples in an upcoming post.
Isy Network & Wireless Cards Driver Download For Windows 7
Until then, you can play around with the functionality (once you have purchased the module) in the Configuration tab, under “Networking”, “Network Resources”.