Is Vera still the best controller (to replace my failing Vera3)?

[mfalkvidd]

@samppa if you like the Vera you should probably stick to it, especially since you have invested a lot in learning and writing code for it.

What are the main features you would like to see compared in a table? (The reason I'm asking is that different controllers have so vast different features that comparing all features would make it impossible to present it in a table that anyone could grasp)

If you haven't seen it already, https://www.mysensors.org/controller lists all known controllers and their features.

[samppa]

Yes I saw the list and struggling to go through it one by one..
It would be great to see the main differences and estimation of target audience as a summary table. Level of expertise needed, z-wave, zigbee support etc..

[hek]

@samppa said:

It would be great to see the main differences and estimation of target audience as a summary table. Level of expertise needed, z-wave, zigbee support etc..

That would be a nice addition. Please help us out to make a comparison.

[samppa]

Perhaps we could link to https://socialcompare.com/en/comparison/home-automation-controllers-under-400dollar-37r4y81h and add rows for MySensors compatibility..

[AWI]

@samppa The MySensors controller list only has a small overlap with the 'socialcompare' list. We can start with a table which lists the most important MySensors aspects. Personally I am not interested how these controllers handle z-wave etc.

Start a brainstorm on features?

• Last update date / update frequency

• supported S_ & V_ types (extensive, including special handling)

• Node ID generation

• Serial Gateway support

• LAN Gateway support

• Multiple gateway support

• Ack support

• OTA support

• Heartbeat support

• Hardware platform(s)

• Web interface

• Customisation

• IFTT alike programming

While typing this list I recognise that there are a few more difficult to quantify elements like : user friendlyness, experience level, customizability. Next to that I think there will only be a limited number of main stream controllers with extensive MySensors support. A few runner ups and a lot of niche players/ legacy.

if the feature list is next to complete and agreed, we can start filling it.

[Nca78]

Hello,

that would be a good idea.

To keep it simple maybe the table should just give some kind of "level" of support for MySensors ? For example something like "basic" (switches, temp/hum/... sensors, dimmer ...), "advanced" (RGB, HVAC, Ack, Heartbeat), "full" (all or nearly all features) so users can have a global idea of the level of support, then a switch could toggle the display of the supported message/value types ? As displaying them right away would make the table much more complex and probably confusing for a lot of users.

Maybe also group the columns :
"Gateways" column with "Serial" and "Lan" subcolumns
"Interfaces" column with "Web", "Free App", "Paid App" columns
"Customization" column with "Blocky", "Script"

[mfalkvidd]

Could this table be prototyped in a Google Spreadsheet, which can be edited online by anyone? Maybe that is the quickest way to experiment and find out what information should be made available?

[AWI]

@mfalkvidd My idea, anyone with some experience build the format? ;-)

[mfalkvidd]

@AWI I'm mainly a PowerPoint Engineer nowadays but here you go: <EDIT: Removed link, use AWI's below instead>

[AWI]

@mfalkvidd We are getting off topic here... ;-) Thanks for your start. I have changed the layout a little (swapped rows and colums as I think there are more features than controllers.. and tried to incorporate @Nca78 's suggestions ( I'm more an Excel guy )

As I have only little knowledge on the other controllers I filled only the Domoticz colum. Shall we start a new topic when we have more than 10 votes to go based on this layout?

find it here: MySensors Controller comparison

[fets]

@AWI + @mfalkvidd good job.
Maybe you could add MQTT gateway support

[mfalkvidd]

@fets I thought the idea was to let everyone add what they want. The document is editable.

@AWI should I delete my version of the document? Managing forks is a pain, especially when there is no system for pull requests.

[AWI]

@mfalkvidd if you are ok with the changes. I

[mfalkvidd]

I have removed edit rights in my document and deleted everything. Added a link to your document.