if it's only to record humidity a capacitive soil moisture sensor could be an option.

@scalz so to be clear at the end: if THIS is the developer's sight of a "discussion" I am really out of it...

(and after all that I know, why people dont share the own developments on some point of the code, because of rude guys stopping "discussions")

so @admin : please close that topic

@scalz please don't get me wrong! I choosed MySensors because its a great framework!!! (and I thank every single programmer for his job)

....but:
why is there a "feature requests" section, when you tell me

a) write yourself whatever you want
b) take it as it is

as MANY others already asked in this forum, there is (not only me) a always re-appearing demand for enhanced hardware/tech. (eg IP)
so you would def. make several peoples happy, if we could use THE SAME MY_CONTROLLER_IP_ADDRESS and MY_PORT on a node-only, with the same transport that is used in the MY_GATEWAY_(tcp/ip-network)

@fotofieber said in Ethernet/WiFi-Client Gateway enhancement:

This could maybe solved by a new hal/transport/ip.

As the ESP32 can act as AccesPoint and WifiClient at the same time, he could be a gateway offering his service to nodes via his AccessPoint on a separate WLAN.

another solution could be:

add a defintion like MY_GATEWAY_ROUTING

#ifdef MY_GATEWAY_ROUTING
getId() ... at/of the interface of "MY_GATEWAY" and set it as "parent_id"
#endif

@mfalkvidd RS485=serial

as you mention that "multiple gateways" are then presented to the controller, that makes everything clear!!!

what would you name a device, that connects 2 physically different "networks" ...

....as long as this device DOES changes the data-packets (setting parent_id as the devices node_id in the higher network)? (for me this is a GATWEWAY)

....as long as this device DOES NOT change the data-packets? (for me this is a BRIDGE)

so there is to be resumed: MySensors can (out of the box) not buildup TREES
(thats a big big pitty)

@mfalkvidd
its not different, its the same....

maybe its my idea of a "gateway" that makes the problem

maybe you could follow me with this example:
lets say there is a gateway with MySensors and MY_GATEWAY_ETHERNET and MY_RS485.

The RS485 bus runs through some cooling-houses (they are farraday-cages). in every house there is a arduino-based MySensor MY_GATEWAY_RS485 and MY_RF** to collect the local sensors.

(I hope its that, what we both call a tree)

will this work?

@fotofieber
I am exactely at the same point!

using the MY_GATEWAY_* as a node is a big big issue, when you want to have a "higher" number of those. each of these devices has to be configured as a gateway in whatever controller you use.

following some other posts, the developers seem to have no view on ip-based sensors, and the word "gateway" is a little bit misleading.
the mysensors framework is a perfect framework for sensors though.

the AP-feature of ESP32 ESP8266 e.a. devices is, as you stated correctly, a perfect way to build a wifi-based backbone for such devices.

Some days ago I started to run exactely into this "problems" and as a easy to use "workarround" I tried the following:

I use a ESP* devices as an access-point and run a tenetserver on it. all the traffic is then bridged to one of the serial interfaces, which is (in my case) connected to a "mYsensor Ethernet gateway" , that uses a "fake" rs485 on its inside serial. those two serials are connect via crossed-over TX/RX lines. (see this sketch and activate the swap option)
https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/blob/master/libraries/ESP8266WiFi/examples/WiFiTelnetToSerial/WiFiTelnetToSerial.ino

next "problem" are the ip-based client-nodes. I also expected that the "gateway" would register itself and all the nodes behind on the "outside" interface, but thats not implemented. SO the only way to gt that working is:
ESP*-IP-Client node (aka bridge):
Start wifi and connection to a AP.
Defina a Softserial device (with loopback)
Start a telnet-client(!!!) on the device and bridge all input/ouput to a that device.
Use MySensors framework (MY_RS485) and define the use of Softserial as the device (the same softserial as defined above).
THESE clients can now connect to

) an MySensors network either with conneting to a MY_ESP_GATEWAY or MY_ETHERNET_GATEWAY doe to the fact, that the IP-connection is nothing else but simple "serial over ip" if you want to name the child like that.

*) to a "bridge" like described above

maybe thats not teh nicest solution but a way to get serial transport over ip running.

CAVEATS:
*) "repeating nodes" could generate a denial-of-service by repeatedly re-transmitting the same packets
*) Wifi-AP and Wifi-Client on the same device is a bad idea: the Wifi itself is something like a hub (and definately not a switch in the ip-network-speaking), what means: you bring additional traffic to that hub (aka HF-channel) and screw down the performence

one more (future) thoughts:
maybe someone should try something like a "IP-Concentrator" or "Arduino based Controller" functionality. That means:
*) IP or mqtt-Gateway-functionality as already possible with mysensors
*) MySensor Gateways can connect to that devices via TCP. Incomming traffic needs to be "rewritten" for example NodeId of the connected GW needs to be altered into the last byte of the IP-address and vice versa

I am very sure that somebody already made this, but the difficulty is (as far as I see) the nameing of funtionality: GATEWAY vs. CONTROLLER vs. NODE vs.BRIDGE ...
The main argument against "a MySensor Sensor is always ONE Gateway" is, as you already stated, the amount of gateway-connections you have to maintain.

a last thought:
I have not played arround much with Nodemanager, but I think that "concentrator" functionality as well as "SerialOverIP" transport could maybe be easyly done there

cheers
Peter
(wenns zu unverständlich war, erklär ich das auch gern nochmal in deutsch)

EDIT: https://github.com/paulo-raca/ArduinoBufferedStreams/blob/master/examples/LoopbackBuffer/LoopbackBuffer.ino

@mfalkvidd not the gateways ar the "problem" - the nodes inside are (in a way). I thought that a gateway in client mode would act as one...

but what I dont get: @scalz says its a "tree-topology" how would you be able to make tree, if the gateways dont bundly their nodes and forward it to the uplink ?

-----anyway----
a feature lik "MY_SERIALoverIP" would be cool anyway...or a ethernet-gateway that is worth the name

@scalz

ok, maybe the sort version was not so easy to nderstand. I give the long version a try:
each of my big greenhouses will get the following quipment:
WemosMiniD1Pro --> MySensors ESP8266Gateway (Wifi of the "backbone") and MY_RS485 (reasons: external antenna connector, seperation of all the following from the "internet")

So Inside the greenhouse I could have 254 nodes comming from the RS485 side. that would make a cobweb of cables. So I decided to add a "wifi to serial bridge" aka esp8266 as WifI-AP (greenhouse-wifi), Telnetserver running on port 5003,sending everyting to serial1, where there is the mentioned Mini waiting.

when I now deploy 20 SoilMoisturesensors (in every greenhouse) I dont want to do a seperate code for each sensor eg to set topics etc.
they should connect to the telnetserver and act as nodes.
May Idea was to make them GATEWAY_ESP32 with clientmode. (what sounded to be a "client")

+*+
OpenHAB gets configured one mysensors-ethernetgateway per greenhouse and everything is done.

@scalz more simple? I don't agree!
for example:
I have like 20 equal sensors /4way soilmoisture per greenhouse (40mx8m) ... in 12 houses overall. they would all come with the same topic-id...so: no way!

what I have built so far: wifi-ap with a telnetserver on 5003 that is bridget to a serial interface connected to an esp8266 gateway. The Idea was, that the esp32-gateways connect to that port and get rs485 nodes there.

so I resume: i have to do the tcp-transport stuff myself, when I want simple nodes to connect via TCP...