@TimO said:

So:
Serial gateway <-> OpenHAB 2 (with binding) <-> MQTT (Mosquitto) <-> Node Red

Interesting infrastructure. I would imagine there are endless possibilities with it. Thanks for the pointer

I got some homework to do on this, but looks like a helpful introduction video is here: here

@hek

This got me interested so I looked at Node Red. Wow! I started looking at some youtube intros and it looks very good. So let the learning curve begin

I suppose the first challenge will be to figure out how the architectures relate to one another.

Would I be able to use Node Red with the OH2 Z-Wave binding as well as mysensors for instance? Similarly, OH2 controls my WEMO lights, so they will also play with Node Red via OH2?

I know these are real noob questions but it would be a huge help to get set off in the right direction

@gohan

Thanks for the quick response.

It will be my first implementation of MQTT so I'm pretty much a blank canvas. I'll go with setting up the MQTT broker (server it's called now I believe) on my Raspberry Pi 3.

Installing OpenHAB2 on the Pi has been made a breeze by an unattended installer called OpenHABian. Bundled with the installer is an MQTT option which should set it up (it's accessed via a menu).

I'll be happy to share my lessons learned here, no doubt there will be a few

I've still got to order a few sensors and boards etc to get started so it will take a little while. That;s why I read this thread to get an idea of how the components all talk to each other. That would at least help me determine what I need to buy upfront so I can get busy with it. Any advice would be appreciated (just to get a motion sensor up and running)

I imagine it can become addictive!

@TRS-80, this topic is very interesting (so I though I would revive it )

I'm building my system based on Openhhab2 which it a pretty awesome framework to say the least. Immensely powerful.

Your post here touches on one area that I just can't get my head around - the link between OH2 on the Pi and Arduino RF boards. I'm probably missing something obvious but it's never been clear to me.

Admittedly I haven't set up any Arduino-based sensors yet but I'm hoping to start shortly (my dream is to build motion sensors as they are horribly expensive to buy manufactured (i.e. Aeotec etc)).

Have you bypassed MQTT or has it become integral in your workflow?