Sorry if this has been answered or explained elsewhere.
I’m looking into SharpTools.io’s rule engine for Hubitat.
Are the rules processed locally, as is Hubitat’s focus, or are they handled by the SharpTools.io cloud?
Thanks!
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The SharpTools.io Rule Engine is processed by the SharpTools cloud (and has a dependency on the Hubitat cloud to be able to talk to your hub).
This provides us the flexibility to move more quickly with development cycles and connect multiple platforms together in a single Rule Engine. We currently support Hubitat and SmartThings and the vision is to connect even more platforms and device makers directly into SharpTools.io.
I get it, and I was pretty sure that was the case.
I do like the rule engine but I am trying to keep the focus on keeping things as local as possible.
Maybe some day down the road when things have settled there might be a way to have SharpTools.io run locally with Hubitat.
Thanks for the reply!
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Any changes here or still all cloud for Rule Engine and Hubitat?
I’ve since switched to Home Assistant using Node-Red for automation.
Moving all the brains out of Hubitat into my 2012 Mac Mini Home Assistant virtual machine and using Hubitat just as a Zigbee Z-Wave bridge has made everything so fast and stable.
I still automate a weekly reboot for Hubitat through Node-Red…
Theyve released some updates. I don’t know if that purged the slowness demons.
Rule Engine still remains cloud based at this point.
It’s clear that the rule engine is cloud based but what about regular device commands and updates? If I am running the dashboard on a browser on my home pc or mobile device connected to the same network as the Hubitat Hub will the commands have to be sent up to the cloud and back to turn on or off the device or does it execute those commands locally?
Welcome to the community and thanks for posting, @Andrew_Kelly! The device commands and updates go through the cloud relay.
Thanks Josh. One more question. How does the mobile dashboard get accessed? Does the mobile dashboard generate a link or encoded URL?
@Andrew_Kelly, what do you mean by the “mobile dashboard”, do you mean the dashboard page added to Home Screen?
Each dashboard has a unique id in the last section of the URL, and can be accessed for those who are authorized.
I was eventually able to figure it out and get it working o my tablet. Thanks for getting back to me.
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James, I think I understand the question. It’s like, “OK, so all rule executions go through the Sharp Tools cloud, but what if I just click on an icon on my dashboard to turn on a light?” I’m certain the answer is still yes. That action might not be perceived as executing a rule (and it may be or maybe not) but for sure it’s not all local. Nothing involving Sharp Tools is, correct? (I hope that made sense)
James/Josh (or anyone, Bueller? Bueller?), I love my HE (Hubitat Elevation) but every so often the response from tripping a motion sensor or hitting a light switch seems to be laggy. I go into a closet and it occasionally takes a few seconds for the light to come on. Or I hit a light switch and I have to hit it again to get the light to come on. But my experience with Sharp Tools has been flawless and seemingly instantaneous. I’m trying to puzzle in my mind why that would be. Internet is AT&T fiber, WiFi is Eero, switches are Zooz Zen 26 or 27, motion sensors are some Zigbee thing.
I’ve been stirred. lol
Not to besmirch the great efforts by the sharp tools team, but if you want anything local, you need the rules to be local, in HE or something else.
My HE died, but I found it too weak to handle all of my rules.
So now I have Home Assistant which is local, and it processes all my rules locally.
There’s a HE custom component which is lightning fast.
I used node red, it’s all visual.
That lives within Home Assistant if you want it to.
Both SharpTools Dashboard and Rule Engine are cloud based at this point. A few seconds for motion and lighting rule sounds weird for me. If can you post a screenshot of your rule, I may be able to suggest how to get the rule triggered/executed faster. My motion and lighting rule usually gets triggered and executed around a second. (I am using SmartThings, instead of HE.)
Did this only happen to the specific devices (Zooz Zen 26 and 27) or other devices as well? There can be several things involved there as you noted (zwave, network and etc). So I am curious if you can narrow down the devices/area to help troubleshoot.
Thanks Keith… will check it out and keep it in mind.
Hi James, thanks for the reply. Sorry for my late answer to your questions.
I think I confused you with my question. My point was… rules executing on my Hubitat HE via Sharp Tools seems very reliable and fast. Native Hubitat HE rules occasionally are laggy. And the HE rules are (presumably) happening remotely (and thus should seemingly should be faster).
Thus nothing here for ST to help debug.
And the HE lag I’ve experienced has been (thankfully) infrequent and rare.
But maybe the answer is to move those rules that have been occasionally slow off of the HE rules engine and have Sharp Tools Rule Engine handle the required action.
One downside I see to HE’s solution is how very many ways there are to skin the cat.
For example, the (occasional) trouble I am thinking of is "Walking into my closet, the light (most of the time) comes on very quickly (triggered by a motion sensor), but occasionally takes 2-3 seconds’. When I look at this in HE I see some of my motion ‘rules’ are created in their “Motion and Mode Lighting Apps”, and others in their “Simple Automation Rules” and I see that I could also implement these as a part of their “Rule Machine”. Thus if their code is sometimes ‘wonky’, which code?
Anyway, just some musing. Any input welcome.
Scott
The Hubitat Rule Machine, Motion and Mode Lighting Apps and Simple Automation Rules smartapps all run locally. Though they run locally, there are still other factors can impact the rule execution. Ex: slow sensor event report to the hub, hub was busy, or the command sent to the light switch was somehow delayed over the z-wave network. You will need to check through the log to have an better idea of the potential root causes. Meanwhile, it may make sense to consolidate the rule into one smartapp for this troubleshooting purpose.
Hi James, thanks. I agree. I also thought delays, sometimes, might also be due to delays while the HE is updating it’s software. I’ll definitely consolidate where all the rules are, in part for troubleshooting, like you say, but also just to remain sane. Having so many different user interfaces in multiple systems can’t be an efficient way to operate. Thanks again for your help.
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Keith, how are you using SharpTools.io in your system? I have the same vision as you seem to be implementing, i.e. Hubitat for Z-Wave and HASS with Node-Red for sensors. I’m wondering about using SharpTools for dashboards instead of, or perhaps in addition to, Lovelace. What works for you??