I would really like to get in on the Ezlo Plus beta. Any way I can do that?
Thanks!
RW
Just read this on the weekly summary, so bad Iâm late 
Those new devices look promising! Keep it up!
Small details which are incorrect on the veras but of great importance on the CPU which I posted above:
The VeraPlus is a single core dual thread.
The Vera Secure is a dual core quad thread while the H2+ is a quad core quad thread.
They are of different architecture but of same technology node. The vera MTK was designed to be a AC1200 mid range router CPU while the Allwinner is cheapened down version of a rock bottom cheap (H3) set top box. The MTK has a much wider I/O com bus and is designed to be on 24/7, not the Allwinner which is really being used for toys as it was too weak for its STP target market. It has a GPU but not sure what use it will have for this application.
You are also missing the details of the flash being low end consumer grade eMMC TLC vs high endurance and faster SLC.
Overall upgrades: zwave and zigbee, BT radios, RAM, Storage size, CPU performance vs vera plus.
Downgrade: CPU class (from mid range router to low end toy), ethernet, wifi (2x2 vera vs 1x1 ezlo), storage class (from professional appliance grade to low end consumer) and speed
About the same: CPU performance vs vera secure which was untapped by the vera firmware.
I like the switch to ARM though and a better Linux distro though with potential for a better firmware. The radio upgrades are great for future proofing even if not useful at all today.
Sorry but from my hardware enthusiast and semiconductor professional perspective, I will pass. The vera didnât cut it and this overall feels like a downgrade from a reliability and too many areas of performance perspective to me especially after so many years.
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VeraPlus is based on MT7621 which is Dual Core/Quad Thread.
H2 has a Quad-Core Arm (C) Cortex-A7 CPU with PLL range 200-2800MHz, throttling and other features of modern ARM. They are not the same technology node.
The OTT-Boxes works in a much more difficult modes than the Ethernet-swith for which Mediatek was created. OTT-Boxes work in 24x7 mode. Sometimes manufacturers greatly reduce the cost of the design and removing cooling - this is the cause of overheating. These cases are not related to the processor. This is very a powerful processor.
For Ezlo Plus and Ezlo Plus Plus
Upgrade:
-
The processor has moved from the category of quiet chips for Ethernet routers to the class of powerful ARM, consumer-oriented serious tasks. The performance of H2 CPU is really great and definitely next level comparing with Vera Plus.
-
WiFi lost 2RT (itâs not even full MiMo), its not a downgrade.
Ezlo Plus and Ezlo Plus Plus received a 5GHz band, which is definitely upgrade. -
The storage class has increased from fairly fast, having an excessively large size, having a small capacity and close to be obsolete - to a proven one having a small size and large volume EMMC 5.x. This chip in production and it is unified and there should be no problems with the use of new ones. These EMMC can be found in any equipment, from toys to servers.
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If I have some questions about the new firmware on these devices, is this the appropriate place to ask them? Or is there/going to be a separate forum/thread for such things?
Guys,
Happy to report that both Ezlo Atoms and Plughubs have now made their way from China to us safely
and we are getting them ready to ship to you guys asap.
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Is the Ezlo Plus mountable on the wall?
If they donât have mounting holes, some Velcro tape will work.
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I agree. Its so light (I have one) it will easily stay on with a Velcro.
Do these new hubs keep the correct time when there is no Internet connection?
Or do they still rely on Ntp servers?
My Vera Edge and Plus lose the correct time when no Internet making schedules not work.
it will try to keep the correct timeâŠhowever there will be some time drift.
We have ideas about collecting time from other sources like the local router and othersâŠ(we havenât started this initiative though)âŠ
I can cope with some time drift.
The Veras default to Jan 1st 2000 when they canât see the Ntp time server.
Just being able to set the time manually on the Veras would be useful. I had no Internet for two weeks at the start of the year and Vera really wasnât happy about it.
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Just change it a local device. I have every device, Vera included, getting it from my synology nas. Thereâs a thread on how to do it in the forum, search for it.
Hopefully some of the very active plugin developers here will get all the help they need to create new versions of popular plugins as this will naturally aid the speed of adoption of the new kit (missing key apps can be a blocker for people to jump). Will things like hue be baked in? Being able to use our rfxcom will also be key as this gives us access to control not native (for somfy). Excited by the new hardware.
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So this puts the âhigh endâ controllers in the âpi zero/pi 2â performance range.
I think you are going to have problems in the market. Homeseerâs Zee2 is based on a Pi3B for $150 and they have a plugin library which EzLo will not for some time. Hubitat is less powerful but only $99 and has a host of SmartThings derived code, making it the obvious upgrade path for those users. ISY is the last hope of insteon users so they have a small, reliable base of support.
You will need a massive (by HA standards) marketing blitz and aggressive pricing to garner a second look.
To only look at the CPU power to evaluate the âperformanceâ of a system is a shortsighted view in my opinion.
What makes up a system is the whole system that is made up of hardware and software both.
If i canât turn a âlight onâ instantly using a 200MHz CPUâŠwhat the hell have I coded???
Here is the problem I see in the home automation worldâŠ
Its driven by people who want to sell hardware onlyâŠto these people software is merely a tool to sell their hardwareâŠso they botch something together to give to users. They are not thinking about making the code efficient âŠjust the opposite actuallyâŠthey donât make money unless you buy new hardwareâŠso its in their interest for things to run slow so that you âupgradeâ to a âmore powerful CPUââŠ
Not sure if anyone here writes firmware or notâŠbut for us, its crazy to think we need Gigahertz CPUs to do basic functionality of shuffling messages with minimum computation.
All of the users are lulled into thinking they need âbigger cpuââŠbecause hardware providers need you to keep buying the latest!
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Hello
where can we find the list of devices compatible with the new controllers?
will I have the same inclusion and use problems as my fibaro keyfob or my smart implant?
Youâll find them listed in weekly posts going back a month or more:
Newly Integrated Devices on Ezlo Platform 2020-April-15
Newly Integrated Devices on Ezlo Platform 2020-April-09
âŠetc.
With the master list being maintained here.
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You release specs, you should expect people to look at the specs and discuss them.
That â200Mhz is enoughâ approach works for your RTOS solutions since after all ISY has been doing that for a decade. Of course, they have also discovered that 200Mhz isnât enough for apps and web integrations which is why they introduced a separate Polygolot system, which can run on a Pi or an x86 system. Part of that is integration with external APIs which are not efficiently designed.
Your linux firmware solutions have the same challenges as every other linux HA system. You have to manage the OS, mesh network management, web server, local API, remote API, cloud services, plugins and of course make the automations feel near-instant.
Will your hardware handle the core automations? I expect so. Will you be able to support the cloud services, IP-based device support (Mqtt, tasmota, CHIP etc) and various plugins? Again, yes, although plugins will probably take a while.
How many of the above can be installed before you see slow downs? Ah, thatâs the outstanding question. Homeseer adds an artificial limit on zee2 to ensure there is sufficient headroom, despite more powerful hardware. Hubitat is on comparable hardware and it has been found to bog down after a few dozen devices. Isy as already stated uses a 2-part solution of RTOS+Linux.
We will have to wait to see how your implementation performs relative to the other products, how your price point stacks up, and if you either entice sufficient 3rd party plugin developers or make a sufficient library of ezlo plugins.