I think if you want more adoption of openLuup I think you have to make things slightly more user friendly.
I’m a casual Vera user and I came across OpenLuup today and tried installing it on an Ubuntu box. Some things just aren’t very clear. For example… Step 3. ALTUI installation. “Alt UI can be done now with a single HTTP request to a running factory reset openLuup system.”
No where does it say that I need to install AltUI on my Vera first in order to install it with OpenLuup. Why is something as basic as this left out of the documentation?
No where does it say that I need to install AltUI on my Vera first in order to install it with OpenLuup. Why is something as basic as this left out of the documentation?
Because it's not true... you [u]don't[/u] need AltUI installed anywhere to do that.
You might want to re-think the Ubuntu installation. I’ve performed openLuup on both Ubuntu Server(Jetway server) and Mate(rPi2) and my recommendation would be to move to OpenWRT. I’ve documented all the necessary steps to perform such an install (in detail) and it just makes life easier as this is what Vera is running on. Reason being, we discovered that plugins (custom or MCV based) had to be altered and various methods performed to make them behave properly. It was just too much work to deal with, hence why I never truly released documentation on Ubuntu.
I commend Akbooer’s effort and it can be ‘extremely’ difficult to cover all bases of an install/platforms etc. when you’re focused on making magic happen (the code). As someone who had never used openLuup, I was able to use a very early document and build a series working systems. The time put into getting this up-and-running is well spent and rewarding as you can now run on your own hardware. I’m running my production system on a quad core Intel (1.83Ghz) with 8 Gb of memory and a 30 Gb SSD. My test system is an rPI2. I hope the document I linked below helps and allows you to start enjoying openLuup.
[quote=“thegazelle, post:21, topic:189405”]I think if you want more adoption of openLuup I think you have to make things slightly more user friendly.
I’m a casual Vera user and I came across OpenLuup today and tried installing it on an Ubuntu box. Some things just aren’t very clear. For example… Step 3. ALTUI installation. “Alt UI can be done now with a single HTTP request to a running factory reset openLuup system.”
No where does it say that I need to install AltUI on my Vera first in order to install it with OpenLuup. Why is something as basic as this left out of the documentation?[/quote]
CudaNet, thanks for posting the guide. That is exactly what I was looking for. The only reason I chose an Ubuntu box was because I already had one setup up and running that I use to scrape/plot data for work. I took the plunge and ordered a RPi 2 this morning.
You’re very welcome. As for Ubuntu, nothing wrong whatsoever with it aside from plugins attempting to install requisite components using ‘opkg’. Akbooer was a tremendous help in working and walking me through those issues. I just felt it would be far easier to use OpenWRT and it has.
The real thanks should go to Akbooer for all his time, efforts and patience. We cannot lose sight that it’s the developers that give and ask for very little in return. I’m still enamored with how well this system runs, how stable it is and how I just leave it alone.
With all that said, let us know how the install goes and I’m sure you’ll love the rPi2. I remember seeing memory utilization at around 500Mb for Ubuntu Mate on a fresh boot. When I moved to OpenWRT, I had somewhere in the realm of 900+ (being that were limited to 1Gb of memory). It’s a win - win…
No where does it say that I need to install AltUI on my Vera first in order to install it with OpenLuup. Why is something as basic as this left out of the documentation?
Because it's not true... you [u]don't[/u] need AltUI installed anywhere to do that.[/quote]
My mistake, sorry. I was pretty frustrated yesterday trying to plod through this. I couldn’t (and still can’t) figure out why AltUi listed in step 3 when you don’t actually do a single thing with it until you get to the configuration part. I assume it’s step 3 because you previously had to manually move files over for Alt UI to function. Given that it isn’t the case anymore, why keep it in there?
I still plan on running it on RPi2 but I took another stab at it on the Ubuntu box for grins today and I was able to get it installed. The only device shown in AltUI is “AltUI” unfortunately. I specified my Vera IP in the startup.lua file and my Vera bridge files are in my /etc/cmh-ludl directory.
Actually, it’s step 3 because you’re almost certainly going to need it. Steps 4 and beyond are really dependent on the configuration you’re trying to build.
I still plan on running it on RPi2 but I took another stab at it on the Ubuntu box for grins today and I was able to get it installed. The only device shown in AltUI is "AltUI" unfortunately. I specified my Vera IP in the startup.lua file and my Vera bridge files are in my /etc/cmh-ludl directory.
Are the luup.create_device for the VeraBridge and the luup.ip_set lines still commented in the startup file?
What did you have in mind here? HTTPS support in luup.inet.wget, or something different? Plugins that need to do this can already use the Luasec library.
2. User authentication (Not Vera Home user integration)
Yeah, I am thinking about external access…
AltUI already provides external access, so what extra?
Actually, it’s step 3 because you’re almost certainly going to need it. Steps 4 and beyond are really dependent on the configuration you’re trying to build.
I still plan on running it on RPi2 but I took another stab at it on the Ubuntu box for grins today and I was able to get it installed. The only device shown in AltUI is "AltUI" unfortunately. I specified my Vera IP in the startup.lua file and my Vera bridge files are in my /etc/cmh-ludl directory.
Are the luup.create_device for the VeraBridge and the luup.ip_set lines still commented in the startup file?[/quote]
Derp. That was the problem… line was commented. Thanks.
Regarding the manual, I understand that you will almost certainly need AltUI, but Step 3 (AltUI install) is in what I would call the “prep work” area, when the actual AltUI install is done during the “commissioning process”. Does that make a little more sense?
[quote=“akbooer, post:29, topic:189405”]What did you have in mind here? HTTPS support in luup.inet.wget, or something different? Plugins that need to do this can already use the Luasec library.
AltUI already provides external access, so what extra?[/quote]
Sorry, let me reiterate. Can I run openLuup on SSL? Say I forward port 3480 to my openLuup machine, can I use HTTPS to connect to it? We will have to at least have self-signed cert to support HTTPS, right?
And if we do so, is there any authentication when connecting to openLuup (AltUI on openLuup)?
The port 3480 server is only HTTP at this time. I do know how to make it a HTTPS server (EventWatcher has one) and you would need a certificate and key file.
But I don’t know why you would need this since you can remote access with AlTUI already.
Sure, but that is connecting to the AltUI installed on Vera, not on openLuup. Kind of beats the purpose of running AltUI on openLuup outside of Vera device, doesn’t it?
You might want to explore options such as OpenVPN. I have a Ubiquiti router that offers native support but I haven’t set mine up (too busy). Might be something I do a write-up on if there’s enough interest.
[quote=“dreamcryer, post:31, topic:189405”][quote=“akbooer, post:29, topic:189405”]What did you have in mind here? HTTPS support in luup.inet.wget, or something different? Plugins that need to do this can already use the Luasec library.
AltUI already provides external access, so what extra?[/quote]
Sorry, let me reiterate. Can I run openLuup on SSL? Say I forward port 3480 to my openLuup machine, can I use HTTPS to connect to it? We will have to at least have self-signed cert to support HTTPS, right?
And if we do so, is there any authentication when connecting to openLuup (AltUI on openLuup)?[/quote]
VPN is definitely one option. I just wanted a quick solution that provides certain level of security when exposing external access. VPN is good, but I will have to connect to my VPN network every time I need to do a quick switch on/off.
I don’t know if this is the right/best place to post this, but figured this was best as opposed to starting a new thread.
So I’ve got a baby coming in a few weeks, and with all the non-sleep I’m going to get I was going to play around and migrate to Openluup for some fun, hopefully with some longer term benefits. The results in terms of stability and resource usage I think speaks to the overall value/quality.
To that end, one reason I’ve not just scripted everything today and largely used PLEG is just the inconvenience, primarily around debugging/testing. I’m not requesting a full blown simulator or anything close to that, but I wonder if there is a means to better manage debug for which openluup can facilitate given its decoupling from Vera. Perhaps this is a non-issue and I’m just not aware of whats available, or my expectations are ill-informed until I actually get started.
Well, openLuup IS a full-blown simulator. I use it all the time for development, along with the most excellent ZeroBrane Studio. In fact, I run openLuup on my development machine inside ZBS when developing code. Mistakes cost nothing. Reloads are sub-second. Works for me.
since the AltUI remote access cant be used ( or can it? ).