Future off iHost

iHost Open Source Project
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Can anyone tell me whatplans with iHost? I have the impression that you are moving offline services.

I see that SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra is already a step away from being able to replace iHost. You need to do add the ability to create local scenes for offline mode.

I don’t want to go to ha, I’ve already tried it, but it brought problems. Customers reset it and it didn’t work. Your devices are clear and everyone can understand it.

Should I continue to deploy iHost or plan for SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra to have local scenes for offline mode?

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Pretty sure they’re about to release a new one with better specifications.

3

Can anyone tell me whatplans with iHost?

I think you mean the eWeLink CUBE OS on iHost, right? What features do you want for iHost? Let us know and we will work on it.

If you were really talking about iHost as a hardware, as @eerke has pointed out, we are working on a new generation of iHost which has much better horse power and much more peripherals.

The new iHost project is taking more time than we expect because of the significant price rise of DRAM and NAND flash.

I see that SONOFF Zigbee Bridge Ultra is already a step away from being able to replace iHost. You need to do add the ability to create local scenes for offline mode.

ZBBridge-U is not intended to replace iHost. ZBBridge-U is planned to be a Super Bridge, bridging Zigbee devices, eWeLink cloud devices, Home Assistant devices, BTHome devices etc., to Matter world (3rd-party Matter farbics). Yes, we added local web console, but that is used to configure the Matter bridge feature without eWeLink App (users don’t need to install eWeLink App, register eWeLink account, add ZBBridge-U to eWeLink App).

Currently, we have no plans to add control panel, local scenes/automation to local web console.

We plan to release a Linux distribution based on Docker and Portainer, for both iHost and ZBBridge-U. Do you think it’s useful in your project?

W’d also love to hear your ideas about your project, no matter public or private.

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5

Thank you for the answer. When you release a new version of iHost, I will buy it to main house. These are my suggestions based on installations at customers. It’s up to you what you choose for the next update. I install iHost in villages where there is no stable internet or want independence.

My suggestions:

Temperature control in the iHOST. They want to have everything in one application. Quite often they have several thermometers SNZB-02D or other, for controlling the heat pump.It is important that the thermostats cannot turn each other off. Since they control the heating system together with multiple SNZB-02D one heatpump. Virtual heating controllers like in eWelink in iHOST for heating control.

I will do the installation and the customer creates an account in eWeLink. Where I add devices from Sonoff. When something needs to be fixed I must go to him because he doesn’t know the account password or will not provide the login details. The solution is to give me customer authorization as an installer and I will be able to make a correction from my account remotely.

Scenes have basic functionality in iHOST and It would be good to allow at least the same functionality as in eWeLink.

I don’t know if you have considered getting ahead of the competition. And introduced the IF, THEN, ELSE functions. Sometimes IF THEN is not enough and it is very complicated to create a scene.

Example:

if SNZB-02D temperature > 20

then Heatpump ON

else Heatpump OFF

You did a great job making it possible to access the iHost remotely. I don’t have to worry about how the customer gets into their iHOST.

Great work that through eWeLink Smart Home addons, devices with nspanel pro can be imported.

We plan to release a Linux distribution based on Docker and Portainer, for both iHost and ZBBridge-U. Do you think it’s useful in your project? W’d also love to hear your ideas about your project, no matter public or private

It depends on whether it’s for a Raspberry Pi or a PC. I always have to ensure that the solution is energy efficient, reliable and least burdensome for nature and the wallet. Time will tell, but in my opinion, the idea is great.

These are the problems I encounter regularly and other customers / installers of Sonoff devices.

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6

@MichaelLearnsToCode Is there any plan to implement Matter 1.4.2 SDK in Cube Os on IHOST?

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That’s some good news! I’m currently using my iHost with HA, and with the future ending support of 32 bit I’ll probably buy the new iHost version. However, the current iHost is still a very capable hardware, so it’s good to know that I could still use it for other tasks with an officially supported Linux dist.

Can you share more details about it? I’m willing to test it and even help with feedback. I have a spare iHost unit here that I could start using right away with this project.

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if they use linux for desktop pc then it is useless for me. I would rather for Raspberry PI and If they made own HAT module for Raspberry PI then it would be a best. After all they have the option to get paid premium features in ihost on PI. In Docker, HA could easily run together with iHost on Linux.

Sonoff HAT device is a gateway for Sonoff devices. From Zigbee gateway, Mater gateway/router,BT and RF.

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What’s the point of running Linux desktop on iHost? It doesn’t even have video output. In my understanding, iHost is designed to be a small home “server”, and Michael clearly stated they are working with docker/portainer in mind, which would allow similar functionality they already offer in CUBE via its Docker functionality. And that’s very useful to run some light services you need on a home network if you don’t need/like the CUBE OS. Running Linux instead allows a deeper level of customization for those who need it.

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I came across that for a Linux distribution you need to choose a suitable hardware. Raspberry PI is a good solution, small, powerful and no power consumption.

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You shoukd investigate the Node Red docker “flows”. It allows more complex scenes and you can share them with people if they mess them up.You could just use a switch node with two outputs to do that.

Also there is a paid version of Tailscale and if you pay you can join multiple tailnets. Set up a free tailnet for each installation and then you’ll have access through your own tailscale account through Tailscale’s secure Wireguard VPN tunnels .You would still need a password but it’d be a lot easier than setting up port forwarding securely.

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When customers connect a Sonoff device, they want it to work without maintenance and be easy to control, because they don’t want to learn new things that they will forget anyway.

Sonoff ihost and ewelink are user friendly. Try giving HA to a user who is not good at these things. You can move in with him as often he would need you if he wanted to edit scenes.

He doesn’t want any paid services, it’s extra care and a waste of money.

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no, pretty sure they would have a free account set up by you. You would pay for your account so that you could link to each of theirs. I think the free version only allows 2 other user accounts so you would need to pay. Much easier than setting up secure remote access yourself.

The idea of Node Red is its easy. That is the reason for its existence. You could adjust scenes by e-mail and set up new devices just by importing “flows” (scenes) from file.

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it doesn’t solve the problem that they are not interested in learning new things and taking care of Smart products.

Try explaining to a person the node.red, tailscale.