Self hosted server in high availability

Homey Self-Hosted Server
1

Hi all,

I am considering to move from my old homey pro 2018 to Self hosted server. The reasons being :

1 Running my own hardware gives me more control on solving problems that are performance related.

2 It is more scalable for future demands

3 It may cheaper then a homey 2026, depending on harware cost.

4 The main reason, I am considering creating a more reliable configuration by using a failover setup : One ubuntu node as primary A, second ubuntu node as failover B , and small third node as guard C. Can be done wtih A and B eg an old thin client, and C a PI-0. On nodes A and B use Docker and Homey SHS for docker installation. The IP wil be a virtual IP used to access the failover “cluster”.

The connectivity to the actual Zwave and Zigbee devices can be most easily done with a Homey Bridge in this setup.

My questions:

Would this work, any experiences ?

Using the homey bridge is easy, but I think has the culprit of being dependant on the Internet Connection. So in case my Internet has somehow lost connection but local lan works fine, my domotics would still fail. Is that assumption correct, and if so would there be other solutions ? The homey pro 2026 of course has the new funtionality of local access, but does not have failover.

Any insights on this experiment, still in the blueprint phase, would be welcome.

2

If you use Homey Cloud, the bridge requires an internet connection at all times. When you use SHS, it only needs an internet connection during boot for DNS and NTP.

3

The bridge has a very limited device capacity. I have set a configuration with 3 servers too; SHS/Synology, HP23 and eedomus who switches from A to B upon failure (and is monitored by A and B). I connected my zwave and zigbee devices through a SLZB and ZWA-2 dongles though in order to circumvent the bridge and current SHS limitations.
Just my 0.02€

5

I am also a bit confused about the pricing. The Homey SHS cost €149,- for lifetime license. If I want to use the homey bridge for connecting to devices, the cost will be €69,- for the hardware. But do I then also need a license with a monthly cost of €2,99 ? That would make the use of a zwave / zigbee stick of course more interesting. But I am not sure if the bridge license is only needed in case of using it with homey cloud, or in all configurations.

6

Homey Cloud costs €2,99 a month, the Bridge itself has a fixed price.

7

Homey Bridge = box with antennas for several protocols (WiFi, BLE, ZigBee, Z-Wave, 433Mhz RF and Infrared). It “bridges” these protocols via WiFi.

Homey Bridge has several configuration options:

  • Homey Cloud: Homey Bridge can connect to Homey Cloud, so that you can use local protocols with Homey Cloud. Homey Cloud has a free plan that offers up to 5 devices connected to it. Homey Premium is an optional subscription for Homey Cloud which offers unlimited devices, Advanced Flow, Logic, Energy and Insights. Only 1 bridge can be connected to a Homey Cloud instance, and you can have only 1 Homey Cloud instance per Homey account.
  • Homey Pro 2023/2026: Homey Bridge can connect to Homey Pro to extend the Pro’s signal range (satellite mode). Its Zigbee and ZWave antennas connect to the Homey Pro’s network (the Bridge becomes a regular ZigBee and Z-Wave router). IR, RF and BLE are bridged over the local network. The Pro chooses the Bridge which is closest to the BLE device for Bluetooth. IR and RF are manually selectable. You can connect multiple Homey Bridges to 1 Homey Pro
  • Homey Pro mini: similar to the regular Homey Pro, but the Homey Bridge’s Z-Wave antenna is used as a coordinator (since Homey Pro mini has no built-in Z-Wave antenna).
  • Homey SHS: Homey Bridge can connect to a SHS to add support for local protocols. This works similarly to Homey Cloud, but this works over the local network (LAN) and does not require a subscription.