But is a Matter controller also possible? The esphome component seems to connect to compatible Matter controllers, but I can’t find anywhere if the ESP32 can also be the Matter controller.
I think it is definitely possible, but that would mean Athom has to run the Matter server (or rather a customized version that’s more efficient with multiple Bridges/users on Homey Cloud, since the existing Matter implementations seem to be designed to run only 1 network) and then use the Bridge as a proxy for BLE, LAN and Thread (if it gets a Thread-compatible module)
This has strayed somewhat from the point i tried to make, although a completely valid and interesting thread… So it would seem to be that the Bridge could act as a Thread mesh node, like it does as a Zigbee router node, within the mesh network to relay data from sleepy end devices… if only its radio supported it and wasn’t a really old chip design.
The Thread boarder router and Matter bridge are a whole other topic… but the main reason I haven’t explored the SHS router is because it doesn’t support it, without the use of an external TBR and Matter bridge. Again, that seems nuts to me, that the more power-user centric SHS doesn’t support something that the other solutions does.
Yes, it’s primarily because of the resources needed to run a Matter network with the existing implementations.
For Matter, that would mean another instance of the Matter controller needs to be running for each individual network, which will cost many resources on the cloud. Since the existing Matter controller implementations are not designed to run thousands of networks at once while using minimal resources, this would mean that they have a few options:
They can build their own implementation, which is very advanced since Matter uses multiple different protocols (BLE for commisioning, and then either LAN or Thread for communication).
or charge an extra fee for Matter for the many resources that 1 instance of the Matter controller costs, and just use the existing implementations
or increase the price for Homey Premium and cover it with that subscription
What about running the Matter controller on SHS, and having either a Bridge that supports Thread (TBR) or allowing SHS to use devices like the SMLight Zigbee/Thread PoE LAN Adapter (which as far as I know isn’t currently supported).
I think it would be unrealistic to expect Homey Cloud to support a Matter controller, and therefore a TBR on the Bridge when used with Cloud. But surely the Bridge could be setup to differentiate between Cloud radio usage, and SHS usage… that wouldn’t be too much to ask would it?
I’m sure they could do that, turning on Thread only for SHS, but you’ll need newer hardware, so higher costs. Since Homey Cloud is meant to be the cheap/free version of Homey, the Bridge also needs to stay cheap. The Bridge was never intended for SHS users. It was always just an antenna for Homey Cloud, and SHS was added later.
Tiny issue with link display from routers to devices. The website says 0 transmissions whereas the stats say „rx“: int 11626. Controler to routers the stats are there. Stats from routers to end devices only the ones with values above 10k have a not dotted line. The stats under „link quality“ display values from 1007 tx onwards but seem to consider 13123 tx as to little traffic.
And of course devices with a question mark don’t float in the air, esp. when stats say there are tx
Would it be possible to also have the map and link quality stats on a widget you could add to a Dashboard please?
And would it be possible to create a device card you could add, with a setting of Update Interval in minutes, and stats/insights for Weak, Fair, Good, Too Little Traffic, and N° of Stale Routes? That way you could use the Insights graphs to spot trends, like at a certain time of day interference might be causing a problem with your Zigbee mesh in a certain area of your home. Would be very useful for fault tracking.
I would like to say, this app is awesome! Wanted this for ages now, thank you
respect!
):
