ISY994i

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Revision as of 05:07, 3 December 2013 by Mkbrown69 (Talk | contribs) (Add very basic driver usage instructions.)

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Version Status Date Updated Updated By
710 Unknown N/A N/A
810 Unknown N/A N/A
1004 In Development 2nd December 2013 Michael Brown
1204 Unknown N/A N/A
1404 Unknown N/A N/A
Usage Information

More info to come. Like the driver itself, this page is a work in progress. Please stand by...

The ISY994i is a home automation controller from Universal Devices. It has an embedded processor, runs it's own real-time OS, is network connected, and manages the various home automation devices as a stand-alone controller. Configuring and administering the ISY is done via a Java application "console", which is used to manage devices, create programs and scheduled events, upgrade the device firmware, and add functionality via purchased license keys. It exposes it's functionality via well-developed application programming interfaces (API's).

The LMCE ISY driver is being written using the Ruby GSD Device interface, and leverages the ISY's API to expose the managed devices and controls to LMCE. The driver has been written with the assumption that the ISY "owns" the connected devices, and exposes them to LMCE for integration and control as an external controller. As the API's develop, some capabilities to configure the ISY from LMCE may be created. Until then, the expectation is that all home automation device configuration and management will occur using the Universal Devices Java admin console, and that the configuration and capabilities will be exposed to LMCE for use via it's capabilities.


ISY Models

Model IR Support Max. Devices/Scenes Max. Programs
ISY994i No 256 300
ISY994i/IR Yes 256 300
ISY994i PRO No 1024 1000
ISY994i/IR Yes 1024 1000

Zigbee devices have the 'Z' device suffix on the model number (e.g. ISY994iZ/IR PRO). The Z-wave device is has just passed the alpha testing phase, and will be going into beta testing soon. Support for the Z-wave radio will likely be added when it's release, as there's some pretty cool Z-wave sensors available...



Manufacturer Web page at UniversalDevices.com



The LMCE driver utilizes template # TBD.


ISY Hardware Interface support

Module Description Supported Features
Insteon Support for Insteon PLM's including X10 transmission/reception Working
UPB Support for UPB Modems N/A
Zigbee Support for the optional Zigbee model/radio. N/A
Z-wave Support for the optional Z-wave model/radio. N/A








The ISY series supports optional (paid) upgrades which can enable additional functionality in the ISY device. It allows home automation users to start off small, and add additional functionality later as their environment grows or their needs change. For example, a non-pro model can be upgraded by purchasing a Pro upgrade license key. Some hardware upgrades can be done in the field by purchasing the hardware directly from Universal Devices web store. The following table shows the LMCE driver support for the various add-on software modules.

ISY module support

Module Description Supported Features
Climate Module The ISY Weatherbug Climate Module In progress
Networking Module The ISY networking module N/A
X10 Module The ISY X10 module which incorporates X10 devices into the device tree. N/A
Electricity Module The ISY electricity monitoring module for Brultech devices N/A
Irrigation Module The irrigation module used in conjunction with the Climate (Weatherbug) module. N/A
ELK Module The ISY <-> Elk M1 Security Panel interface module. N/A












Using the ISY Driver The ISY driver is configured for auto-discovery using DHCP. When it requests an IP addresses, LinuxMCE will automatically add the device template. You will need to login to the LinuxMCE Administration Page, and change the username and password to match those configured in the ISY. The template defaults to admin:admin. Afterwards, you will need to reload the router.

When the DCErouter reloads, the driver will establish a connection to the ISY. It will create child devices of the ISY in LinuxMCE, by reading all configured /managed devices from the ISY, and creating a corresponding child in LMCE. You will need to reload the router in order to use the devices from LMCE. Similarly, scenes (groups) will be downloaded and appropriate child devices created. After all devices and scenes have been recognized, you can then edit the devices in LMCE to set the room, floor plan ID (icons used in the Floor plan view in Orbiter), etc. when you are complete, reload the router again. Your devices and Insteon scenes are now available to use in LMCE scenerios.