Transfer configs between different HC2's and HCL's

[tlea 0]

Hi, is there a way to move all config from one HC2 to an other HC2? I also have a HCL, is it possible to move all config from a HC2 to a HCL and the other way around? Stupid questions perhaps, but I do have 2 HC2's and one HCL and would like to move these around in my different houses.

Thanks

Tony Levis

Sweden

 

[T.Konopka 8]

@fibtellers-ar-os Thank you for taking your time and writing such long post. Even more so, since it has a lot of input that we consider extremely valuable.

I think you will be pleased to hear that we plan on introducing this feature in our next update. We've received a lot of suggestions from our users regarding this case and we want to implement it as soon as possible.

Keep your fingers crossed

[thomas.hvindenhaug 4]

I have had success with the following procedure:

 

1) Creating a backup on the old HC2

2) Mounting the recovery stick in a PC with either linux or windows with extfs drivers,

3) copying the backup-directory to a temp directory on the system HD. 

4) Mounting the recovery stick from the destination HC2 on the same PC and copying the contents from the previous step to the recovery stick.

5) With the recoverystick from step 4 back in the destination HC2. Boot up the system and make sure it is running the same softwareversion as the  old HC2.

6) Make a backup on the destination HC2. (this will make the HC2 add the contents from step 4 to the list of backups available for recovery.

7) Restart

8) Restore backup the backup from "Configuration, Backup/Restore" menu.

 

This procedure worked perfectly for me. I did not have to reinstall any devices.

 

 

[fibtellers-ar-os 8]

On 4/26/2018 at 5:01 PM, A.Smolinski said:

We do not recommend our users to perform such operations as we treat the recovery stick as an integral part of the HC, but in the end, it's your choice.

 

My last hope is that someone with any power to change things at Fibaro reads this.

 

Until you implement a "recommended" way for users to do this easily and quickly without hassle OR at least provide a reliable "expert" way to accomplish the same, the Fibaro HC2 will NEVER be able to be used in a professional environment or even in a normal house with a non-technically-minded wife and remain a small niche home-automation product mainly for rich and early-retired (lots of time) tech guys. For a normal person (and for businesses especially), it is simply unacceptable, even unthinkable to shut your whole house down for two to three weeks while a broken HC2 is shipped to Poland and back, or alternatively spend five, six days without sleep ripping your house apart, learning all devices to the new HC2 and building a new HC2 from script txt backups.

 

With the amount of beautiful graphics and clever marketing people Fibar Group has, it boggles my mind that this realisation still hasn't trickled down after all these years.

 

A friend of mine owns a boutique hotel and seriously considered Fibaro for building and guest room automation (lights, windows, remote minibar control and other things) but had to decide against it after we found out that there is really no way to have a "hot spare" HC2 on standby or at least switch out a suddendly-dead HC2 within 20 minutes max. and get everything back up and running without interruption. Other consideration like not having a real centrally manageable Z-Wave "extension" possibility for other buildings (the only available 3rd party Z-Wave extension plugs didn't work well with the HC2 and the option with several HC lites connected to the HC2 was a trainwreck to manage).

 

Imagine your PC went down and you had to send it into another country for several weeks. If you didn't know much about PCs, you couldn't call your friendly neighbourhood tech guy to replace a broken power supply or restore your harddrive from your external backup within an hour's time. Or, if you were a professional, you couldn't just take out the RAID 1 HDD from its hot-swap bay and slip it into your second device, boot up and go on. Or worst-case scenario, if your PC went up in smoke but you had a deadline, you couldn't just go to your laptop, fire up Microsoft OneDrive and access the last important document you just worked on, right where you left off. And all these options you can have right out of the box with a norrmal PC or with minimal extra investment, even without any fancy file servers and cold or hot spare servers which even small companies use to ensure their business can continue uninterrupted and are required in many cases to do so BY LAW and regulations such as ISO certifications (which by the way would prevent many businesses to set up a HC2 in the first place if they want to be recertified, due to its inability to back up and restore immediately in case of hardware failure, or have a second cold or running HC2 take over).

 

Now, imagine everything is connected to your PC. Your light switches, your doors, your windows, your burglar alarm, your hot water, air condition, TV, entertainment, washing machine, door bell, cameras, EVERYTHING stops working when that computer goes down. That's your Fibaro HC2. And that's exactly what happens when it goes down. No RAID, no hot-swap HDD (could be the USB drive but no "we don't recommend" blabla), no cloud backup, no hot spare, no instant take-over. Instead you have a doorstopper with a USB stick and a forum admin that tells you "there is no such option at the moment" and "we do not recommend users trying everything they can to get their bloody system back up and running within the next ten minutes before their wife or their boss clubs them to death because the pool pump won't switch off automatically any longer and the house will be flooded any minute or we might die tonight in our sleep because the CO sensor doesn't send messages anymore"... Instead, I guess, us "users" (even those who know more about technology than the ditzy blonde apple users towards which Fibaro seems to gear its products occasionally) are just supposed to roll over and die right now. Or die for two weeks until, with some luck, they get someone at Fibaro support to do something which they don't trust us to do and get things back up and running.

 

Fibaro, understand this:

1. Stupid, non-technically minded people will NEVER buy home-automation for the coming thirty years (until HA comes installed in houses by default and operates invisible to them like today's electric cabling and light switches). So you'd do better to not focus so much on them as a target audience.

2. Techologically interested people WILL buy your product but expect not to be treated like idiots. At least give them a "Advanced User" switch in the UI with a warning "Yes, I know what I'm doing, now show me the darn settings".

3. Experts and pros will NEVER buy, install or recommend your product as long as you don't allow them to properly "hack the system" (i.e. give them the same access as your technicians and developers, proper monitoring tools, command line access and a good documentation and wiki for everything, no warranty required, just a chance to figure it out without too many artificial road-blocks).

 

I love Fibaro and Fibaros products to death but even the most beautiful woman, even if she makes your life complete sometimes, you have to leave her at some point if she's just irresponsible, unreliable, tends to lose it any time without notice, and makes your life hell and worst of all, doesn't learn, change or improve her ways even after years of being together. Otherwise you loose your sanity and that's just not worth it.

 

/End of rant

You can probably tell that I just witnessed my third HC2 dying in all these years, this one after six months of uninterrupted, beautiful operation. The house is so quiet suddenly. Recommended cause of action: Send to Poland ;-(

 

 

[tlea 0]

Great post fibtellers-ar-os! Finally some good news from Fibaro as well! Really looking forward to the next software update!

Edited June 7, 2018 by tlea

[Enzolo 0]

With firmware 4.511 beta Fibaro says: "Resolved issues: Unable to transfer configuration via 

Please login or register to see this link.

 between gateways linked to Fibaro ID account" ...

 

Tested yesterday : Do not work between HCL and HC2. 

 

Someone have more information ? 

[T.Konopka 8]

We do not recommend our users to perform such operations as we treat the recovery stick as an integral part of the HC, but in the end, it's your choice.

[T.Konopka 8]

Hi @tlea ,

 

There is no such option at the moment, unfortunately.