[DaveC]

Update: Last night I turned off the MAC address logger. This morning I looked and OS was responding to pings normally. I turned the MAC address logger back on and there was no activity for 15-20 minutes until 5:59AM. Then there was a burst for the same DHCP messages until 6:00. Now back to quiet. I’ll leave the logger on and watch for a little while this morning.

Misc info and other experiments if needed:
The DHCP lease time is 3 days. The router does not show lease info for static leases so I can’t say when the current lease is expected to expire from the router’s perspective.
Other experiments I could try:
Release the lease and see how the OS reacts.
Change the router to provide a regular DHCP address (with a shorter lease time) and observe.
Change the OS to a static IP and observe the behavior with the MAC logger. A week or so back while gathering info on this issue I set it to a static address and got into the same ‘Connecting…’ state.

A little data is a dangerous thing…
With the data I have, the ping behavior fits.
The OS ‘loses’ its IP address and makes a DHCP request (SRC: 0.0.0.0). When it’s in that state the ‘host unreachable’ response to ping makes sense.
It gets its address (192.168.1.32). Now pings work.
But it doesn’t seem to know that it’s got an address and makes another DHCP request (SRC: 192.168.1.32). It then ‘loses’ it and starts over.
Given the amount of activity, the ping timeouts also make sense.
OK, I should leave the speculation to the experts. 🙂

[DaveC]

I setup to log packets from the OS MAC address. I see a continuous stream that looks like the following where:
OS MAC address = 00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd
192.168.1.32 is the OS IP address (via DHCP reservation)
These are DHCP requests

Jun 1 19:40:16 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=192.168.1.32 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=305 TOS=
0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=285
Jun 1 19:40:17 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=0.0.0.0 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=293 TOS=0x00
PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=273
Jun 1 19:40:17 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=192.168.1.32 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=305 TOS=
0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=285
Jun 1 19:40:18 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=0.0.0.0 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=293 TOS=0x00
PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=273
Jun 1 19:40:18 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=192.168.1.32 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=305 TOS=
0x00 PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=285
Jun 1 19:40:19 Rotary kernel: [LAN_Local-30-A]IN=eth1 OUT= MAC=ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:00:1e:c0:d7:2b:bd:08:00 SRC=0.0.0.0 DST=255.255.255.255 LEN=293 TOS=0x00
PREC=0x00 TTL=64 ID=0 DF PROTO=UDP SPT=68 DPT=67 LEN=273

[DaveC]

Update: Not complaining, just providing more data.
Since my previous post early this morning, my OS display is back to ‘Connecting…’ and getting ping errors when I ping it. I’ve not done anything to the OS today except ping it occasionally. It ran its schedule from midnight to 10:30 AM according to the log. It started failing again in the late morning. It’s now late afternoon. I’ve been watching the display for over 20mins and it has stayed in the Connecting…’ state. How long does it take to restart the controller? Could that logic be failing?

I think I can monitor traffic from OS to my router via my router in some form. Since ‘Connecting…’ happens when a ping of the router fails, it seems like it would be interesting to see if OS is trying to ping it now and what it looks like in the normal state. I can’t promise anything since I’ve never tried to do this with the router before, but it seems like an easier experiment than Wireshark, and I’ll learn something new about my router.

[DaveC]

Since I can’t look at the LCD constantly, I don’t know how frequently the OS goes in/out of ‘Connecting…’ when it gets into this ‘state’. From a ping test perspective, I’m doing manual pings at random. Up until the afternoon of 5/30, I had no errors for about a week. Once I started seeing them, they persisted through 5/31 evening and each time I looked at the OS LCD it showed ‘Connecting…’. Now, 6/1 AM, pings seem to working regularly and the LCD display is its normal. I did nothing to the OS between last evening and this morning and there was no power outage.

I have very limited experience running Wireshark. If you give me some idea for what I should be looking for and a little help in setting up the Wireshark environment to capture that info, I’ll run it.

I understand that OS is not going to be a robust as a Linux box, but it does need to have reliable local network connectivity, not error free, but reliable. External connectivity is a different issue since it’s affected by other factors.
Looking at my failure environment this weekend: I don’t run irrigation programs on Sat or Sun afternoon, so the OS should have been fairly idle except for whatever it does during idle time.
• Ping the router. This should work a very high percentage of the time. It’s a hardwired connection from the OS to the router through a single switch. I could enable ICMP logging in my router but I’m not sure if this would provide useful info for this case.
• Requests to the cloud server. What server and why does it need to talk to it? I do not use automatic weather adjustment. Can I stop it from trying to talk externally? Tangentially… This brings up the question of JS for the browser. I’d be fine making this this local BUT, how often does the JS change? Opening the box to update it is OK once, but not on a regular basis. Could it be put on the SD card as part of an update so it was available locally?
• NTP. How often do you communicate with the NTP server?
• Other network activity?

Let me know how I can help.
Thanks

[DaveC]

My OS in this state now. Don’t know what triggered it. I haven’t touched the device since the previous post this morning. I’m going to leave this way. Let me know if there is something you want me to look at or try.

[DaveC]

Re: network connection issue.

I’ve seen the same behavior with current HW and FW, but I have not found a way to reproduce it at will. When the OS gets into this state, in addition to the LCD showing “Connecting”, the mobile app will show “Network Error” much of the time.

Here’s some info about my environment and what I’ve seen:
OS: HW – 2.3, FW – 2.1.4, Mobile App – 1.4.2
Network environment: OS is on the same subnet as the PC (used for ping’ing) and the Mobile app. The OS is hardwired. The PC and App devices are wireless through a standalone AP that is connected to the same switch as the OS.
Ping data from a windows PC (192.168.1.113 below) shows that the connection is seen in 3 states over a short period of time. The results were reproduced with OS IP address assigned by DHCP reservation (192.168.1.32 below) and Static IP. ping data below.

• ping – successful
• ping – Request timed out
• ping – Destination host unreachable
In windows if the ‘reply from’ address is the sender’s IP address, the unreachable message indicates that the arp request for the destination MAC failed which is why it showed unreachable vs timed out.

Ping data:

C:\Users\Dave>time /T
08:38 AM

C:\Users\Dave>ping 192.168.1.32

Pinging 192.168.1.32 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

C:\Users\Dave>time /T
08:38 AM

C:\Users\Dave>ping 192.168.1.32

Pinging 192.168.1.32 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=5ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 3ms, Maximum = 5ms, Average = 4ms

C:\Users\Dave>time /T
08:39 AM

C:\Users\Dave>ping 192.168.1.32

Pinging 192.168.1.32 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=9ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 3ms, Maximum = 9ms, Average = 6ms

C:\Users\Dave>time /T
08:40 AM

C:\Users\Dave>ping 192.168.1.32

Pinging 192.168.1.32 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=116ms TTL=64
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 192.168.1.32: bytes=32 time=6ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 6ms, Maximum = 116ms, Average = 61ms

C:\Users\Dave>time /T
08:41 AM

C:\Users\Dave>ping 192.168.1.32

Pinging 192.168.1.32 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 192.168.1.113: Destination host unreachable.

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.32:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

[DaveC]

Thanks for the product pointers. What are the heat issues?

[DaveC]

Hi,

I would like to know more about how you built the flap control. I don’t need OS to control it as I have low voltage relays in my automation system that can provide a similar control function, but the ability to control the cat door is interesting. I need to look at putting RFID chips on the cats so I know where they are before closing the door:)

TIA!

[DaveC]

Its in the support section under API Documentation
https://opensprinkler.freshdesk.com/support/home

Note that the current FW is 2.1.4 but the API doc hasn’t been updated yet. The API does appear to have changed, but the current manual (2.1.3) is close enough to do most functions.

[DaveC]

Hi,
Without knowing anything about your automation SW… Since you have control and knowledge of your end and OS has an API (http and JSON) that they maintain and extend, it seems like it would be easier for you create an OS protocol driver for your end than trying to put something into OS and then keep it working as their system evolves.

Just my $0.02. Ray and Samer’s opinions are worth substantially more.

[DaveC]

Re: Long term push vs pull
This was an item I was going to ask about as I develop the automation interface. It would be nice if there were some push events rather than having to poll all the time. I’m not far along enough to know what I’d like, but my needs would probably be a subset of yours. I don’t intent to provide an interface for programming. I’m looking to provide status and simple actions like enable/disable operation and set rain delay. It would be great to have an idea of what you’re thinking when you’re getting close so I can plan for it. Very cool 🙂

[DaveC]

Hi Samer,

I like your approach. The result will be similar to what users are used to other consumer devices when they first install them. i.e. little hand holding to get them to a base usable state quickly.

A little detour to explain why I’m interested in this aspect of the product…
When I decided to go with the Irritrol system back in ’05 (sounds like a long time ago), the irrigation contractor that was installing my system was interested in the product’s concept of being able to manage schedules on a PC and load them into the controller. It would be easier for him to manage the part of his customer base that relied on him to maintain their system. Other, more tech-savvy types, might like it too. He and I tested it to see if it was easy enough, functional enough and reliable enough for him to sell. Well, it wasn’t. It was not too easy to configure and the PC software to manage it was buggy and unreliable. The one great feature it had that we’ll miss, is the dirt and water resistant remote. Mobile device are great but they’re not as easy to use with gloves on nor as tolerant of dirt and water. Since that time I’ve looked for a new solution. I’ve considered a few, but none met enough of the my requirements… until OS. I still work with the same contractor for any significant changes to my system. Once I get a little more experience with OS, I’m going to show it to him. So far I think it is easy enough and functional enough for him.

Thanks

[DaveC]

Thanks for the explanation about the labels. I figured it wasn’t accidental but it’s nice to know why and where things are headed.

RE: number of stations
Being able to to select more stations than the physical set makes sense. I do think it would be easier for some users if either the initial (out of the box) default for physical stations was to enable all that were found (i.e. opposite of what it is now) OR if a note was added to the Getting Started Guide that tells people that they have to go set this if they have an expander.

Another out of the box simplification would be to prompt the user for Location OR add a reminder to the Getting Started Guide to remind people to set it. Its great that NTP is on by default but you still need to set your location to get the time right.

I know that both of these items are listed in the user manual but only in their reference form. If these 2 items had behaved as I described or were in the Getting Started Guide, my out of the box experience would have be perfect. I.e. I plug in the expander card, plug in an Ethernet cable, turn power on, point the browser or mobile app at it, it prompts for location (or reminds me to do it) and done, it’s ready to program. I understand that different users have different views, I’m just sharing mine FWIW.

Thanks again. I’m very happy with the product, and so is my wife (also a techie)… and she absolutely hates the system we’re replacing.

[DaveC]

Hi Samer,

Re: Long name
A couple of apps that I use have long names. They are displayed in 2 lines. The line wraps are not random so there must be a way to make the wrap work either by inserting a <CR> or adding spacing before and after to the first part to cause the wrap where you want it. Just a suggestion… you could have ‘Open’ on the top line followed by ‘Sprinker’ on the second line.

Re: Changing the controller address
It did replace the address once I realized what the behavior was but it was not intuitive, at least to me. Since the app would give me the scan or set manual popup each time I started it (with the original address), it felt like it was not being saved. Since it knew ‘an’ address after the initial scan why didn’t it give me the option to just connect? Knowing that I was going to change its address to the reserved one, I left it in this temporary (or so I thought) state, i.e. scanning at startup. Once I changed the address, I expected the app to give me the same scan or manual pop-up that it had been giving so I could now chose manual and set it, but it gave me an error instead. My point here is just so you understand why I had the expectation that I did. I got to the right steps but not as quickly as it could have been.

Thanks

[DaveC]

FWIW – I did a similar thing but I changed the program from the browser with the mobile app open. The mobile app did not see the change until I exited and restarted the app. I looked to see if there was refresh button on the mobile apps but there didn’t seem to be one.

[Author]

Posts