[homebridge-blinds] This plugin slows down Homebridge

[MatzeBo]

Hi All,

I use the plug-in to control 14 shutters. These are controlled by a smart home controller called myGekko. The interface looks like this:

"blinds": { "item0": { "name": "Wohnen Fenster", "sumstate": { "value": "State[-2=Hold_down|-1=Down|0=Stop|1=Up|2=Hold_up];Position[%];Angle[°];SumState[0=Ok|1=ManualOff|2=ManualOn|3=Locked|4=Alarm];SlatRotationArea[°]", "type": "STRING", "permission": "READ", "index": 200000 }, "scmd": { "value": "-2|-1|0|1|2|T|P55.4|S32.4 (Hold_down|Down|Stop|Up|Hold_up|Toggle|Position|Angle)", "type": "STRING", "permission": "WRITE", "index": 200001 }

Configured in Homebridge, the shutters are as follows:

{ "motion_up_time": 11000, "motion_down_time": 10000, "trigger_stop_at_boundaries": false, "position_jsonata": "$round(100 - $number($split(';')[1]))", "unique_serial": false, "name": "Wohnen Fenster", "position_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/sumstate/status/value?username=admin&password=password", "up_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=%%POS%%&username=admin&password=password", "response_lag": 0, "success_codes": [ 200, 204 ], "http_options": { "method": "GET", "headers": {} }, "position_interval": 15000, }, "down_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=%%POS%%&username=admin&password=password", "stop_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=0&username=admin&password=password", "map_send_jsonata": "$join(['P',$string($round(100 - $number($)))])", "accessory": "BlindsHTTP", "show_stop_button": false, "retry_delay": 2000, "use_same_url_for_stop": false, "max_http_attempts": 5, "verbose": false, "show_toggle_button": false },

The control of the roller shutters works flawlessly. But the plugin slows down my Raspberrypi 3B + extremely with 14 shutters. Is there a possibility to improve the performance? I've already tried sub bridges. But that kills my memory.

Thanks.

[dxdc]

@MatzeBo, I'll be very surprised if the plugin is the problem. The memory usage should be quite low.

More likely, the problem is your mygekko interface/controller being terribly slow to respond, which can't receive so many simultaneous requests, but let's confirm that first.

1. Create a simple shell script to test this idea:

Create a script called blinds.sh, with the following content:

#!/bin/bash

# or, set this to some other value you prefer for testing, like 100
POS="P99"

echo "Wohnen Fenster starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Wohnen Fenster done!" &

## repeat as needed, e.g., for all blinds

echo "Blind 2 starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Blind 2 done!" &

## add more commands here

wait

Save the script, and type chmod +x blinds.sh && ./blinds.sh.

You will be able to tell now what the problem is and where it happens.

2. Add the time option to the http_options and set verbose: true. I've done that for you below. Then, submit your logs so we can evaluate the problem.

{
	"motion_up_time": 11000,
	"motion_down_time": 10000,
	"trigger_stop_at_boundaries": false,
	"position_jsonata": "$round(100 - $number($split(';')[1]))",
	"unique_serial": false,
	"name": "Wohnen Fenster",
	"response_lag": 0,
	"success_codes": [200, 204],
	"http_options": {
		"method": "GET",
		"headers": {},
		"time": true
	},
	"position_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/sumstate/status/value?username=admin&password=password",
	"position_interval": 15000,
	"up_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=%%POS%%&username=admin&password=password",
	"down_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=%%POS%%&username=admin&password=password",
	"stop_url": "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=0&username=admin&password=password",
	"map_send_jsonata": "$join(['P',$string($round(100 - $number($)))])",
	"accessory": "BlindsHTTP",
	"show_stop_button": false,
	"retry_delay": 2000,
	"use_same_url_for_stop": false,
	"max_http_attempts": 5,
	"verbose": true,
	"show_toggle_button": false
},

[MatzeBo]

Hi dxdc,

I created and ran the script. It only took 1 - 1.5 seconds.
Here is the script:

#!/bin/bash

# or, set this to some other value you prefer for testing, like 100
POS="P99"

echo "Wohnen Fenster starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item0/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Wohnen Fenster done!" &

## repeat as needed, e.g., for all blinds

echo "Diele starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item2/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Diele done!" &

echo "Kueche starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item3/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Kueche done!" &

echo "HWR starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item4/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "HWR done!" &

echo "WC starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item5/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "WC done!" &

echo "Gast starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item6/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Gast done!" &

echo "Galerie Vorn starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item7/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Galerie Vorn done!" &

echo "Ankleide starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item8/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Ankleide done!" &

echo "Eltern starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item9/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Eltern done!" &

echo "Kind 2 starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item10/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Kind 2 done!" &

echo "Galerie Hinten starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item11/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Galerie Hinten done!" &

echo "Kind 1 starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item12/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Kind 1 done!" &

echo "Arbeiten starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item13/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Arbeiten done!" &

echo "Bad starting..."
curl -s "http://mygekko/api/v1/var/blinds/item14/scmd/set?value=${POS}&username=admin&password=password" && echo "Bad done!" &


wait

Next I reconfigured the hombridge and recorded the log. The log is attached.

Thank you in advance for your support.

homebridge.log.txt

[dxdc]

Thanks @MatzeBo, I reviewed everything and didn't see any issues at least upon initial review. The behavior seems reasonable, <500 ms typically for responses. If there was a lag, you would expect to see it in the timestamps or returned responses.

What makes you believe that there is a problem with this plugin? E.g., what kind of memory or CPU usage are you seeing and are you certain it's only attributable to this plugin? Also, what is your version of homebridge and node?

[dxdc]

You could also -- for so many devices -- consider a plugin like https://www.npmjs.com/package/homebridge-mqttthing, and building a separate app to update the position via mqtt.

[MatzeBo]

I'm just thinking about putting the position query on node-red. Node-red reads in the entire status and then distributes it to the various flows.

[dxdc]

I would leave the position query, but remove the polling in that case... and just have NR poll and update in the background.

[MatzeBo]

I need the query because the shutters are also controlled via switches and the visualization. Apple Home would then show me a wrong status.
Ok, thank you very much for your support. Got to give myself a few thoughts to solve the problem.

[dxdc]

You're welcome - I would still consider removing the polling, but leaving the position URL there. That could be helpful - you can run the polling via NR, but leave the position URL updating via HK (important on startup and such).