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TA C.M.I. smart home integration, free and open source

TA C.M.I. integration for Gladys Assistant

Technische Alternative controllers (UVR16x2, UVR1611…) read only through the C.M.I.

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Unofficial integration, not affiliated with Technische Alternative. It brings the controllers of Technische Alternative (UVR16x2, UVR1611, UVR610, UVR65, UVR67, RSM610, CAN-I/O45, CAN-EZ2, CAN-EZ3, CAN-BC2, CAN-MTx2…) into Gladys through the official JSON API of the C.M.I. (Control and Monitoring Interface), on your local network, read only.

Warning: never tested with a real device. This integration was written from the ta-cmi Python library and tested against a fake C.M.I. only. Feedback is welcome.

What you get​

One Gladys device per CAN node behind the C.M.I. (for example "UVR16x2 (node 1)"), with one feature per channel:

Values readFeatures
Main (default)Inputs ("Input 1"…), outputs ("Output 1"…), DL bus inputs ("DL input 1"…).
All (on request)Also, when the device has them: system values (general, sun), analog and digital logging, network inputs, M-Bus, Modbus, KNX, electrical power.

The JSON API gives no channel names, only their number and unit: rename the features in Gladys (the name you give is never overwritten).

  • Temperatures (°C) are probes: they stay out of the room average.
  • Durations, pressures, volumes, distances, speeds, CO2, illuminance, precipitation and amounts (€, $) have their Gladys unit.
  • The other units (K, W/m², l/h, %, kW, kWh, MWh, V, A, Hz…) have no category in Gladys: the feature is a plain sensor with the unit in its name ("Input 3 (l/h)").
  • Energy and power are not sent to the Gladys energy dashboard: the C.M.I. does not say whether a kWh is electrical or thermal (a heat meter), and Gladys would count it as electricity.
  • A digital channel (on/off, yes/no) is 0 or 1.

The badge of each device shows "local", or "unreachable" when the C.M.I. does not answer or refuses the credentials (with an orange dot when only this node could not be read: node not available, CAN bus busy…).

Setup​

  1. Note the IP address of the C.M.I. (give it a reserved DHCP lease), a user of its web interface (admin by default) and its password.
  2. Optional: note the numbers of the CAN nodes to read (shown by the web interface of the C.M.I.). Without this list, the integration asks the C.M.I. for it (one more request, every 6 hours).
  3. In Gladys, install the TA C.M.I. integration, enter the address, the user and the password, and save.
  4. Add the devices from the Discovery tab.

One request per minute​

The C.M.I. accepts one request per minute on its JSON API (it answers "too many requests" otherwise). The integration keeps to this limit strictly:

  • two requests are always at least 75 seconds apart, counted from the end of the previous one (answer, error or timeout), whatever asks for them (regular read, button, Discovery);
  • the time of the last request is kept in /data before each request: a restart never sends anything too early;
  • all the nodes are read every 5 minutes by default (120 to 3600 seconds); with several nodes, each takes one request (two for some devices with "All", such as the CAN-BC2), so a full read of 4 nodes takes at least 4 × 75 seconds.

If another program also reads the C.M.I. (or you open its web interface at the same time), the C.M.I. may refuse a request: the integration then pauses for 5, 10, then 15 minutes.

The Test the connection button sends a request only when the limit allows it; otherwise it shows the status and the time left.

Read only​

The JSON API of the C.M.I. only reads: this integration controls nothing. Every feature is read only; a command from Gladys (scene, dashboard, voice assistant) is refused and nothing is sent.

Credentials and privacy​

  • The password is kept by Gladys in its database, never shown again, and sent only to the C.M.I. (HTTP Basic authentication). It never appears in the logs, the status messages nor /data.
  • The /data volume of the integration keeps the time of the last request, the current pause, a stop on refused credentials, the node list and the type of each node, with a hash of the address and port. Neither the user nor the password.
  • Everything stays on your local network, over HTTP: anyone listening on that network can read the credentials, as with the web interface of the C.M.I. Prefer a dedicated user.

Errors​

  • Credentials refused (HTTP 401 or 403): the reads stop; a new try after 10 min, 1 h, then every 6 h, or at once when you change the address, the user or the password. Test the connection also tries again as soon as the limit allows it. The stop is kept across restarts.
  • Too many requests (C.M.I. code 4 or HTTP 429): a pause of 5, 10, then 15 minutes (Retry-After when given, 6 h at most), kept across restarts.
  • Node not available, CAN bus busy, device not supported (codes 1, 2, 5, 7): this node is marked unreachable, the others go on; it is read again at the next cycle.
  • C.M.I. unreachable or unexpected answer: a new try after 1, 2, 5, 10, then every 15 minutes, never faster than the interval.
  • An answer that is too large (over 256 KB) or not the expected JSON is refused.

Limits​

  • Never tested with a real device.
  • No channel names (the JSON API does not give them).
  • The date and time system values are not read.
  • When the unit of a channel changes on the controller, the feature already created keeps its old unit and gets no more values: delete the device, then add it again from Discovery (its history is lost).
  • No CoE (CAN over Ethernet), no command.

Credits​

  • ta-cmi by DeerMaximum (MIT): the endpoints of the JSON API, the status codes, the device types, their parameters and the unit codes are ported to JavaScript.
  • See THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Technische Alternative, C.M.I. and UVR are trademarks of Technische Alternative RT GmbH; this project is not affiliated with Technische Alternative.

Configuration settings​

These are the settings TA C.M.I. asks for in its configuration screen in Gladys.

SettingTypeRequiredDescription
Your C.M.I.sectionNoBrings the controllers of Technische Alternative (UVR16x2, UVR1611, UVR610, RSM610, CAN-EZ, CAN-BC2…) into Gladys, read only, through the official JSON API of the C.M.I. on your local network: inputs, outputs, DL bus, and on request system values, logging, M-Bus, Modbus and KNX. One device per CAN node. The C.M.I. accepts one request per minute: the integration never sends more, so a node is read every 5 minutes by default. Nothing can be changed on the controllers from Gladys. Never tested with a real device. Not affiliated with Technische Alternative.
IP address of the C.M.I.stringYesThe address of the C.M.I. on your local network (":port" when it is not 80), without path.
User name of the C.M.I.stringYesA user of the web interface of the C.M.I. (admin by default).
Password of the C.M.I.secretYesThe password of this user. Kept by Gladys in its database, never shown again, sent only to the C.M.I. (HTTP Basic authentication, on your local network).
CAN nodes (optional)stringNoThe numbers of the CAN nodes to read, separated by commas (16 at most). Empty: the list of the C.M.I. is read (one more request every 6 hours).
Values readselectNoMain: inputs, outputs and DL bus (one request per node). All: also system values, logging, network inputs, M-Bus, Modbus, KNX and electrical power, when the device has them (two requests for some devices).
Refresh interval (s)numberNoSeconds between two reads of all the nodes (120 to 3600). Whatever this value, two requests to the C.M.I. are always at least 75 s apart: with several nodes, a full read takes longer.
Language of the namesselectNoUsed for the names of the devices and features added from now on.

How to install TA C.M.I. in Gladys​

  1. In Gladys, open Integrations: TA C.M.I. appears in the catalog, next to the native integrations, with a community badge.
  2. Click Install. Gladys pulls the Docker image (ghcr.io/lm1lc3n7/gladys-ta-cmi:0.1.1), starts it in a sandbox isolated from the core, and generates the integration's interface (devices, discovery and configuration).
  3. Open the Configuration screen of the integration, fill in the settings, and save.
  4. You can also install it directly from its repository URL: https://github.com/LM1LC3N7/gladys-ta-cmi.

TA C.M.I. requires Gladys >=5.1.0. The catalog inside Gladys refreshes every hour, so a new version becomes available at most one hour after its release.

Not running Gladys yet? It is free and open source: follow the installation guide to get started.

About external integrations​

TA C.M.I. is an external integration: a community integration packaged as a Docker container and published on GitHub, that Gladys installs in one click and runs in a sandbox isolated from its core. It is published and maintained by LM1LC3N7, not by the Gladys core team.

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