Loxone/KNX installation recovery and expansion

[Kwen]

Dear all, 

I need some help. I am recovering/repairing my Loxone installation, which was not properly finished by the install guys for various reasons of gross incompetence.

The miniserver comes with a generic (non-Loxone) KNX extension, and I have a range of simple KNX buttons in my house, of which I want to add a few (to make some lights work without the loxone app).

I have access to my miniserver, my loxone config, and I am preparing myself for some long days and nights of Loxone and ETS programming, made possible by the corona circus.

My questions are: 

- Do I need a working .ETS file to install and program new KNX buttons into my existing system? I do not have an .ETS file atm. (incompetent installer guys don't have it). Do I need to start from scratch, i.e. reset and reprogram all KNX buttons?

- I see the KNX/EIB actuators+sensors in my Loxone config. I am looking to export the KNX data from the Loxone config towards ETS so I can have a comprehensive ETS project again to work with. Is this possible or would this be a manual operation? I saw KNX Wizard as a way to get knx data INTO Loxone, but not the other way around.

- I see the Loxone server in ETS as a discovered device, I can test it and it says "OK", but I can't do anything further. Device does not respond when trying to Read Device Info in ETS. How can I see the KNX extension in ETS through Loxone's IP tunnel? 

- I am currently working remotely through my network, do I need to connect a laptop directly with an UTP cable to the miniserver for ETS KNX programming?

- Are there other solutions I may be forgetting to add new buttons? I.e. non-KNX, or would KNX still be preferred due to the KNX extension I already have working? 

Many thanks!

Kwen

[Duncan]

1) you don't need an ets file to add new buttons, but you will have to use group addresses for the new devices that don't conflict with the existing - you can use the ETS or loxone monitoring of the knx bus to see which existing group addresses are being used

pressing the buttons will send lots of knx signals to monitor and identify group addresses

2) I don't think you can go loxone to ets, but you don't really need to (see item 1 above) unless you are going to reconfigure the existing buttons in which case you will have to manually add them to the ets file

3) depending on which version of ETS you have, try manually adding the miniserver interface to ets and try with and without the NAT option

4) remote working wont be a problem as long as your machine (remote desktop or vpn) can see devices on the network

5) do you mean other ways of adding buttons to loxone other than knx? if so then yes of course you can use retractive switches attached to loxone digital inputs as well as new knx buttons, else a variety of other more complicated connections as required

[Kwen]

Many thanks for your response, very helpful. 

I have tried to connect to the miniserver directly with a UTP cable, I see the device with its individual address, but again I get device not responding when I try to read device info. Also tried adding a manual device with NAT mode, also not working. Disabled firewall/antivirus just in case. I wonder if it's a Loxone setting that is blocking connection (I use ETS 5.7.4). Not sure what solutions remain. 

[Kwen]

Well, I'm at a loss. The Device does not respond issue keeps persisting. ETS sees the loxone server, but it does not respond when asked for device info in ETS.

I've tried:

- connect through wifi and and directly through UTP cable

- connect with NAT and without

- use the discovered device in ETS and manually adding the device in ETS

- using ETS 5.7 as well as ETS 3.0f.

- switch off all firewalls

- using windows 8.1 and windows 10

- using 2 different computers using all the above

- installed the latest loxone firmware.

I don't know what to do anymore. Am I missing something that blocks my connection?

[Duncan]

have you tried the bus monitor in ETS using the miniserver as the gateway?

some devices cannot be programmed by the miniserver throught ETS but if the bus monitor shows no activity after you press some knx buttons then its  a connection/network issue

if you see bus activity but cant get the devices to respond, then you probably need an alternative usb knx gateway/interface rather than use the miniserver