So as I am learning more, I ran across this, but am wondering why you would use beyond the obvious of more control? In messing around with the IDE, I cannot see how you would use. I mean, do you create blank device and use this then somehow associate it with a physical device or something? Looked in wiki and not seeing something to help. Thoughts?
Are you asking what āZ wave direct associationā is? That seems to be a question that would go with the post that you linked to, but it doesnāt match the title that you gave to this thread. So Iām rather confused.
A device type handler is required for every device which is used with SmartThings. Itās like a printer driver: itās just a bit of code which tells smartthings how to format the instructions that that device will expect.
Why donāt you start by reading the custom code FAQ and see if that clears up anything For you. After that we can see if we can figure out what your more specific question is.
If in fact you already understand all of the above and you are asking why someone would use zwave direct association Between two zwave devices rather than have the messages flow through the hub, there are three answers to that:
A) they want something that will work even if the hub or the smartthings platform is not working. Once you set up a direct association you can even unplug The hub altogether and the association will still work. ( note, however, that this will only work for the simplest of setups: ā trigger this motion sensor, that siren comes on.ā You canāt use any of the more complex logic you could by sending messages through the hub, not even a time of day or mode restriction. )
B) there is a latency issue if you run things through the hub. This one is complicated, and usually occurs with devices that probably should have use the ācentral sceneā feature of zwave but didnāt. GE/Jasco is famous for this, that is, continuing to use third generation command sets for fifth generation devices.
C) The person is just following the instructions in the device Manual, not realizing that the SmartThings platform gives them alternative options.
Hi Mark, glad youāre learning more. Iād suggest trying to set up your ST environment with as much āout of the boxā settings as possible and let things settle in and work before making too many changes. Once you get things working, start experimenting with more features, but be aware that sometimes you can make things worse. Been there, done that.
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@johnconstantelo - thanks and I am at that second stage. All is working fine and has (with exception of a z-wave dimmer some), and now just peeling back to layers of the onion.