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# Loxone Binding

This binding integrates Loxone Miniserver (opens new window) with openHAB (opens new window). Miniserver is represented as a Thing (opens new window). Miniserver controls, that are visible in the Loxone UI (opens new window), are exposed as openHAB channels.

# Features

The following features are currently supported:

  • Discovery (opens new window) of Miniservers available on the local network

  • Creation of channels for Loxone controls that are exposed in the Loxone UI (opens new window)

  • Tagging of channels and items (opens new window) with tags that can be recognized by Alexa (opens new window) openHAB skill (opens new window), so voice can be used to command Loxone controls

  • Management of a Websocket connection to the Miniserver and updating Thing status accordingly

  • Updates of openHAB channel's state in runtime according to control's state changes on the Miniserver

  • Passing channel commands to the Miniserver's controls

  • Hash-based and token-based authentication methods

  • Command encryption and response decryption

# Things

This binding supports Loxone Miniservers (opens new window) for accessing controls that are configured in their UI.

The Thing UID of automatically discovered Miniservers is: loxone:miniserver:<serial>, where <serial> is a serial number of the Miniserver (effectively this is the MAC address of its network interface).

# Discovery

Loxone Miniservers (opens new window) are automatically discovered by the binding and put in the Inbox. Discovery (opens new window) is performed using UPnP (opens new window) protocol.

Before a Miniserver Thing can go online, it must be configured with a user name and a password of an account available on the Miniserver. Please set them manually in Thing configuration after you add a new Miniserver Thing from your Inbox.

# Manual configuration

As an alternative to the automatic discovery process, Miniservers can be configured manually, through an entry in .things file (opens new window). The entry should have the following syntax:

loxone:miniserver:<thing-id> [ user="<user>", password="<password>", host="<host>", port=<port>, ... ]

Where:

  • <thing-id> is a unique ID for your Miniserver (you can but do not have to use Miniserver's MAC address here)
  • <user> and <password> are the credentials used to log into the Miniserver
  • <host> is a host name or IP of the Miniserver
  • <port> is a port of web services on the Miniserver (please notice that port, as a number, is not surrounded by quotation marks, while the other values described above are)
  • ... are optional advanced parameters - please refer to Advanced parameters section at the end of this instruction for a list of available options

Example 1 - minimal required configuration:

loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F [ user="kryten", password="jmc2017", host="loxone.local", port=80 ]

Example 2 - additionally keep alive period is set to 2 minutes and Websocket maximum binary message size to 8MB:

loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F [ user="kryten", password="jmc2017", host="192.168.0.210", port=80, keepAlivePeriod=120, maxBinMsgSize=8192 ]

# Thing Offline Reasons

There can be following reasons why Miniserver status is OFFLINE:

  • Configuration Error
    • Unknown host
      • Miniserver host/ip address can't be resolved. No connection attempt will be made.
    • User authentication error
      • Invalid user name or password or user not authorized to connect to the Miniserver. Binding will make another attempt to connect after some time.
    • Too many failed login attempts - stopped trying
      • Miniserver locked out user for too many failed login attempts. In this case binding will stop trying to connect to the Miniserver. A new connection will be attempted only when user corrects user name or password in the configuration parameters.
    • Enter password to generate a new token
      • Authentication using stored token failed - either token is wrong or it. A password must be reentered in the binding settings to acquire a new token.
    • Internal error
      • Probably a code defect, collect debug data and submit an issue. Binding will try to reconnect, but with unknown chance for success.
    • Other
      • An exception occured and its details will be displayed
  • Communication Error
    • Error communicating with Miniserver
      • I/O error occurred during established communication with the Miniserver, most likely due to network connectivity issues, Miniserver going offline or Loxone Config is uploading a new configuration. A reconnect attempt will be made soon. Please consult detailed message against one of the following:
        • "Text message size &lsqbXX&rsqb exceeds maximum size &lsqbYY&rsqb" - adjust text message size in advanced parameters to be above XX value
        • "Binary message size &lsqbXX&rsqb exceeds maximum size &lsqbYY&rsqb" - adjust binary message size in advanced parameters to be above XX value
    • User authentication timeout
      • Authentication procedure took too long time and Miniserver closed connection. It should not occur under normal conditions and may indicate performance issue on binding's OS side.
    • Timeout due to no activity
      • Miniserver closed connection because there was no activity from binding. It should not occur under normal conditions, as it is prevented by sending keep-alive messages from the binding to the Miniserver. By default Miniserver's timeout is 5 minutes and period between binding's keep-alive messages is 4 minutes. If you see this error, try changing the keep-alive period in binding's configuration to a smaller value.
    • Other
      • An exception occured and its details will be displayed

# Security

The binding supports the following authentication methods, which are selected automatically based on the firmware version. They can be also chosen manually in the advanced settings.

Method Miniserver Firmware Authentication Encryption Requirements
Hash-based 8.x HMAC-SHA1 hash on user and password None None
Token-based From 9.x Token acquired on the first connection and used later instead of the password. AES-256 JRE must have unrestricted security policy configured

For the token-based authentication, the password is required only for the first login and acquiring the token. After the token is acquired, the password is cleared in the binding configuration.

The acquired token will remain active for several weeks following the last successful authentication with this token. If the connection is not established used during that period and the token expires, a user password has to be re-entered in the binding settings to acquire a new token.

In case a websocket connection to the Miniserver remains active for the whole duration of the token's life span, the binding will refresh the token one day before token expiration, without the need of providing the password.

In case of connecting to Generation 2 Miniservers, it is possible to establish a secure WebSocket connection over HTTPS protocol. Binding will automatically detect if HTTPS connection is available and will use it. In that case, commands sent to the Miniserver will not be additionally encrypted. When HTTPS is not available, binding will use unsecure HTTP connection and will encrypt each command.

It is possible to override the communication protocol by setting webSocketType configuration parameter. Setting it to 1 will force to always establish HTTPS connection. Setting it to 2 will force to always establish HTTP connection. Default value of 0 means the binding will determine the right protocol in the runtime.

A method to enable unrestricted security policy depends on the JRE version and vendor, some examples can be found here (opens new window) and here (opens new window).

# Channels

This binding creates channels for controls that are used in Loxone's user interface (opens new window). Currently supported controls are presented in the table below.

Loxone API Control (opens new window) Loxone Block-Functions Item Types (opens new window) Supported Commands
Alarm Burglar Alarm (opens new window) Switch - arm the alarm OnOffType.*
Switch - arm with delay - pushbuton OnOffType.ON - armes the alarm with delay
Number - ID of the next alarm level Read-only channel
Number - delay of the next alarm level Read-only channel
Number - total delay of the next alarm level Read-only channel
Number - current alarm level Read-only channel
DateTime - time when alarm started Read-only channel
Number - delay of the alarm being armed Read-only channel
Number - total delay of the alarm being armed Read-only channel
String - list of alarm sensors separated with | Read-only channel
Switch - acknowledge the alarm - pushbutton OnOffType.ON - acknowledge alarm
ColorPickerV2 RGBW 24v Dimmer Tree (opens new window) Color HSBType - sets the color of the light, DecimalType and PercentType - sets the brightness, IncreaseDecreaseType.* - increases/decreases the brightness, OnOffType.* - switches light on/off
Dimmer Dimmer (opens new window) Dimmer OnOffType.*, PercentType, IncreaseDecreaseType.*
EIBDimmer EIB Dimmer (undocumented) Dimmer OnOffType.*, PercentType, IncreaseDecreaseType.*
InfoOnlyAnalog Analog virtual inputs (opens new window) (virtual state) Number Read-only channel
InfoOnlyDigital Digital virtual inputs (opens new window) (virtual state) String Read-only channel
IRoomControllerV2 Intelligent Room Controller V2 (opens new window) Number - active mode Read-only channel
Number - operating mode DecimalType - operating mode
Number - prepare state Read-only channel
Switch - open window Read-only channel
Number - current temperature Read-only channel
Number - target temperature DecimalType
Number - comfort temperature DecimalType
Number - comfort temperature offset DecimalType
Number - comfort tolerance DecimalType
Number - absent minimum temperature offset DecimalType
Number - absent maximum temperature offset DecimalType
Number - frost protect temperature Read-only channel
Number - heat protect temperature Read-only channel
Jalousie Blinds, Automatic Blinds (opens new window), Automatic Blinds Integrated Rollershutter - main control element UpDownType.*, StopMoveType.*, PercentType
Switch - shading OnOffType.ON - shade
Switch - automatic shading OnOffType.* - automatic shading enabled/disabled
LeftRightAnalog Analog Virtual input (opens new window) of left-right buttons type Number DecimalType
LeftRightDigital Digital Virtual input (opens new window) of left-right buttons type Switch (left button) OnOffType.* - left on/off, sets right to off
Switch (right button) OnOffType.* - right on/off, sets left to off
LightController Lighting controller V1 (obsolete) (opens new window), Hotel lighting controller (opens new window)
Additionally, for each configured output of a lighting controller, a new independent control (with own channel/item) will be created.
Number DecimalType - select lighting scene, UpDownType.* - swipe through scenes, OnOffType.* - select all off or all on scene
LightControllerV2 Lighting controller (opens new window)
Additionally, for each configured output and for each mood of a lighting controller, a new independent control (with own channel/item) will be created.
Number DecimalType - select mood, UpDownType.* - swipe through moods
LightControllerV2 Mood A mood defined for a Lighting controller (opens new window). Each mood will have own channel and can be operated independently in order to allow mixing of moods. Switch OnOffType.* - mixes mood in or out of the controller
Meter Utility meter (opens new window) Number DecimalType - current meter value
Number DecimalType - total meter value
Pushbutton Virtual inputs (opens new window) of pushbutton type Switch OnOffType.ON - generates Pulse command
Radio Radio button 8x and 16x (opens new window) Number DecimalType - select output number 1-8/16 or 0 for all outputs off, OnOffType.OFF - all outputs off
Slider Virtual inputs (opens new window) of slider type Number DecimalType
Switch Virtual inputs (opens new window) of switch type
Push-button (opens new window)
Switch OnOffType.*
TextState State (opens new window) String Read-only channel
TimedSwitch Stairwell light switch (opens new window) or Multifunction switch (opens new window) Switch OnOffType.* - ON sends pulse to Loxone
Number Read-only countdown value to off
Tracker Tracker (opens new window) String Read-only channel
UpDownAnalog Analog Virtual input (opens new window) of up-down buttons type Number DecimalType
UpDownDigital Digital Virtual input (opens new window) of up-down buttons type Switch - up button OnOffType.* - up on/off, sets down to off
Switch - down button OnOffType.* - down on/off, sets up to off
ValueSelector Selection Switch+ (opens new window), Selection Switch+/- (opens new window) Dimmer - selected value will be scaled to min/max OnOffType.* - sets selector to max or min value, PercentType - sets selector to % of min-max range, IncreaseDecreaseType - adds or subtracts step value from the selector
Number - direct input of selected value DecimalType - must be between min-max range
Webpage Web Page (opens new window) String - low-res URL Read-only channel
String - high-res URL Read-only channel

If your control is supported, but binding does not recognize it, please check if it is exposed in Loxone UI using Loxone Config (opens new window) application.

Most controls have a single channel. Such channel ID is defined in the following way:

  • loxone:miniserver:<serial>:<control-UUID>

Controls, which have more than one channel, define the channel ID of the extra channels in the following way:

  • loxone:miniserver:<serial>:<control-UUID>-<channel-index>, where <channel-index> is equal to 1, 2, ...

Channel label is defined in the following way:

  • For controls that belong to a room: <Room name> / <Control name>
  • For controls without a room: <Control name>

Channels have the default tags as follows:

  • Dimmer: when it belongs to a category of Lights type, the channel will be tagged with Lighting tag.
  • InfoOnlyAnalog: when it belongs to a category of Indoor Temperature type, it will be tagger with CurrentTemperature tag.
  • Jalousie: main rollershutter channel will be tagged with Blinds tag. Shade and automatic shade switch channels will be tagged with Switchable tag.
  • LightController (V1 and V2): main channel with selected scene will be tagged with Scene tag.
  • Switch, TimedSwitch and Pushbutton controls: when it belongs to a category that is of a Lights type, the channel will be tagged with Lighting tag. Otherwise it will be tagged with Switchable tag.

# Advanced Parameters

This section describes the optional advanced parameters that can be configured for a Miniserver. If a parameter is not explicitly defined, binding will use its default value.

To define a parameter value in a .things file, please refer to it by parameter's ID, for example:

keepAlivePeriod=120

# Security

ID Name Values Default Description
authMethod Authentication method 0: Automatic
1: Hash-based
2: Token-based
0: Automatic A method used to authenticate user in the Miniserver.
webSocketType WebSocket protocol 0: Automatic
1: Force HTTPS
2: Force HTTP
0: Automatic Communication protocol used for WebSocket connection.

# Timeouts

Timeout values control various parts of Websocket connection management. They can be tuned, when abnormal behavior of the binding is observed, which can be attributed to timing.

ID Name Range Default Description
firstConDelay First connection delay 0-120 s 1 s Time in seconds between binding initialization with all necessary parameters and first connection attempt.
keepAlivePeriod Period between connection keep-alive messages 1-600 s 240 s Time in seconds between sending two consecutive keep-alive messages, in order to inform Miniserver about active connection and prevent it from disconnecting. Miniserver default connection timeout is 5 minutes, so default is set to 4 minutes.
connectErrDelay Connect error delay 0-600 s 10 s Time in seconds between failed Websocket connect attempt and another attempt to connect. Websocket connection is established before authentication and data transfer. It can usually fail due to unreachable Miniserver.
responseTimeout Response timeout 0-60 s 4 s Time to wait for a response from Miniserver to a request sent from the binding. A request can be any of: websocket connect request, credentials hashing key request, configuration request, enabling of state updates (until initial states are received). If this time passed without the expected reaction from the Miniserver, the connection will be closed. A new connection attempt may be made, depending on the situation.
userErrorDelay Authentication error delay 0-3600 s 60 s Time in seconds between user authentication error and another connection attempt. User authentication error can be a result of a wrong name or password, or no authority granted to the user on the Miniserver. If this time is too short, Miniserver will eventually lock out the user for a longer period of time due to too many failed login attempts. This time should allow the administrator to fix the authentication issue without being locked out. Connection retry is required, because very rarely Miniserver seems to reject correct credentials, which are successful on a subsequent identical attempt.
comErrorDelay Communication error delay 0-3600 s 30 s Time in seconds between an active connection closes, as a result of a communication error, and next connection attempt. This relates to all types of network communication issues, which can occur and cease to exist randomly to the binding. It is desired that the binding monitors the situation and brings things back to online as soon as Miniserver is accessible.

# Sizes

ID Name Range Default Description
maxBinMsgSize Maximum binary message size (kB) 0-100 MB 3072 (3 MB) For Websocket client, a maximum size of a binary message that can be received from the Miniserver. If you get communication errors with a message indicating there are too long binary messages received, you may need to adjust this parameter.
maxTextMsgSize Maximum text message size (kB) 0-100 MB 512 KB For Websocket client, a maximum size of a text message that can be received from the Miniserver. If you get communication errors with a message indicating there are too long text messages received, you may need to adjust this parameter.

# Limitations

  • As there is no push button item type in openHAB, Loxone's push button is an openHAB's switch, which always generates a short pulse on changing its state to on. If you use simple UI mode and framework generates items for you, switches for push buttons will still be toggle switches. To change it to the push button style, you have to create item manually with autoupdate=false parameter. An example of such item definition is given in the Items section above.

# Automatic Configuration Example

The simplest and quickest way of configuring a Loxone Miniserver with openHAB is to use automatic configuration features:

  • Make sure your Miniserver is up and running and on the same network segment as openHAB server.
  • Add Loxone binding from the available Add-ons.
  • In Configuration/System page, set Item Linking to Simple Mode (don't forget to save your choice).
  • Add your Miniserver Thing from the Inbox, after automatic discovery is performed by the framework during binding initialization.
  • Configure your Miniserver by editing Miniserver Thing in Configuration/Things page and providing user name and password.
  • Miniserver Thing should go online. Channels and Items will be automatically created and configured.
  • On the Control page, you can test Miniserver Items and interact with them.
  • As the user interface, you may use HABPanel (opens new window), where all Miniserver's items are ready for picking up, using entirely the graphical user interface.

# Manual Configuration Example

A more advanced setup requires manual creation and editing of openHAB configuration files, according to the instructions provided in configuration user guide (opens new window). In this example we will manually configure:

  • A Miniserver with serial number 504F2414780F, available at IP 192.168.0.220 and with web services port 80
  • A Miniserver's user named "kryten" and password "jmc2017"
  • Items for:
    • Temperature of the Miniserver - a Virtual Analog State functional block
    • State of a garage door - a Virtual Digital State funtional block (ON=door open, OFF=door closed)
    • Kitchen lights switch - a Switch Subcontrol at the AI1 output of a Lighting Controller functional block (with a tag recognizable by Alexa service)
    • Pushbutton to switch all lights off - a Virtual Input of Pushbutton type functional block (pushbutton realized by adding autoupdate="false" parameter)
    • Kitchen blinds - a Jalousie functional block
    • Lighting scene - a Lighting Controller functional block
    • Output valve selection for garden watering - 8x Radio Button functional block, where only one valve can be open at a time
    • A text displaying current alarm's state - a State functional block

# things/loxone.things:

loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F [ user="kryten", password="jmc2017", host="192.168.0.220", port=80 ]

# items/loxone.items:

// Type       ID              Label                                  Icon          Tags         Settings

Number        Miniserver_Temp "Miniserver temperature: [%.1f °C]"    <temperature>              {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2F2133-017D-3C82-FFFF203EB0C34B9E"}
Switch        Garage_Door     "Garage door [MAP(garagedoor.map):%s]" <garagedoor>               {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2F2133-017D-3C82-FFFF203EB0C34B9E"}
Switch        Kitchen_Lights  "Kitchen Lights"                       <switch>      ["lighting"] {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0EC5E0CF-0255-6ABD-FFFF402FB0C24B9E_AI1"}
Switch        Stair_Lights    "Stair Lights"                         <switch>      ["lighting"] {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0EC5E0CF-0255-31BD-FFFF402FB0C24B9E"}
Number        Stair_Lights-1  "Stair Lights Deactivation Delay"      <clock>       ["lighting"] {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0EC5E0CF-0255-31BD-FFFF402FB0C24B9E-1"}
Switch        Reset_Lights    "Switch all lights off"                <switch>      ["lighting"] {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2F2133-01AD-3282-FFFF201EB0C24B9E",autoupdate="false"}
Rollershutter Kitchen_Blinds  "Kitchen blinds"                       <blinds>                   {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2E2123-014D-3232-FFEF204EB3C24B9E"}
Dimmer        Kitchen_Dimmer  "Kitchen dimmer"                       <slider>      ["lighting"] {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2E2123-014D-3232-FFEF207EB3C24B9E"}
Number        Light_Scene     "Lighting scene"                       <light>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC4E0DF-0255-6ABD-FFFE403FB0C34B9E"}
Number        Mood_Selector   "Lighting mood"                        <light>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC4E0DF-0255-6ABD-FFFE203EA0C34B9E"}
Switch        Mood_Enter_Home "Entering home"                        <light>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC4E0DF-0255-6ABD-FFFE203EA0C34B9E-M1"}
Switch        Mood_Read_Book  "Reading book"                         <light>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC4E0DF-0255-6ABD-FFFE203EA0C34B9E-M2"}
Switch        Mood_Evening    "Evening setup"                        <light>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC4E0DF-0255-6ABD-FFFE203EA0C34B9E-M3"}
Number        Garden_Valve    "Garden watering section"              <garden>                   {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0FC5E0DF-0355-6AAD-FFFE403FB0C34B9E"}
String        Alarm_State     "Alarm state [%s]"                     <alarm>                    {channel="loxone:miniserver:504F2414780F:0F2E2134-017D-3E82-FFFF433FB4A34B9E"}

# sitemaps/loxone.sitemap:

sitemap loxone label="Loxone Example Menu"
{
    Frame label="Demo Controls" {
        Text      item=Miniserver_Temp
        Text      item=Garage_Door
        Switch    item=Kitchen_Lights
        Switch    item=Reset_Lights
        Switch    item=Kitchen_Blinds
        Slider    item=Kitchen_Dimmer switchSupport
        Switch    item=Stairs_Light
        Text      item=Stairs_Light-1
        Selection item=Light_Scene mappings=[0="All off", 1="My scene 1", 2="My scene 2", 9="All on"]
        Selection item=Mood_Selector
        Switch    item=Mood_Enter_Home
        Switch    item=Mood_Read_Book
        Switch    item=Mood_Evening
        Setpoint  item=Garden_Valve minValue=0 maxValue=8 step=1
        Text      item=Alarm_State
    }
}

# transform/garagedoor.map:

OFF=Closed
ON=Open
-=Unknown