Wiser vs PAC / Wiser Questions

Hi All,

Sorry for the silly question - I'd usually read the damn manual, however, I can't seem to find stuff all documentation for the Wiser around the place - maybe I'm not looking in the right place? On the clipsal.com/cis website the wiser does not seem to even be mentioned.

I'm considering using Wiser for a job - I was originally planning to install a CNI and a PAC, but from what I can tell the wiser will do more than these two products anyway so might be the logical way to go.

So - some questions...
1. Can the Wiser perform ALL the functions that a PAC can perform (eg logic, scenes, schedules etc.) - or is the Wiser 'cut back' from the PAC a bit? Does one have more memory for modules etc. than the other?

2. Can the Wi-Fi be turned completely OFF on the Wiser? Given we already have a Cisco based Wireless Network on site with certificate based security etc. we don't want some other more basic access point running as well.

3. Can the wiser be set to use DHCP to obtain its IP? In PICED I can only see an option to enter a static IP and not set the thing to use DHCP. DHCP is a must.

4. Does the CNI which is attached to the wiser support better security than the Lantronix based CNI? It is really a requirement to ask for a password etc. before giving someone on the LAN access to the CBus network.

I think that's it for now.

Cheers,
Jonathan.

 

The logic engine in PAC and Wiser is identical.

Wifi can be switched off. The Wifi does support up to WPA-2, so it isn't really "basic".

On the WAN side it can be a DHCP client. I don't think it can on the LAN side.

Generally you want the Wiser to have a fixed (ie static) IP address (on the LAN side) so you can find it on the network. Is there a reason for wanting to use DHCP?

No - they are the same.

 

Cheers

Agreed, maybe I chose the wrong words by saying 'basic' - I doubt that this unit would support 802.1X authentication, seamless roaming for IP Phones etc? - nor would I expect it to - and I guess that the bundled access point with the wiser would be very good for a number of home users but I suspect it would not compare with some of the more 'corporate' wireless network installations that we often deal with.

It is a moot point though - as long as it can be turned off - I'm happy - I'd disable it and would not use it.

Firstly - I don't want to start a mass debate - because half the IT world will shout and scream disagreement with me on this and the other half of the world will whole heartedly agree with me... but - here goes!

We assign all addresses (with the exception of a few core network components) to almost all network hardware via DHCP. The DHCP server will permanently assign the same IP to a device if it matches some conditions. The DNS server is automatically updated by the DHCP server so that if I want to find a particular piece of hardware I can connect to its hostname - eg wiser.mycompany.com might resolve to our wiser, which the DHCP server might have assigned the address 192.168.79.72 (or whatever the IP address for the wiser might be).

There are several reasons for doing this, the main one being centralised management - if we need to change an IP range or address we can do so, knowing that everything is done using hostnames and DHCP - so we can change a config in one location, restart most of the network and then hey presto - everything should (hopefully!) work.

The second being that if a device moves from one part of our network to another it can automatically get an IP for that part of the network and still be contactable via its same hostname. Eg the wiser gets moved from building A to building B - building A is on the 192.168.1.x subnet, building B is on the 192.168.2.x subnet - with DHCP one can plug in the device and it should just work - however, if IP's were manually configured as opposed to by DHCP then they would have to be manually changed.

Whilst the above scenario would not happen to C-Bus devices very often, having **one** way of managing a network is always preferable, rather than 1 way for phones, 1 way for laptops, another for desktops, another for the c-bus, another for the printers, etc. etc. etc.

Don't get me started about software (Like C-Bus toolkit) that won't let you enter a hostname and insists on an IP!!! Geez, this is backwards - being able to choose **either** is pretty standard in most other software!!!

**anyway - enough of the rant - getting back to the Wiser!**

What is served up on the WAN port, and what is on the LAN port?
Eg can I use the WAN port only, with nothing connected to the LAN port and still have full functionality?

Is the CNI that is built on to the wiser a completely separate device with its own IP - or is this interfaced directly into the wiser without using the network - eg does the CNI have it's own RJ45 connector for its network access? If so - can the wiser speak to the CNI via the WAN port?

Can a Wiser speak to multiple CNI's on different networks?
Can you even purchase a Wiser **without** a CNI?

Bugger. Bugger and Bugger.

Are they **exactly** the same? Eg is it a Lantronix based product still? The C-Bus IP Utility talks about setting a password on C-Bus IP Devices - but says it won't work with the Lantronix Based CNI.

I cannot believe that people would install a CNI on a corporate network and leave it unsecured - this is just asking for someone to download toolkit and have a play with the pretty lights!!!

I guess we could put C-Bus devices on a separate VLAN but then the wiser **has** to be on an exposed network so people can change the settings.

----
Thanks very Much,
Jonathan.

 

Wiser network classes

Hi Jonathan,

I have a Wiser and have disabled the wireless access point as my wireless needs are already taken care of. I have the Wiser hooked up to my LAN, with no connection to its WAN port. The Wiser is still accessible externally - I just needed to set up appropriate port forwards on the existing router, and everything seems to work. (The iPhone app connects just fine to the Wiser over the internet with this configuration.)

You may need to bear in mind that Wiser currently only supports class C local networks, as confirmed in the following thread:

http://www.cbusforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6103

If you want to add it to a class B or A network, you'll need to use a router to split the Wiser onto its own subnet. (If you're concerned about security, this might also be a good place to firewall connections to the Wiser/CNI.)

It's an interesting idea to only use the WAN port as you're suggesting - I've never tried this.

The CNI has its own RJ45 and must be assigned its own IP. A connector block is supplied with the unit that patches the CNI to one of the LAN ports on the router - this is certainly the expected configuration. I'd be interested to learn whether the CNI can be located on the 'WAN' side of the Wiser.

Regards,

Chris.

 

I think that everything available on the LAN side is also available on the WAN side.

The CNI has its own IP address. It can only accept a single connection at a time. Once the Wiser has connected to it, other devices can not use the CNI directly. To use the CNI, you actually connect to the Wiser IP Address, and the commands are routed through the Wiser.

I am not sure if the Wiser can connect to a CNI on the WAN side. I would assume so, but have never tried this.

No. The CNI can be located anywhere, but Wiser can only communicate with one CNI.

No.

The new in-line CNI does not use the Lantronix hardware.