Today we’ll take a look at the GIRA HomeServer, specifically the HomeServer 3. As the Mother of all HomeServers, in many ways it is the plumb line against which all others are measured. Having started using it when it was still the HomeServer 2, we’ve seen it progress and grow, both in the available uses and more notably in its User Interface, so lets take a more detailed look at why it is the 800-pound Gorilla of the HomeServer world …

The User Experience

Once we get past the fact that it comes in a stylish box, as opposed to the HomeServer 2’s older PC case, the HomeServer 3 has a lot going for it. For one, it’s gotten MUCH easier to look at since the older Grey Buttons on the GUI were done away with. It looks much more Web 2.0. But, what front end do you want? With the GIRA HomeServer you’ve got 3 options:

1. Basic Menu
2. QuadClient
3. Custom GUI

In addition to this, you’ve got a Query Menu as well as Archiving of Group Addresses in Lists. (Accessible via a Standard Web Browser) And you can mix and match, having links between various GUI’s. The Basic Menu is the easiest and quickest to program. It works well enough, but lacks a lot of pizazz. To add pizazz, the only option used to be the Custom GUI. Basically, this can be anything you want it to be, although things like IP Cameras still come up in pages that resemble the Basic Menu.

But, if you’ve got the time and put in the effort, you can now use the Quad Client. Why? Because it’s cool, and it does a LOT more things much more intuitively. Basically, you’re viewing two things at the same time:

1. The Menu.
2. The Extras.

On the Menu, you can have links to different areas at the touch of a button. All the buttons are essentially like Windows Shortcuts, except that they won’t ever run a virus or send you Spam. This makes it nice, reliable and easy to find what you’re looking for.

On the Extras side of things, you can put what you want:

1. Local Windows Media Player control (for all your MP3’s)
2. RSS Feeds
3. IP Cameras
4. Energy Metering
5. Weather Station Information
6. Local Weather Forecasts via the Web.
7. Other Graphs, such as Temperature Data
8. E-mail Client to read e-mails (You can’t send, sorry)
9. Alerts and System Messages

And more… All in all, it’s a VERY nice way to handle things and is an excellent solution for wall-mounted IP Touchscreens.

The Programming Experience

Because this is such a complicated device, it also takes quite a while to get it programmed. From a GUI perspective, the easiest way to program this is to use the Basic Menu since it works well and is functional. If you want to use the QuadClient, it will take significantly longer but the benefits outweigh the extra time in configuration. It’s just so well laid out and easy to use that it’d be a shame to not offer it, especially if the client has IP Touchscreens. A Custom GUI will take time, and will require additional Graphic skills. While you can edit using an external program, there is no way to finesse things inside of the HomeServer planning software, which is now available in English. (Although my German’s a lot better than it has been …)

But, as we’ll see in a few minutes, the programming isn’t all just about setting up the GUI. It’s about the choices and what needs to be integrated. (And how …)

Audio/Video

While Media is such a strong part of our lives every day, integration with A/V hasn’t been one of KNX’s strong suits. Thankfully that’s changing, but even so you need some bits and bobs to make things work. The GIRA HomeServer allows A/V integration in a few ways:

1. Allows for Revox Control via the Revox IP Gateway. (This is bi-directional, but getting the feedback is EXTREMELY difficult)
2. Control Barix or Squeezebox MP3 Servers via IP.
3. Control a local installation of Windows Media Player. (Via the QuadClient)

This means that you’ll still need some other components, like a NAS Drive for the Squeezebox or Barix solutions, but it allows for some nice situations, like coming home and having your music turn on automatically or making sure that all the A/V Equipment is off when you go to bed in the evening. In an office building this can be even more of a boon.

IP: Cameras, Control and More …

As mentioned above, there are a lot of things that the HomeServer can control via IP, Audio/Video being only one.

For instance, you can not only display IP Cameras, but even control them as well. Axis PTZ (Pan, Tilt, Zoom) IP Cameras are especially good for this and can result in better security for less money as the Camera can be moved manually, or be set to move automatically. And, with the Quad Client, you can have faster speeds than many other HomeServers as the Quad Client accesses the cameras more directly by not buffering the Video Streams in the HomeServer.

One caveat is that, while there is a Camera Archive function in the GIRA HomeServer, video storage has to be done on another device. This is where a DVR is essential. Otherwise, it works well for viewing Cameras both locally and remotely.

Another thing is that the HomeServer offers all sorts of Control options for IP Devices. For instance, how about controlling a Windows Media Center PC to bring up the Movie Menu when you push a Lightscene Button on the wall? Anything that can be sent an IP Telegram can be controlled via the HomeServer.

Logic

An integral part of the GIRA HomeServer is it’s Logic section. This is, especially, one area that sets it apart from other offerings. Logic Modules are offered in various Categories:

1. Time Functions
2. Additional Functions
3. Alerting
4. Blinds, Shutters and Partition Walls
5. Comparators
6. Controllers
7. Converters
8. Counters
9. DALI and Light Control
10. Data Exchange
11. Delay
12. Filters
13. Gates
14. Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning
15. List Input & Output
16. Math Functions (Basic, Curves and Trigonometry)
17. Selector Switches
18. Text Selections

As such, anything that you could possibly think of can be done. Or not done. Or blocked. Or Sequenced. Or called from the Bus. This is not the case in many of the other HomeServer products, so if you need to do something tricky then the GIRA HomeServer’s your Gorilla.

The Kitchen Sink …

And that’s not all. There are Timers, Scenes, Sequences, Presence Simulations, Graphs, E-mail Messages that can be sent when situations require them, Web pages that can be analyzed for specific Data, WakeOnLAN that can be sent in certain instances. Even Bus Telegrams can be recorded and viewed, in order to better fault-find issues that might be difficult to troubleshoot.

Caveats

Only one really: The GIRA HomeServer doesn’t have its own KNX Connection on it. As such, it needs one of the following:

1. A GIRA FT1.2 and Bus Coupler Unit 2 (BCU2)

OR

2. An IP Router (GIRA’s works well, though there are other cheaper options that we’re testing out)

This can add quite a bit to the total, especially if you go with the IP Router. The other thing is that, due to past reliability experiences, we’re not all that enthralled in selling the FT1.2/BCU2 Combo with a HomeServer. There have been, to date, no issues with the IP Router. But, it adds several thousand Rand to the price tag seeing as you do NEED one or the other. Definitely something to keep in mind while specifying a GIRA HomeServer 3.

Final Thoughts …

All in all, it’s a very powerful tool that, while not always the most elegant to program, does present things to the Client in a well-thought out and easy-to-use manner. If you don’t need all the functionality, another unit might be a better fit and save you and your client some dough. But, especially with demanding procedures, the GIRA HomeServer comes through with flying colours.

The HomeServer 3 is available from EIB Automation.
Design Software is available from GIRA.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 1:47 pm and is filed under KNX General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.