FHEM – Setup, practical use, and alternative interfaces
What's Next?
With its various modules and an active community, FHEM has become an important tool for open source IoT. However, the FHEM project also faces a number of (minor) problems. In particular, any enthusiast wanting to provide a new module can do so – assuming they follow a couple of rules. Accordingly, both the syntax and quality of the software can vary from module to module. It is not always easy for beginners to understand what commands need to look like.
The FHEM command reference [4] attempts to help by documenting the official modules. However, there are often delays before module changes appear in the command reference, or, in the worst case, changes may only be discussed on the FHEM forum. In case of problems, browsing through multi-page forum threads in the search for a solution may be your only hope.
In order to leverage the enormous possibilities that FHEM offers, it can also be useful to turn to commercial software. FHEM, with its wide range of modules, acts as a gateway between the third-party systems to be integrated on the one hand and a central control unit on the other. Sophisticated logic functions can often be implemented more easily with graphical solutions such as Node-RED or Loxone. FHEM is exclusively text-based, and Perl as programming language limits the possibilities in some cases.
Anyone who has ever failed to get a module to work in FHEM will understand the criticism being levied at the fact that users must resolve the software dependencies themselves. Resolving the dependencies sometimes results in unbelievably long-winded terminal commands needed to integrate the appropriate software versions into the basic system.
When you install a new system, you can quickly lose track of which dependencies have to be manually resolved, since the backup usually only contains the central FHEM configuration files. An automatic installation of the required resources, as in the case of Node-RED or openHAB, would be the easier approach for most users. But when it comes to depth of integration, you would be hard-pressed to find a system that matches FHEM.
Infos
- FHEM: https://fhem.de
- Setting up FHEM: https://www.meintechblog.de/2016/05/fhem-server-auf-dem-raspberry-pi-in-vweniger-als-einer-stunde-einrichten/ (German only)
- Setting up smartVISU: https://www.meintechblog.de/2015/06/smartvisu-mit-fhem-die-perfekte-visualisierung-teil-1-basics/ (German only)
- FHEM command reference: https://fhem.de/commandref.html
« Previous 1 2 3
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.