multiple controllers / extensions
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Hi all,
Very excited about UniPi Neuron!
I am considering using UniPi Neuron in large a home automation project with four electrical cabinets (one on each floor and one in a detached garage). I have several quick / simple questions.
1/ Do I need a controller or an extension in each cabinet? What is the essential difference between a controller and an extension anyway?
2/ Is there any way to make abstraction of the four different controllers / extensions and make them appear as one big logical PLC in the programming environment unsing one program or will I explicitely have to program sharing of variables like in youtube tutorial 8 using four separate programs?
4/ In the last case, the master plc program could do all the work and simply use the slave plc's to gather network variables. Will this be fast enough for e.g. light switches? I am discouraged reading about the "direct mode" which kind of implies non-direct mode will be much slower.
5/ Assuming I connect controllers and extensions over serial RS485 Modbus, can I use the existing ethernet cables for that? What are the maximal lenghts?
6/ What topology can I use? Star? Line? Circle? Tree? Or does it not matter?
7/ If I have 1-wire sensors on every floor, will I be able to collect all of these values on the master PLC? I read somewhere the 1-wire over modbus does not work.
8/ Why do the extensions not have a 1-wire interface?
9/ Are you considering a GSM / SMS / 3G module?
Many thank in advance,
Ares