Failover and Connectivity

 

Purpose

When dealing with living animals, a safe, comfortable and properly climatized environment is primordial to ensure a successful production cycle.  Agrimesh knows and understands that maintaining a rooms climatization objectives can not only assure a successful production but also save energy costs.  This is why multiple protective features have been put in place to mitigate as much as possible the issues that may occur throughout the course of a standard production cycle. What happens when internet connectivity is lost? What happens if the Hub fails or even equipment? The following document will illustrate the techniques used by Agrimesh to troubleshoot issues as well as the fail safes used by the system.

 

Communication

Agrimesh devices communicate locally using mesh technology. This radio frequency-based system acts independently to an internet connection and ensures the continued connection of all Agrimesh devices in the advent of internet failure. The system will continue climatizing the room according to the specifications provided in the temperature chart. The producer will also still be able to log into the application locally and provide the system with minor adjustments or even put devices in manual mode.

 

Failover

Should Hub connection ever be lost, be it by major obstruction, loss of power, or even material damage. The system will start operating in failover mode. Every Agrimesh device is equipped with an internal temperature probe that can be used to regulate itself according to the last set points received from the Hub. An alert is sent out via phone and SMS to the emergency contacts to inform them that connection with the Hub was lost. Devices set in manual mode will not be able to be acted upon. The same can be said for automated devices that were initially off before the loss of connection. Failover mode freezes the last system requests that were sent out by the Hub to each individual device used to climatize the room. This means no changes will occur until connectivity is resumed. Leaving the system in failover mode for extended amounts of time Is unrecommended. Actions must be taken when failover alerts are received.

 

Troubleshooting

Agrimesh has tried and tested protocols to analyse and troubleshoot all problems that may occur with its products. A screwdriver to open the devices casing is often all you need to identify the source of an issue. Each device has multiple LEDs on its circuit board that can help determine if the device is powered, attempting to connect to the Hub or successfully linked with the system. All Agrimesh devices that directly control dynamic machinery also feature a test button that can be used to verify wiring issues or external issues. Wiring plans are available on the Agrimesh wiki. A multimeter can also be used to determine if the issue is caused by the device or externally.

An Agrimesh customer service specialist can be reached from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm eastern standard time. An agent may also be reached 24/7 for any emergencies.

 

Protective measures

As an additional layer of protection. Agrimesh recommends the use of a battery backup and surge protector to power your Hub and your router in cases of power failure.