Posting this here for reference when discussing improved support for ISY/IoX Z-Wave Nodes in Home Assistant

Context

As (currently) the sole volunteer maintainer for this repo, I have to carefully manage and prioritize what I work on and attempt to support. My primary reason for maintaining this repo and the ISY/IoX integration is for personal use. I also enjoy the challenges presented by troubleshooting and the opportunity to learn more about coding and problem solving, which is why I dedicate my time to this project; however, that time is limited, and I will always yield priority to something that I will see benefit from (this statement is as much a statement to others as it is a reminder and commitment to myself and family).

Personal Setup and Background

My personal setup is currently a first-edition Polisy with Insteon Serial PLM and ~80 Insteon devices, upgraded from an ISY994i which I'd had since 2013. My home also uses Z-Wave, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, 2.4GHz MiLight RF, 433MHz RF devices; but these are all managed through other Home Assistant integrations and devices.

I use the Polisy and ISY because as of now (Feb 2023) I consider it to be the best way to manage Insteon devices and integrate into Home Assistant. I have considered switching to the native Insteon integration or the insteon-mqtt project, but neither seem to offer the same feature set for managing Insteon device links.

My first introduction to Home Assistant was as a way to feed information from my one out-of-reach Z-Wave lock back to the ISY for use in my ISY Programs. In the 6 years and 2 homes since--I've realized, converted, then embraced that my ISY should be a spoke from my Home Assistant hub and not the other way around. Home Assistant has much broader, open support for more integrations, and a better, more customizable, and most importantly: wife-accepted user interface.

Stance on ISY Z-Wave and Node Servers

I do not use Z-Wave or Node Servers on the Polisy. I have 2 sample Node Servers setup for testing purposes, and have limited ability to test loading of others' Z-Wave setups using the fake-isy-994i project, when provided with node, status, and node def files; but, I do not use the Z-Wave or Z-Matter functionality on the ISY for my own setup.

I have no plans to purchase a Z-Matter device or use Z-Wave on the ISY. To be blunt about my thoughts on the ISY Z-Wave platform: it is cumbersome, uses an antiquated model based on the legacy Insteon node structure--which is confusing, and is not the best solution for use with Home Assistant. Since the introduction of Z-Wave JS and Z-Wave JS UI this is my recommended method for anyone using Z-Wave with Home Assistant. The hardware is cheaper, and it uses (in their words) "a standards-compliant, community-driven and Open Source Z-Wave device driver."

With regards to Node Servers--I recognize all of the hard work that many have put into the development of what's available--but if you are using Home Assistant, I have not found a Node Server available that doesn't have a direct HA integration which is going to look and perform better than anything I could hope to integrate.

Commitment

I am still committed to building support in this module and Home Assistant for better sorting of Z-Wave entities based on what the ISY presents in the Node Definition files, because I think I have a clear path forward to do that. I am not prepared to go much further in trying to build additional support for things like direct color control on RGB bulbs, fixing individual sensor quirks, etc.

Again, this is my opinion and stance. I have no affiliation with UDI nor am I a programmer by background. I do this entirely as a volunteer in my spare time to be able to make use of it myself, and hopefully help out a few others while I'm at it, so I will not commit undue time to something I won't benefit from.

I am not opposed to anyone who is willing to take up the challenge to fully integrate ISY/IoX Z-Wave into Home Assistant in a manner consistent (or better than) the ISY Admin Console. I'll happily review and accept PRs, and provide some guidance when I can.