# MQTT is driving me crazy with inconsistent doings

**URL:** <https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [21 July 2020 22:47 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515 "2020-07-21T22:47:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 3

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dynamicdave](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/dynamicdave/32/96_2.png) [@dynamicdave](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dynamicdave)\
**Post date:** [24 July 2020 14:00 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/41 "2020-07-24T14:00:37Z")

</div>

Not to sure what you mean by that.  
The transition from 'off' to 'on' is nearly instantaneous (well within a fraction of a second) !!!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [24 July 2020 14:32 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/42 "2020-07-24T14:32:11Z")

</div>

I meant it was just cosmetic for a normal local case, it as you say instantaneous, I agree

But if your command has to "travel very long" like to Mars, it could take some time until you get the feedback. In the mean time you would eventually show "command in progress"

Like a traffic light: green -\> yellow -\> red

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dynamicdave](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/dynamicdave/32/96_2.png) [@dynamicdave](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/dynamicdave)\
**Post date:** [24 July 2020 14:33 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/43 "2020-07-24T14:33:15Z")

</div>

I thought that was what you meant.

Have a great weekend - cheers from DynamicDave.

PS:  
Just for a laugh some of my IoT students used a MQTT broker in the US (BeeBotte) where the round trip was 12,000 miles. It still only took less than a second from pressing a button to turning an LED on/off.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [24 July 2020 14:39 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/44 "2020-07-24T14:39:51Z")

</div>

Thats great!!!  
Same to you! See you soon again  
Best regards, Walter

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 03:24 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/45 "2020-07-25T03:24:15Z")

</div>

Ok, progress has been made, but I'm still missing something.

working from what @krambriw said, I got things working a lot easier.

But there are still _Gremlins_ in there - hiding.

To restate:  
There are more than 1 machine which has this flow. That in itself may be the problem.  
It isn't crucial, but while testing it is on the bigger/faster machine.

That, actually, may be the problem.

I won't show you the old code, but this is the new code:

Extra nodes needed: `node-red-contrib-simple-gate`  
`node-red-contrib-queue-gate` But I don't know it is needed.

```auto
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out","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["2193a962.ae9bde"],"x":1145,"y":1000,"wires":[]},{"id":"9e5503d3.261258","type":"debug","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","statusVal":"","statusType":"auto","x":1230,"y":900,"wires":[]},{"id":"2193a962.ae9bde","type":"link in","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["e3b5b83f.fea22","1823ef4a.ba9e71"],"x":485,"y":1100,"wires":[["e9f29fab.b49fb"]]},{"id":"d893827a.64dee","type":"comment","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Master control","info":"","x":1130,"y":460,"wires":[]},{"id":"b8733a43.51c558","type":"delay","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Delay","pauseType":"delay","timeout":"200","timeoutUnits":"milliseconds","rate":"1","nbRateUnits":"1","rateUnits":"second","randomFirst":"1","randomLast":"5","randomUnits":"seconds","drop":false,"x":880,"y":660,"wires":[["a4d650ae.2f2d3"]]},{"id":"a4d650ae.2f2d3","type":"switch","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"LWT","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"Online","vt":"str"},{"t":"eq","v":"Offline","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":2,"x":1050,"y":660,"wires":[["8c5a9564.95af08"],["66f5c0ab.cfbba8"]]},{"id":"8b84df35.71d038","type":"function","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"BAN","func":"msg = {icon: '<font color = \"red\"><i class=\"fa fa-ban fa-3x\"></i></font>', enabled: false};\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":1220,"y":710,"wires":[["276caac6.0e5cb6"]]},{"id":"8c5a9564.95af08","type":"change","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Enable","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"enabled","pt":"msg","to":"true","tot":"bool"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":1210,"y":660,"wires":[["276caac6.0e5cb6","947ba50a.9ac198"]]},{"id":"66f5c0ab.cfbba8","type":"change","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Disable","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"enabled","pt":"msg","to":"false","tot":"bool"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":1060,"y":710,"wires":[["8b84df35.71d038","947ba50a.9ac198"]]},{"id":"276caac6.0e5cb6","type":"link out","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["ad03228b.6a86a8","668fbbd2.56717c","f3a57dba.42b328"],"x":1325,"y":670,"wires":[]},{"id":"ad03228b.6a86a8","type":"link in","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["276caac6.0e5cb6"],"x":1415,"y":670,"wires":[["5b5cb721.f2ea38"]]},{"id":"668fbbd2.56717c","type":"link in","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["276caac6.0e5cb6"],"x":715,"y":920,"wires":[["7a5a3f8a.227298"]]},{"id":"947ba50a.9ac198","type":"link out","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["7c1f77a6.c09d08","5c3007a3.ec40e8"],"x":1185,"y":750,"wires":[]},{"id":"5c3007a3.ec40e8","type":"link in","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","links":["947ba50a.9ac198"],"x":775,"y":1280,"wires":[["fe15f00a.10a31","7d1fb13a.87c598"]]},{"id":"33b2539.f9668ac","type":"inject","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","props":[{"p":"payload"},{"p":"topic","vt":"str"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"Online","payloadType":"str","x":880,"y":620,"wires":[["a4d650ae.2f2d3"]]},{"id":"8a5a1089.c17de","type":"inject","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"","props":[{"p":"payload"},{"p":"topic","vt":"str"}],"repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"topic":"","payload":"Offline","payloadType":"str","x":880,"y":580,"wires":[["a4d650ae.2f2d3"]]},{"id":"5b5cb721.f2ea38","type":"debug","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Dis/En able icon","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"true","targetType":"full","statusVal":"","statusType":"auto","x":1550,"y":670,"wires":[]},{"id":"6fc22820.5e2388","type":"delay","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Delay","pauseType":"delay","timeout":"100","timeoutUnits":"milliseconds","rate":"1","nbRateUnits":"1","rateUnits":"second","randomFirst":"1","randomLast":"5","randomUnits":"seconds","drop":false,"x":430,"y":1200,"wires":[["cedaa29.e9a98e"]]},{"id":"ffda27a2.13a338","type":"comment","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Test","info":"","x":860,"y":540,"wires":[]},{"id":"f96dbd26.7fa8c8","type":"comment","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Test","info":"","x":870,"y":1040,"wires":[]},{"id":"f426e7f4.bf9a88","type":"comment","z":"38b5a988.1c1756","name":"Test","info":"","x":450,"y":880,"wires":[]},{"id":"4e6fc561.de1484","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"BULB-1","tab":"e92ac76d.c24e7","order":5,"disp":true,"width":"5","collapse":false},{"id":"bbf26a6c.b7922","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","name":"MQTT host","broker":"192.168.0.99","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":false,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"SOM","birthQos":"0","birthRetain":"true","birthPayload":"BedPi UP","closeTopic":"EOM","closeQos":"0","closeRetain":"true","closePayload":"BedPi Shutting down","willTopic":"EOM","willQos":"0","willRetain":"false","willPayload":"BedPi COMMS FAIL"},{"id":"e92ac76d.c24e7","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"Real_World_Control","icon":"dashboard","order":13,"disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

```

There are a couple of places where there is a **test** set of nodes.  
They are there to let me test from the `edit` screen so I can see what is happening.

It looks ok so far.

One thing which I need to get working is using the `flow` context to save the _brightness_ and _colour temperature_ values. `Brightness` and `CT`.

I know I should be able to nut it out myself, but alas I can't seem to.

☹

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:27 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/46 "2020-07-25T05:27:09Z")

</div>

OK, here we go

1. I understand that it might be a bit difficult to follow & find where things can go wrong, it's a rather complex structure you have built but in general I think it should work. There is a lot of "things" added for debugging, thats good but also makes the flow a bit difficult to read

2. In the LWT part I do not see that you are setting the icon back correctly when/if you go from offline to online. Could that be one "gremlin"? I mean it would/could indicate offline while it actually is online. I think. Or is it sorted out automatically when the device comes back online, it starts to send current state and as a result the correct icon & background is set? But if so, it means you have to wait for a state msg to arrive until the icon and background is correct

3. I think you have many "un-necessary" link nodes where a straight connection would do just fine

4. You say you have this flow on several machines. I would be worried if they can control the same device/lamp that you could end up in a race condition between the various machines. Is there a reason why you need to have the same flow running on several machines controlling the devices?

5. To save the Brightness and CT you could use the same method as for saving the state. You could add a change node in the flow where the msg with those properties are passing through. Or do it with code already in the function node with the 3 outputs (my choice) and then use them anywhere in your flow

```auto
msg1 = {};
msg2 = {};
msg3 = {};

var a = msg.payload.POWER;
var b = msg.payload.Dimmer;
var c = msg.payload.CT;
msg1.payload = a;
msg2.payload = b;
msg3.payload = c;

flow.set('BULB1_Brightness', b);
flow.set('BULB1_CT', c);

return [msg1,msg2,msg3];

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/47 "2020-07-25T05:48:22Z")

</div>

> [@krambriw](#):
>
> 1. I understand that it might be a bit difficult to follow & find where things can go wrong, it's a rather complex structure you have built but in general I think it should work. There is a lot of "things" added for debugging, thats good but also makes the flow a bit difficult to read
> 
> You should have seen the original! It put this to shame!  
> But anyway....
> 
> 1. In the LWT part I do not see that you are setting the icon back correctly when/if you go from offline to online. Could that be one "gremlin"? I mean it would/could indicate offline while it actually is online. I think. Or is it sorted out automatically when the device comes back online, it starts to send current state and as a result the correct icon & background is set? But if so, it means you have to wait for a state msg to arrive until the icon and background is correct
> 
> The idea is:  
> If ever the device is physically turned off, I get a `LWT` and the icon is _disabled_ and _ban_'ed. Pointless having a working button if/when the device isn't talking.
> 
> Though I think there is an easier way. I am getting/seeing "Offline" messages as soon as it is actually turned off.
> 
> There should be a part when it goes/sees `Online` in the `LWT` it re-enables the button.
> 
> 1. I think you have many "un-necessary" link nodes where a straight connection would do just fine
> 
> I think they are there to block the code so I can see _function blocks_.
> 
> 1. You say you have this flow on several machines. I would be worried if they can control the same device/lamp that you could end up in a race condition between the various machines. Is there a reason why you need to have the same flow running on several machines controlling the devices?
> 
> Yes, I fear/feel that is what was happening sometimes.
> 
> But I was trying (note: TRYING!) to stop that by using the replies to set the condition and change the _switch_ on the other machines.
> 
> When I started to introduce _Brightness_ and _Colour temperature_ adjustments things went south quickly.
> 
> 1. To save the Brightness and CT you could use the same method as for saving the state. You could add a change node in the flow where the msg with those properties are passing through. Or do it with code already in the function node with the 3 outputs (my choice) and then use them anywhere in your flow

Yeah, interesting.

I will look at it, but for now I have it working after ...... several hours chasing my tail.

One thing which was tripping me up was when I turned the bulb off, the _brightness_ value went to 0 - kinda obvious - and so when I turned it back on, it turned on, but had a _brightness_ of `0`, so it kind of did, but kind of didn't.

Your trick with saving the `on/off` state in flow context is/was good, but I can't do it with the other two, as it isn't that easy. It isn't a simple `on` `off` signal.

And, saying there were no previous values, what did it do?

This is how I got around that problem - which was a lot of time invested:

```auto
[{"id":"31523b12.6b0a14","type":"ui_slider","z":"6dd5ca4d.d1958c","name":"Brightness","label":"Brightness","tooltip":"","group":"12c72eb4.18b9d9","order":3,"width":"1","height":"2","passthru":false,"outs":"end","topic":"BULB-2/cmnd/dimmer","min":0,"max":10,"step":1,"x":2790,"y":2250,"wires":[["727d34a9.94d1c4"]]},{"id":"727d34a9.94d1c4","type":"function","z":"6dd5ca4d.d1958c","name":"Get Brightness *","func":"var s = flow.get(\"BULB2_BRIGHTNESS\");\nif (s != undefined)\n\n//node.warn(\"S is of value \" + s)\n\n{\n if (msg.payload == \"X\")\n {\n msg.payload = s;\n return msg;\n } else\n if (msg.payload != s)\n {\n return msg;\n }\n}\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":2970,"y":2250,"wires":[["e83f00bb.3f63e"]],"info":"Edit for device being used"},{"id":"4daa09bf.586ed","type":"change","z":"6dd5ca4d.d1958c","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"X","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":3020,"y":2200,"wires":[["727d34a9.94d1c4","3f7172b7.834016"]]},{"id":"e83f00bb.3f63e","type":"function","z":"6dd5ca4d.d1958c","name":"Scale","func":"msg.payload = msg.payload * 10;\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":3150,"y":2250,"wires":[["606fe2af.d55654"]]},{"id":"d1b68fa0.dab248","type":"function","z":"6dd5ca4d.d1958c","name":"Scale","func":"msg.payload = (msg.payload / 10);\nreturn msg;","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"initialize":"","finalize":"","x":2560,"y":2250,"wires":[["6ccc868c.417c78","31523b12.6b0a14"]]},{"id":"12c72eb4.18b9d9","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"BULB-2","tab":"e92ac76d.c24e7","order":6,"disp":true,"width":"3","collapse":false},{"id":"e92ac76d.c24e7","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"Real_World_Control","icon":"dashboard","order":13,"disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

```

The trick here being it checks if there is (or not) a stored value. If there isn't, it uses the new one from the `slider`.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:54 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/48 "2020-07-25T05:54:55Z")

</div>

> [@dynamicdave](#):
>
> Not to sure what you mean by that.  
> The transition from off to on is nearly instantaneous!!!

I'll explain my reason.

As much as @krambriw is right.

Yes, _instantaneous_ is an interesting concept.

So, there are delays which just are.

You move the mouse and click. Nothing happens. Did you really press the button or was it a _miss_?

This _delay_ (feature) changes the colour of the button to indicate you didn't _miss_ it and a short time there after when the command is acknowledged, it changes to the final colour.

I add a nominal 100ms delay just to make things look more _real_.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/49 "2020-07-25T05:56:09Z")

</div>

Just one more, I do not know your purpose or need using those gates but you should be aware that if the first one (after the MQTT in node) is off, I fear the correct statuses will not be presented if the bulb changes state

And it looks like turning the bulb ON from OFF opens the gates for brightness and ct but since the opening is delayed 3 seconds, it looks like the brightness & ct properties will be blocked for this initial ON command

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/50 "2020-07-25T05:56:29Z")

</div>

> [@dynamicdave](#):
>
> Just for a laugh some of my IoT students used a MQTT broker in the US (BeeBotte) where the round trip was 12,000 miles. It still only took less than a second from pressing a button to turning an LED on/off.

That's because your electrons are faster than mine! I'm in the southern hemisphere. The electrons are slower here. 😉

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 05:59 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/51 "2020-07-25T05:59:52Z")

</div>

> [@krambriw](#):
>
> Just one more, I do not know your purpose or need using those gates but you should be aware that if the first one (after the MQTT in node) is off, I fear the correct statuses will not be presented if the bulb changes state
> 
> And it looks like turning the bulb ON from OFF opens the gates for brightness and ct but since the opening is delayed 3 seconds, it looks like the brightness & ct properties will be blocked for this initial ON command

the gates are left overs from when I had it on multiple machines.

On the machine NOT being tested, I would stop messages getting through.

Yes the _brightness_ control is stopped because when I turn the bulb off - via software - I get a message back saying the bulb is `OFF` and the `brightness` is `0`.

I mentioned this problem. For a while when I turned the bulb on, it sat there blinking at me - because of the `delay` node - and I couldn't work out why.

Or it would indicate it was `ON` but not glowing.

Then I realised the `brightness` slider was on `0`. Didn't help.

Then when I went to the `dashboard` and saw the `brightness` slider bobbing up and down..... I realised there was _feedback_ there.

That was how I stopped that problem.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 06:07 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/52 "2020-07-25T06:07:06Z")

</div>

So you are all set now?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 06:11 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/53 "2020-07-25T06:11:11Z")

</div>

For now it seems to be working.

What happens in the next 12 hours - who knows?

😉

But thanks for the time and effort.

Now what I may need to do is work out how to make it support other devices controlling it.

That is a need that will crop up.  
Not specifically for this, but other things I have.

As much as now I will try to keep it as one machine **actually controlling** the _device_, other things may need to control it, and need feedback (status, etc) and this to be shared.

I am not sure how that will work. Because as much as it will keep one machine as the only controller, how do I discemintae (?spelling) the status to multiple other devices?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 06:25 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/54 "2020-07-25T06:25:13Z")

</div>

If you want to distribute statuses to other clients I would publish those to specific & separate topics on the MQTT broker. In this way you can assure that other clients receives the correct information but they cannot interfere with the sources

disseminate or distribute is equivalent I guess

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 06:29 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/55 "2020-07-25T06:29:31Z")

</div>

Yes, I do agree.

So I use different names in MQTT between the main and remote machines.

But the same thing is going to happen at that level sending status updates between the machines.

So in some ways it will be the same problem, just at a different _level_.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 06:56 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/56 "2020-07-25T06:56:11Z")

</div>

I don't really now. When I design a solution like this I always try to model an architecture like this:

devices \<--\> backend \<--\> frontend

For me the backend in this case is responsible for things like

- controlling the devices
- reading/receiving their statuses
- serving commands from the frontend
- providing status feedback to frontend  
etc etc

The frontend would be the typical client

- sending commands to the backend
- receiving feedbacks and status updates  
etc etc

The backend could be a NR instance, the frontend could be another NR instance or a any other client with proper interface to the NR backend

But I would never run several backends controlling the same devices for simpler home automation solutions like this. For redundancy reasons in professional solutions we would have to consider multi server systems but I guess we can skip that for these type of applications

If you look at your flow I think it has potential to be divided into a backend and frontend part respectively. Basically you could say anything belonging to the gui should not be part of the backend

If you use MQTT as the interface between backend and frontend you can have multiple machines with the frontend NR installed and they would all be synchronized with correct statuses

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 07:03 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/57 "2020-07-25T07:03:00Z")

</div>

You are talking to not just **a** village idiot, but an idiot of **many** villages.

As much as I kind of get this "front end" and "back end" stuff, I have no practical experience with it and I was hoping that was what I was doing.

Obviously not.

I think I will have to design some stuff in Node-Red to emulate the _end device_ (light bulb for example) and see if I can get things working.

At one stage I had two _front ends_ controlling the bulb.  
I would adjust a slider on one and the other would obediently oblige to the same position.

It all started off nice, but quickly fell over for reasons unknown.

I made the two _front ends_ by copying the code to two different tabs and was using `flow` context.

So as far as the code was concerned it was a whole other machine.

So while it was nice to adjust the settings on one and see it be reciprocated on the other, it didn't last long. ☹  
Oh well.

More testing needed.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 08:48 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/58 "2020-07-25T08:48:16Z")

</div>

Here are 3 flows.

Flow 1 - the device:

```auto
[{"id":"ce19aee0.440758","type":"tab","label":"FAKE DEVICE","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"f9b782e.b756b","type":"mqtt in","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/IN","qos":"2","datatype":"auto","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":200,"y":400,"wires":[["cd60bcd5.cfcb7"]]},{"id":"b8b71445.5b897","type":"mqtt out","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/OUT","qos":"","retain":"","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":840,"y":400,"wires":[]},{"id":"cd60bcd5.cfcb7","type":"delay","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"","pauseType":"delay","timeout":"2","timeoutUnits":"seconds","rate":"1","nbRateUnits":"1","rateUnits":"second","randomFirst":"1","randomLast":"5","randomUnits":"seconds","drop":false,"x":380,"y":400,"wires":[["5e96755.ab4850c","b8b71445.5b897"]]},{"id":"96b61562.fadb88","type":"debug","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"DEVICE OUT","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":true,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":820,"y":450,"wires":[]},{"id":"5e96755.ab4850c","type":"debug","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"DEVICE IN","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":true,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":610,"y":450,"wires":[]},{"id":"baef0906.70745","type":"inject","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"","topic":"","payload":"A","payloadType":"str","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":230,"y":300,"wires":[["cd60bcd5.cfcb7"]]},{"id":"63e8988d.be1a8","type":"inject","z":"ce19aee0.440758","name":"","topic":"","payload":"B","payloadType":"str","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":230,"y":340,"wires":[["cd60bcd5.cfcb7"]]},{"id":"378c0403.8cda04","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","name":"MQTT HOST","broker":"192.168.0.99","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":false,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"","birthQos":"0","birthRetain":"true","birthPayload":"","closeTopic":"","closeQos":"0","closePayload":"","willTopic":"","willQos":"0","willPayload":""}]

```

Flow 2 - one of any number of devices controlling the _device_.

```auto
[{"id":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","type":"tab","label":"Control 1","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"ee5133ea.428548","type":"mqtt out","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/IN","qos":"","retain":"","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":1260,"y":620,"wires":[]},{"id":"aa0566ed.d6eac8","type":"mqtt in","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/OUT","qos":"2","datatype":"auto","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":330,"y":670,"wires":[["93e114ba.df096"]]},{"id":"93e114ba.df096","type":"change","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"FLOW STATE","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"DEVICE1_STATUS","pt":"flow","to":"payload","tot":"msg"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":350,"y":620,"wires":[["cf807b3f.c36708","2997266d.05f242","606d7505.236104"]]},{"id":"cf807b3f.c36708","type":"switch","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"OFF","vt":"str"},{"t":"eq","v":"ON","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":2,"x":510,"y":620,"wires":[["25d06e4a.bd60c2"],["403d2508.772abc"]]},{"id":"25d06e4a.bd60c2","type":"change","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"A","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"red","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":560,"y":570,"wires":[["bdc4c163.7389c8"]]},{"id":"403d2508.772abc","type":"change","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"B","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"lime","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":560,"y":670,"wires":[["bdc4c163.7389c8"]]},{"id":"bdc4c163.7389c8","type":"ui_led","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","group":"ab063660.c0deb8","order":4,"width":"2","height":"1","label":"","labelPlacement":"right","labelAlignment":"left","colorForValue":[{"color":"red","value":"red","valueType":"str"},{"color":"lime","value":"lime","valueType":"str"}],"allowColorForValueInMessage":false,"name":"","x":700,"y":620,"wires":[]},{"id":"757cd38c.b06534","type":"ui_button","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","group":"ab063660.c0deb8","order":1,"width":"2","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"{{msg.payload}}","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"x","payloadType":"str","topic":"","x":920,"y":620,"wires":[["928c8bed.38c06","f826c245.a300b8"]]},{"id":"928c8bed.38c06","type":"function","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","func":"var state = flow.get('DEVICE1_STATUS')||'OFF';\n//node.warn(state);\n\nswitch (state) {\n case 'ON':\n msg.payload = \"OFF\";\n break;\n case 'OFF':\n msg.payload = \"ON\";\n break;\n default:\n msg.payload = \"OFF\";\n break;\n}\n\nnode.send(msg);","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"x":1040,"y":620,"wires":[["ee5133ea.428548","8f2515db.07276","2cb706a0.54ff12"]]},{"id":"2997266d.05f242","type":"debug","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"IN","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":510,"y":530,"wires":[]},{"id":"8f2515db.07276","type":"debug","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"OUT","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":1210,"y":690,"wires":[]},{"id":"2cb706a0.54ff12","type":"ui_text","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","group":"ab063660.c0deb8","order":3,"width":"1","height":"1","name":"","label":"","format":"{{msg.payload}}","layout":"row-spread","x":1210,"y":730,"wires":[]},{"id":"606d7505.236104","type":"link out","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","links":["ee3d02c7.48e59","5b69d11f.3253b"],"x":475,"y":730,"wires":[]},{"id":"ee3d02c7.48e59","type":"link in","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","links":["606d7505.236104"],"x":1095,"y":730,"wires":[["2cb706a0.54ff12"]]},{"id":"5b69d11f.3253b","type":"link in","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"","links":["606d7505.236104"],"x":835,"y":620,"wires":[["757cd38c.b06534"]]},{"id":"f826c245.a300b8","type":"change","z":"f4e2181b.a32fb8","name":"Toggle","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"Pressed","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":920,"y":660,"wires":[["757cd38c.b06534"]]},{"id":"378c0403.8cda04","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","name":"MQTT HOST","broker":"192.168.0.99","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":false,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"","birthQos":"0","birthRetain":"true","birthPayload":"","closeTopic":"","closeQos":"0","closePayload":"","willTopic":"","willQos":"0","willPayload":""},{"id":"ab063660.c0deb8","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"D 1","tab":"94b6c6b8.090c78","order":1,"disp":true,"width":"6","collapse":false},{"id":"94b6c6b8.090c78","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"TEST DEVICE","icon":"dashboard","order":24,"disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

```

Third flow

```auto
[{"id":"6f38a32a.a80104","type":"tab","label":"Control 2","disabled":false,"info":""},{"id":"b2ef0ed0.aad1b","type":"mqtt out","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/IN","qos":"","retain":"","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":1110,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"b7f8e566.c6b398","type":"mqtt in","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","topic":"TEST-CHANNEL/OUT","qos":"2","datatype":"auto","broker":"378c0403.8cda04","x":170,"y":250,"wires":[["8dcc07b3.6aa6c8"]]},{"id":"8dcc07b3.6aa6c8","type":"change","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"FLOW STATE","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"DEVICE1_STATUS","pt":"flow","to":"payload","tot":"msg"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":190,"y":200,"wires":[["86b5517.36d06b","ec3c9dfc.de8108","7f3e1dd3.0a0dd4"]]},{"id":"86b5517.36d06b","type":"switch","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"OFF","vt":"str"},{"t":"eq","v":"ON","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":2,"x":350,"y":200,"wires":[["e11ffb0d.536e6"],["4d80d8b2.d86728"]]},{"id":"e11ffb0d.536e6","type":"change","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"A","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"red","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":400,"y":150,"wires":[["d1da8f15.600c6"]]},{"id":"4d80d8b2.d86728","type":"change","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"B","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"lime","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":400,"y":250,"wires":[["d1da8f15.600c6"]]},{"id":"d1da8f15.600c6","type":"ui_led","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","group":"d8ac6efd.16da3","order":4,"width":"2","height":"1","label":"","labelPlacement":"right","labelAlignment":"left","colorForValue":[{"color":"red","value":"red","valueType":"str"},{"color":"lime","value":"lime","valueType":"str"}],"allowColorForValueInMessage":false,"name":"","x":540,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"6e3abf3f.d051b8","type":"ui_button","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","group":"d8ac6efd.16da3","order":1,"width":"2","height":"1","passthru":false,"label":"{{msg.payload}}","tooltip":"","color":"","bgcolor":"","icon":"","payload":"x","payloadType":"str","topic":"","x":740,"y":200,"wires":[["f94ec5b7.72feb8","7129367a.b3b8d"]]},{"id":"f94ec5b7.72feb8","type":"function","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","func":"var state = flow.get('DEVICE1_STATUS')||'OFF';\n//node.warn(state);\n\nswitch (state) {\n case 'ON':\n msg.payload = \"OFF\";\n break;\n case 'OFF':\n msg.payload = \"ON\";\n break;\n default:\n msg.payload = \"OFF\";\n break;\n}\n\nnode.send(msg);","outputs":1,"noerr":0,"x":890,"y":200,"wires":[["b2ef0ed0.aad1b","4e818502.bed73c","64a98921.7fed18"]]},{"id":"ec3c9dfc.de8108","type":"debug","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"IN","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":350,"y":110,"wires":[]},{"id":"4e818502.bed73c","type":"debug","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"OUT","active":false,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","targetType":"msg","x":1060,"y":270,"wires":[]},{"id":"64a98921.7fed18","type":"ui_text","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","group":"d8ac6efd.16da3","order":3,"width":"1","height":"1","name":"","label":"","format":"{{msg.payload}}","layout":"row-spread","x":1060,"y":310,"wires":[]},{"id":"93323b7.00835c8","type":"link in","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","links":["7f3e1dd3.0a0dd4"],"x":925,"y":310,"wires":[["64a98921.7fed18"]]},{"id":"7f3e1dd3.0a0dd4","type":"link out","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","links":["93323b7.00835c8","22963528.ddad2a"],"x":325,"y":310,"wires":[]},{"id":"22963528.ddad2a","type":"link in","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"","links":["7f3e1dd3.0a0dd4"],"x":655,"y":200,"wires":[["6e3abf3f.d051b8"]]},{"id":"7129367a.b3b8d","type":"change","z":"6f38a32a.a80104","name":"Toggle","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"Pressed","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":740,"y":240,"wires":[["6e3abf3f.d051b8"]]},{"id":"378c0403.8cda04","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","name":"MQTT HOST","broker":"192.168.0.99","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":false,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"","birthQos":"0","birthRetain":"true","birthPayload":"","closeTopic":"","closeQos":"0","closePayload":"","willTopic":"","willQos":"0","willPayload":""},{"id":"d8ac6efd.16da3","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"D 2","tab":"94b6c6b8.090c78","order":2,"disp":true,"width":"6","collapse":false},{"id":"94b6c6b8.090c78","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"TEST DEVICE","icon":"dashboard","order":24,"disabled":false,"hidden":false}]

```

You will have to edit the `MQTT` nodes, but only their IP addresses.

This works?  
The `LED` is a bit over the top but it helps get a visual state conveyed

The button changes when pressed.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![krambriw](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/krambriw/32/5429_2.png) [@krambriw](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/krambriw)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 09:03 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/59 "2020-07-25T09:03:45Z")

</div>

Right, exactly (I will make a short example of your earlier shared flow, just a few minutes remaining...)

You got the idea. I guess the third flow is no different to the second??

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trying\_to\_learn](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex026/user_avatar/discourse.nodered.org/trying_to_learn/32/28400_2.png) [@Trying\_to\_learn](https://discourse.nodered.org/u/Trying_to_learn)\
**Post date:** [25 July 2020 09:05 UTC](https://discourse.nodered.org/t/mqtt-is-driving-me-crazy-with-inconsistent-doings/30515/60 "2020-07-25T09:05:28Z")

</div>

Well, only in name..... So it can emulate another device.

If you import the flow again, you would have to rename the previous one first.

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