Network Outage Situations

In some cases, there will be times when a network may need to go offline for various reasons. This article will go over how our systems will react to this, and what will and will not be available during these timeframes.

What Happens to the Processor?

The Processor will continue to function, however what it can and can’t do will change depending on if the network is completely down (no network available at all) or if the network is just offline (no internet access).

The Network is Completely Down

If the network is completely down, then the processors will still function locally, however if multiple processors are present, they will not be able to communicate with each other. This means a keypad on Processor A will not be able to communicate with a dimmer on Processor B, but a keypad on Processor A will be able to communicate with a dimmer on Processor A.

If the processors are powered off the network equipment (such as a PoE switch) they may lose power if the equipment is fully powered off or missing. This includes the Ra3 Main Processor, Homeworks QSX Hybrid Processor, and the Homeworks Clear Connect Type X Gateway.

Timeclocks will only function on a single processor. This is due to only one processor being responsible for sending the ‘Timeclock Event’ out to the rest of the processors on the system.

The Lutron App will not function as there will be no network for the processors to reach the internet with, nor one for the app to communicate with them locally.

The Network does not have Internet

If the network does not have internet, but is functioning, the system will be largely unaffected. Since the processors can still communicate with each other, devices will function as intended across the board, including integrations that use local communication.

Integrations that require internet, such as Alexa and Google, will not function until the internet is restored.

The Lutron App will function when locally connected to the network (I.E. on the Wi-Fi, but not on the internet), but will not function when remotely connected (I.E. not on the local network’s Wi-Fi).

The devices will function as normal, as the processors are still able to communicate locally on the network (they do not require internet to communicate with each other).

Best Practices for Checking Processor Status

If a Network outage situation is suspected, but cannot be confirmed, there are a few ways to tell what may be happening.

Check the Connect Portal

If you are seeing the processors online within Designer but can’t tell if they are connecting to the Internet, you can check the Connect.Lutron.com portal. This will allow you to see what our servers see the status of the system and processors as.

For more information around the Connect Portal and it's System Monitor tool, please see our Connect Portal Support Site.

Check Blink Codes

Both Ra3 and each type of QSX processor have the same blink code for lack of internet connectivity. Their slow green pulse of their status indicator light will change to an orange color when blinking when the processor cannot reach the internet.

Example of the No Internet blink code of a Ra3 Processor

Check the Transfer Page

In the Transfer tab the processors will show their cloud status. If they show as offline here, but show as Good in the activate tab, there is likely an internet connectivity issue.

Example of a QSX processor's status on the cloud