KNX and GroundWork Integration

Input and output integration overview

The KNX plugin listens for messages from the KNX home-automation bus via a KNX-IP interface, allowing for real-time data integration from KNX-enabled devices.

This plugin writes to a GroundWork Monitor instance, allowing for effective metrics management and monitoring in a centralized manner.

Integration details

KNX

The KNX plugin allows for the listening to messages transmitted over the KNX home-automation bus. It establishes a connection with the KNX bus through a KNX-IP interface, making it compatible with various message datapoint types that KNX employs. The plugin supports service input configuration, wherein it remains active to listen for relevant metrics or events rather than relying solely on scheduled intervals. This inherent characteristic enables real-time data capture from the KNX systems, enhancing automation and integration possibilities for building management and smart home applications. Additionally, this plugin is designed to handle multiple measurements from the KNX data, allowing for a flexible categorization of metrics based on the derived datapoint types, thus broadening the scope of data integration in smart environments.

GroundWork

The GroundWork plugin enables Telegraf to send metrics to a GroundWork Monitor instance, specifically supporting GW8 and newer versions. This integration allows users to leverage the robust monitoring capabilities of GroundWork, enabling comprehensive oversight of metrics collected from diverse sources. Users can specify various parameters such as the GroundWork instance URL, agent IDs, and authentication credentials, allowing for a tailored fit within their existing monitoring setups. It also supports secret-store secrets to enhance security for sensitive fields like username and password. Tags used within the plugin provide fine-grained control over how metrics are categorized and displayed within the GroundWork interface, allowing for custom configurations that adapt to different monitoring needs. However, users should be aware that string metrics are currently not supported by GroundWork, impacting how they manage their data.

Configuration

KNX

[[inputs.knx_listener]]
  ## Type of KNX-IP interface.
  ## Can be either "tunnel_udp", "tunnel_tcp", "tunnel" (alias for tunnel_udp) or "router".
  # service_type = "tunnel"

  ## Address of the KNX-IP interface.
  service_address = "localhost:3671"

  ## Measurement definition(s)
  # [[inputs.knx_listener.measurement]]
  #   ## Name of the measurement
  #   name = "temperature"
  #   ## Datapoint-Type (DPT) of the KNX messages
  #   dpt = "9.001"
  #   ## Use the string representation instead of the numerical value for the
  #   ## datapoint-type and the addresses below
  #   # as_string = false
  #   ## List of Group-Addresses (GAs) assigned to the measurement
  #   addresses = ["5/5/1"]

  # [[inputs.knx_listener.measurement]]
  #   name = "illumination"
  #   dpt = "9.004"
  #   addresses = ["5/5/3"]

GroundWork

[[outputs.groundwork]]
  ## URL of your groundwork instance.
  url = "https://groundwork.example.com"

  ## Agent uuid for GroundWork API Server.
  agent_id = ""

  ## Username and password to access GroundWork API.
  username = ""
  password = ""

  ## Default application type to use in GroundWork client
  # default_app_type = "TELEGRAF"

  ## Default display name for the host with services(metrics).
  # default_host = "telegraf"

  ## Default service state.
  # default_service_state = "SERVICE_OK"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the hostname.
  # resource_tag = "host"

  ## The name of the tag that contains the host group name.
  # group_tag = "group"

Input and output integration examples

KNX

1. Smart Home Energy Monitoring: Utilize the KNX plugin to monitor energy consumption across various devices in a smart home setup. By configuring measurements for different appliances, users can gather real-time data on power usage, enabling them to optimize energy consumption and reduce costs. This setup can also integrate with visualization tools to provide insights into energy trends and usage patterns.

2. Automated Lighting Control System: Leverage this plugin to listen for lighting status updates from KNX sensors in a building. By capturing measurements related to illumination, users can develop an automated lighting control system that adjusts the brightness based on the time of day or occupancy, enhancing comfort and energy efficiency.

3. HVAC Performance Tracking: Implement the KNX plugin to track temperature and ventilation data across different zones in a building. By monitoring these metrics, facilities managers can identify trends in HVAC performance, optimize climate control strategies, and proactively address maintenance needs to ensure consistent environmental quality.

4. Integrated Security Solutions: Use the plugin to capture data from KNX security sensors, such as door/window open/close statuses. This information can be routed into a central monitoring system, providing real-time alerts and enabling automated responses, such as locking doors or activating alarms, thus enhancing the building’s security posture.

GroundWork

1. Centralized Monitoring Dashboard: Use the GroundWork plugin to aggregate metrics from multiple Telegraf instances into a single GroundWork Monitor dashboard. This configuration offers complete visibility into system health across various components, enabling swift identification of performance bottlenecks and improved incident response times.

2. Service Health Monitoring with Alerts: Configure this plugin to send critical service metrics to GroundWork, establishing a robust alerting system. Metrics such as CPU usage and service statuses can trigger alerts based on threshold values, informing administrators of potential issues before they escalate, thereby enhancing system reliability.

3. Historical Data Analysis: Leverage the historical metric capabilities of GroundWork using this plugin to conduct trend analysis over time. This application allows organizations to make data-driven decisions based on comprehensive historical performance metrics, which can assist in capacity planning and optimize resource allocation.

4. Custom Service Tags for Enhanced Monitoring: Extend the functionality of this plugin by utilizing custom tags for different services and hosts. By customizing these tags, users can filter and categorize metrics more effectively within their monitoring framework, leading to tailored monitoring experiences that align specifically with business objectives.

Feedback

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