SLOW UPLOADS

[JOHN WADE]

When connecting through the app to an alarm engine, the upload is agonizingly slow.  HAI solved this problem more than a decade ago by having the app upload and store all the fixed data (names, types, etc.) and only updating current status when the app connection to the panel is made.  Why has Elk not adopted this proven method to improve performance?  Customer feedback on the app is not positive, primarily for the amount of time required to actually control the system remotely.

 

[Michael Burrell]

John,

We appreciate your feedback. We are working to improve the load time of a control, as it is a concern of ours as well. The way our app connects is directly to the control via P2P and allows the user/dealer to interact with the control in real-time. We did this in a effort to not rely on commands via a virtual representation of the control in the cloud/web portal and then those messages being sent from a server to the control or vise versa. By deciding to go with this connection method it has created some challenges, and the load times into the control are one of them.

Your statement in reference to how HAI overcame this is true, and we working toward a version of that method, but the issue we are overcoming is being able to seamlessly index each control behind the scenes on the dealer side of the application. Having a single consistent app for the dealer and end-user, driven by the login credentials, creates additional challenges when it comes to this sort of data management.

As you stated, most user-only apps are able to manage with panel profiles due to the limited number of controls that the app is required to connect to, generally two or three controls. Since our app has to accommodate the dealer as well, it has to be able to adhere to having hundreds or thousands of different configuration profiles on the mobile device. Our concern was growing the storage in the app as the number of configurations grows, as well as keeping these configurations independent of each other.

We have a plan to address this, but it touches many aspects of the app, and we are in the process of implementing the needed additions in order to minimize the amount of storage needed on the mobile device. Our goal will be to only require the user/dealer to have extended load times when connecting to a control that has never been connected to that device. This is the first step. Ideally, I would like to utilize the cloud as a point of reference to “preload” the configuration into the app, reducing load times when connecting to a control that has never been “synced” to the app.

At this time, I do not have a projected release date. But I can state that we are working on this issue. I appreciate your patience as we continue to improve our offering.

Thanks,

Mike

 

 

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