Domotz Box – Troubleshooting an Offline Domotz Collector

Are you a Domotz Box user? Has your Domotz Box been marked “offline”?

We’ll show you some of the easy ways you can troubleshoot an offline Domotz Box.

The first thing that should be noted is that the Domotz Box needs to connect to the Domotz cloud, which means it needs to have access to the Internet.

In general, if a Domotz Collector is not able to reach the Domotz cloud for more than 8 minutes, it will be marked offline.

Below you will find a list of possible reasons that may be causing your Domotz Collector to go offline. As you work your way through the list, eliminating possible reasons, you will likely determine your issue with the box, to succeed in getting it back online. Remember, if you need any help, you can always reach out to us at support@domotz.com.

1. The Domotz Collector is powered off

The Domotz Collector might be offline because it is powered off.

Make sure the Domotz Box is powered on by checking the front LED light, which should be lit.

2. The Domotz Collector is Not Connected to the Local Network

Make sure the Ethernet cable is properly connected on both sides. It is worth testing it with another Ethernet cable or switch port.

Make sure the Ethernet port’s LED is on and blinking:
Left LED Orange: Link indicator
Right LED Green: Activity indicator — blinking means network activity on this port; off means no link is established

If the right LED isn’t lit or blinking at all, the Box doesn’t have a live network connection. Start there.

3. There is a Local DNS Issue

Using a browser of your choice, access your Domotz Box at the following address:

http://<Domotz_Box_IP>:3000/api/v1/log/flush

If the Collector is unable to resolve names from the DNS, you will see an entry like this:

2021-09-13T10:27:11.295Z (25657) [W] API_CLIENT - Error: getaddrinfo ENOTFOUND api-us-east-1-cell-1.domotz.com api-us-east-1-cell-1.domotz.com:443  
2    at errnoException (dns.js:28:10)          
3    at GetAddrInfoReqWrap.onlookup [as oncomplete] (dns.js:76:26)

We recommend using at least one public DNS server on your network. Some reputable options include:

– Cisco OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
– Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
– Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
– Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112

4. There is a Local DHCP Issue 

It might be the case that your Domotz Box has an IP conflict with another device on the local network.

Check your DHCP server and make sure the Domotz Box receives an IP from it and no other device in the network is configured with the same IP Address.

5. There is a General ISP Issue

If your Domotz Collector is connected to the local network but is not able to connect to the Domotz Cloud, please consider the following:

First, check the Internet connectivity from other hosts on the network. Second, make sure you can access the Domotz Pro webapp from it: https://portal.domotz.com/webapp/

If neither works, the issue is likely upstream with your ISP rather than with the Box itself.

6. There is an issue with your Firewall Configuration

Please make sure that from your network, the Domotz Collector is able to reach the following hosts and services on outgoing connections.

General:

• portal.domotz.com (port 443 TCP)
• echo.domotz.com (ICMP)

API Connectivity:

• For North America: api-us-east-1-cell-1.domotz.com (port 443 TCP)
• Rest of the World:  api-eu-west-1-cell-1.domotz.com (port 443 TCP)

Messaging and Remote Control Connectivity:

• For North America: messaging-us-east-1-cell-1.domotz.com (port 5671 TCP)
• Rest of the World:  messaging-eu-west-1-cell-1.domotz.com (port 5671 TCP)

Remote Connections:

Depending on the location of the Agent, and availability of the cloud service, the following endpoints are used for the Remote Connections:

• sshg.domotz.co (range: 32700 – 57699 TCP)
• us-east-1-sshg.domotz.co (range: 32700 – 57699 TCP)
• us-east-1-02-sshg.domotz.co (range: 32700 – 57699 TCP)
• us-west-2-sshg.domotz.co (range: 32700 – 57699 TCP)
• ap-southeast-2-sshg.domotz.co (range: 32700 – 57699 TCP)

Also for remote connections to work, at least one of the following endpoints must be accessible from the network where the WebApp is used:
– https://api.ipify.org
– https://ipapi.co
– https://icanhazip.com

These services are used, one as a fallback to the others, to retrieve the public IP address of the WebApp client initiating the TCP tunnel or VPN connection.

Speedtests

Domotz relies on external services for its speedtest features:

• api.fast.com
• ichnaea-web.netflix.com

To prevent potential name resolution issues with the addresses above, we highly recommend incorporating at least one public DNS server into your network configuration. Some reputable options include:

– Cisco OpenDNS: 208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220
– Cloudflare: 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1
– Google Public DNS: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4
– Quad9: 9.9.9.9 and 149.112.112.112

If using a transparent proxy solution (e.g. Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella, Uncydr, Todyl etc…) make sure you allow the above connections without replacing its certificates.

Domotz Box – specific outgoing connections

The Domotz Box also uses the following services to perform automated upgrades of the packages and provide access to Domotz provisioning channel:

Provisioning Channel:

• provisioning.domotz.com (ports 4505 and 4506 TCP)
• login.ubuntu.com (port 443)
• messaging.orchestration.domotz.com (port 5671 TCP)
• api.orchestration.wl-pro.com (port 443 TCP)
• tunny.domotz.org (port 55022 TCP) – Used by the engineering to troubleshoot issues at the system level (e.g. Troubleshoot VLAN settings, USB NIC configuration etc.) (Optional)

Updates from Canonical:

• api.snapcraft.io (port 443 TCP)
• serial-vault-partners.canonical.com (port 443 TCP)
• storage.snapcraftcontent.com (port 443 TCP)
• canonical-lgw01.cdn.snapcraftcontent.com (port 443 TCP)
• canonical-lcy01.cdn.snapcraftcontent.com (port 443 TCP)
• canonical-lcy02.cdn.snapcraftcontent.com (port 443 TCP)
• canonical-bos01.cdn.snapcraftcontent.com (port 443 TCP)
• upload.apps.ubuntu.com (port 443 TCP)

HTTPS Servers:

• www.google.com (port 443 TCP)
• www.fast.com (port 443 TCP)
• www.canonical.com (port 443 TCP)
• www.redhat.com (port 443 TCP)

NTP Servers:

• ntp.ubuntu.com (port 123 UDP)
• 0.pool.ntp.org (port 123 UDP)
• 1.pool.ntp.org (port 123 UDP)

Domotz Box C1 – NTP Requirement

The Box C1 syncs its date and time on first connection using the following NTP server:

– ntp.ubuntu.com (UDP port 123)

This server must be reachable, or the device will be unable to connect to the provisioning channel.

7. There is a local issue with the Domotz Collector software

If everything above is working as expected, it may be a Collector software problem.

7.1 Factory Reset your Domotz Box

1. Unplug from the power
2. put a pin in the reset pin-hole of the Box:

3. Keep the reset button pressed
4. Plug the power
5. Keep the reset button pressed for an additional 20 seconds

The entire factory reset will take around 10-15 minutes. Once done, proceed with the unit activation. To do so, connect locally to the unit on port 3000 through a browser (listening for Domotz Collector – http://<Domotz_Box_IP>:3000) or use the Domotz Pro app.

7.2 Contact Support for Assistance

If your Domotz Box is still responsive in the network, collect the local logs by accessing it on the following address:

• http://<Domotz_Box_IP>:3000/api/v1/status
• http://<Domotz_Box_IP>:3000/api/v1/log/flush

Copy the contents of both pages into a .txt file. Send them to support@domotz.com, along with a description of the issue and your Domotz Box MAC address.

If the Domotz Box is unresponsive on the network, provide the MAC address (found on the sticker on the underside of the Box) and any proof of purchase. We’ll assist you with a replacement unit if it’s still under warranty.