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Smartplug Sensor Monitoring Setup

This guide shows how to provision a smart Wi-Fi power plug to register with an HSA router for MQTT-based sensor monitoring via mfusion. The smartplug sends real-time power, voltage, and current readings to the router, which automatically processes them and forwards them to Zabbix for monitoring.

Prerequisites

  • An HSA router (or other RansNet router with MQTT support), online and provisioned in mfusion
  • A supported smart Wi-Fi power plug (GemeOpen series)
  • The router's LAN IP and upstream Wi-Fi details, so the smartplug can connect and reach the MQTT broker

Step 1: Provision the Smartplug

Configure the smartplug to join your Wi-Fi and publish to the router's MQTT broker.

Step 1a — Enter pairing mode: Press and hold the power button for more than 6 seconds, until the red LED blinks twice. The smartplug now broadcasts a Wi-Fi hotspot for configuration.

Step 1b — Connect to the smartplug hotspot: On your management device (PC or phone), scan for and connect to GemeOpen-<MAC> using PSK Aa123456.

Step 1c — Open the management interface: Once connected, your device should auto-launch a browser to the plug's management page. If it doesn't, open a browser manually and go to http://192.168.4.1.

Smartplug management interface

Step 1d — Configure upstream Wi-Fi: Click WiFi Setting, enter the upstream Wi-Fi credentials you want the smartplug to join (e.g., your HSA Wi-Fi), and click Save.

Smartplug Wi-Fi setting

Wait until you see a message confirming the smartplug has connected to the upstream SSID with an assigned IP address. If nothing happens, repeat Steps 1a–1c and confirm the connection message appears with a valid IP.

Smartplug connected confirmation

Step 1e — Configure MQTT: Click Custom Setting and configure the MQTT parameters:

Parameter Value Description
MQTT IP Router LAN IP (default gateway, e.g., 10.10.201.1) Where the smartplug publishes sensor data
Port 1883 MQTT broker port
Subscribe topic secure/smartplug Smartplug publishes sensor readings here
Publish topic secure/smartplug/cmd Router publishes automated commands here

Smartplug MQTT custom setting

Topic Security

Topics act as a lightweight pre-shared key (PSK) for identifying trusted sensors. Use topic names that are not easily guessable. The topics configured on the smartplug must exactly match those configured on the router CLI.

Step 2: Configure the Router

On the HSA router, configure the MQTT subscription to match the smartplug settings:

mqtt sub secure/smartplug
mqtt start

This tells the router to:

  1. Subscribe to secure/smartplug to receive sensor data from the smartplug
  2. Start the MQTT broker listening on port 1883

Step 3: Reboot the Smartplug

Click Reboot on the smartplug management page. After it reboots and reconnects to the router's MQTT broker, it begins publishing sensor data automatically. You may need to press the power button to start full operation (e.g., apply power to the connected device).

Data Flow

Once both sides are configured, the smartplug and router communicate automatically:

Smartplug                        Router
   │
   ├─ publishes sensor data ────→  mqtt sub secure/smartplug
   │  (voltage, current,            │
   │   power, energy)               ├─ mfusion processes data
   │                                │
   │  ← automated command ────────── (if thresholds trigger)
   │  receives & executes
   └─ adjusts behavior
      (turn on/off, etc)

Commands are automatically generated by the router's application logic based on configured rules and thresholds — no manual intervention needed.

Verification

After rebooting the smartplug and configuring the router, verify the setup is working:

Items to Test Command Expected Outcome
Subscriptions configured show mqtt subscriptions Shows secure/smartplug in the list
MQTT broker running show mqtt status Status shows RUNNING
Data being received show mqtt status Queue has entries; latest readings show voltage/current/power
Sensor auto-detected show mqtt status Discovered sensors show the smartplug MAC address(es)
Network connectivity tcpdump interface vlan1 port 1883 MQTT packets flowing on port 1883

Example output:

Router# show mqtt status
=== MQTT Listener Status ===
Status: RUNNING

=== Queued Readings ===
Entries in queue: 2

Latest 20 readings:
- mqtt.monitoring[8CCE4E519F83] 1782737924 {"mac":"8CCE4E519F83","voltage":238.263,"current":0.542,"power":83.478,"energy":296.379}
- mqtt.monitoring[8cce4e516119] 1782737933 {"mac":"8cce4e516119","voltage":237.39,"current":0.009,"power":0.262,"energy":0}

=== Discovered Sensors ===
Active sensors: 2
8CCE4E519F83
8cce4e516119
Router#

If the smartplug MAC appears in the Active sensors list, the smartplug is successfully connected and sending data to the router.

GUI Verification

In mfusion monitoring, open your router and select the Items tab. Refer to Monitoring Items.

The plug is auto-discovered and monitored (allow up to 5 minutes after provisioning).

Smartplug auto-discovered in mfusion monitoring items