IT Technology ~ Network + Hardware + OS + Smart + Web = LiBe.net
From the network to the operating system to the smart home and your own private cloud.
I like to test new things and share my experiences on this page.
📰 New Posts
Home Assistant Release 2025.2 - Construction site: Charts
The upcoming update of Home Assistant 2025.2 creates the potential for future improvements by switching to a new graph library: ECharts. However, due to the conversion of the charts, there will be no improvements in this release; on the contrary: initial tests show that there may still be some issues with the charts. The release also includes new features for backup and Voice Assist. ... continue reading
Home Assistant heating control revised.
After around 20 years, I was able to take control of my heat pump with Home Assistant and an ESP32. Combined with the performance data of the PV system, Home Assistant is able to use the electricity produced as directly as possible for heating and thus increase self-sufficiency: ... continue reading

OPNSense and Wireguard
After investing some time to successfully set up Wireguard in OPNsense, I would like to share some screenshots of my test setup here. In this configuration, I used OPNsense exclusively as a VPN server and deliberately omitted the WAN interface. For testing purposes, OPNsense was installed on a HyperV server. A prerequisite for the setup is port forwarding for port 51820 on the router to the IP address of the OPNSense installation and a public IP address, see: Making available from the Internet:... ... continue reading
Home Assistant | Chart library: Chart.js vs. ECharts?
January 2025: The developers of Home Assistant are currently testing the chart library: ECharts.(Status: January 2025) ECharts could not only improve the performance of the charts, but also provide new chart options. ... continue reading

Energy Dashboard - Cards also for other dashboards?
The positioning of the Energy Dashboard in Home Assistant is currently being discussed. ... continue reading

Implemented: More-Info: Logbook for text sensors
Another change suggestion that I submitted to Home Assistant has now been implemented. In the "More Info" view of text sensors, not only the history but also the logbook is now displayed. This change is part of home assistance since the 2025.2 release. ... continue reading
Home Assistant 2025.1 + Unmentioned new features
The Home Assistant Update 2025.1 released on 3.1.2025 brings some improvements to the user interface, such as quick device access, zoom function for charts, customizable dashboard backgrounds and an improved backup. It also introduces new integrations such as Cookidoo and EHEIM Digital and optimizes existing functions based on user feedback from the "What the Heck?" initiative. Unmentioned in the current release notes is the new Sankey Card and Back and Next buttons available in the history (als... ... continue reading

Step by step: IPSec VPN Server 2022
This blog entry provides instructions for setting up a secure VPN on a Windows 2022 server. The aim is to set up a VPN with IKEv2 protocol including root CA and certificate. The post contains screenshots and step-by-step descriptions for installing the necessary server roles, certificates and configuring the VPN and NPS server. ... continue reading

Role access control in Home Assistant: Why it's important.
The lack of role-based access control (RBAC) in Home Assistant is repeatedly criticized: The top topic in the 2024 Month of "What the heck?". Role-based access control could be used to restrict access to certain devices or location data for certain family members or guests. RBAC could not only make Home Assistant more secure, but also accessible for larger installations. ... continue reading

New: Home Assistant history: previous and next buttons
Previous and Next buttons in Home Assistant: My pull request in Github was accepted and has been secretly and quietly migrated to the Home Assistant release 2024.12. Since 2025.1, the buttons are also visible on mobile devices thanks to a further layout adjustment. ... continue reading

Home Assistant: integrated dashboards
Standard dashboards make it quick and easy to get started with Home Assistant. The dashboards available in every Home Assistant installation: "Logbook" and "History", offer a universal presentation of entities over time. Special dashboards such as "Map", "Media", "To-Do Lists" and the "Energy Dashboard" are designed for specific application purposes. ... continue reading

Client Steering | Usteer: high latency and timeouts
A fast and stable WLAN is indispensable these days. Many users want to optimize their networks to achieve the best performance. One approach is to use a client steering daemon on OpenWrt. This is intended to make network communication more efficient and make better use of access points. But how effective are these adjustments really? This article describes the challenges and observations made when configuring such a setup and whether the results justify the effort. ... continue reading
📁 Topics
Smart Home

Retrofitting your existing home with smart home functions is now easier than ever. However, due to the large number of standards and available software components, choosing a suitable system is not so easy. If you are still looking for suitable software for home automation, you should take a look at Home Assistant.