Thought I would chime in here, I have a Sol-ark 15K installed since October of last year, and 32 Grade A eve cells from 18650 battery store .
Batteries arrived perfectly packed, and in perfect condition.
I have 2 JK 200A bms running, and both batteries connected to the Sol-ark. I am still learning but the batteries/Sol-ark operated from Nov-March without on site manual intervention.
The power view remote software was utilized to monitor and adjust the setup as needed.
What I have learned from my install, no communication between BMS and Sol-ark
1.0 Sol-ark will misunderstand the SOC unless you have good PV weather, and 3 or 4 days of cloudy, snowy weather will cause Sol-ark to have a mis-understood SOC.
Remote Corrective action: You can modify the Sol-ark battery size by 1ah, and this causes a relearn of the battery capacity.
You can do this using the Powerview over the www whenever you decide to do so.
2.0 I had one bus bar come loose, or I forgot to complete the Torque on one cell, and that cell started mis-behaving and V went high, and stopped battery charge.
Being remote I noticed less battery capacity, but could not correct it until I arrived home. The second battery continued to support the home needs and all is well after correctly connected the bus bar. Battery with loose bus bar was operating, just at reduced capacity.
In the case above just describe, I don't see what/how direct communication would have helped my battery with one loose bus bar issue, so I agree with others who say direct communication is nice, but not needed.
3.0 Sol-ark install videos state clearly that "even if" you have direct communications with a battery, you need to correctly set the battery settings up "in case of communication failure" .
So having direct communication is again "nice to have" but doesn't save you any set up complexity. You still need to setup battery manual defaults in the Sol-ark.
4.0 Original poster has concern that without direct communication between Sol-ark and battery bank, the battery life may be impacted.
Battery life is a function of not overcharging above 3.6V, not charging when battery is too cold, and not forcing battery below 2.5V, and not sending too much current, or drawing too much current from you battery bank.
All of these "battery life" concerns are addressed by using a quality BMS, and the BMS is what keeps your battery safe, and impacts battery life.
Direct communication with the Sol-ark, (or not) doesn't really impact battery life as long as your BMS is correctly programmed and operates as expected.
Lowest Battery Cost possible without direct communication :
I spent $188/kWh for my 32 cells and two 200A JK BMS for battery control.
Assuming my 32 EVE 280ah cells configured as 16 cell batteries provide 30Kwh of storage.
$5273 for 32 Grade A EVE 280ah cells delivered to south eastern PA from USA warehouse
$369 for 2 JK 200A BMS from Alibaba
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$5642
$5642/30kwh Bank = $188/kWh of available storage
Eve Grade A 280a have the heavy duty posts with dual screws on each terminal. These terminals are FAR SUPERIOR to the simple welded posts, or tapped holes for small posts, (that frequently break off and cause severe heartburn to DIY folks)
16850 battery store has a 12 month warranty, and they provided a free shipping label via email, when I complained about my one bad cell.
(I won't need that, cause I am a dummy and the bus bar was loose cell was fine).
Ok.. that's my learning so far, and my opinion which is worth exactly what you paid for it.
Direct Communication is nice, but not required, and won't damage your battery as long as you have and program a quality BMS