convince me about Ubiquiti

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nekrosoft13

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I have bought one ubiquiti US-24 managed switch... so far not convinced about about buying more ubi equipment.

First thing I found weird that there is no web interface, I bought the switch few months ago, tried setting it up for couple hours, didn't like the java based app (unifi)
App just seems extremely sluggish and very feature limited.

options available on the US-24 are really limited compared ty my Zyxel i'm using now.

I keep seeing people praise ubiquiti all the time, but I don't understand why.

Try to convince me.
 
nekrosoft13 said:
options available on the US-24 are really limited compared ty my Zyxel i'm using now.

I keep seeing people praise ubiquiti all the time, but I don't understand why.
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The very last thing I'd recommend from Ubiquiti are the Unifi switches. Their Access Points are what get all the praise; their switches are simply a convenience when integrating into the rest of their ecosystem. If you just wanted a switch, their EdgeMax line is far more standard.
 
Isn't Unifi the web management platform after you setup the Unifi controller?

What are you comparing Ubiquiti Unifi to? They are mostly popular for their APs. I mean it's a prosumer product. It's popular because it does a good job at it's price point. Don't expect to get Fortinet, Meraki, or Aruba level feature-set out of this.
 
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Think you are seeing people praise the USG and AMplifi product lines.

I have a full setup of USG 3 port router, POE switch, and access points. All this is managed by a cloudkey (Unifi controller) which works great. I bought all this due to convenience of single point of management.
 
Cmustang87 said:
Isn't Unifi the web management platform after you setup the Unifi controller?
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'Unifi' is the product line; the 'Unifi Controller' is a web application that needs to be hosted somewhere for persistent management and metrics.
 
currently what I have is a nighthawk router running in AP mode, with opnsense doing the firewall and routing, and right now a zyxel managed switch.

a mishmash of parts, I know, but seems to work.

would ubi switch, ubi gateway and ubi ap give me a better performance?

my nighthawk is 7 years old, and recently (3 days ago) started giving weird 5ghz wifi issues, where sometimes all 5g clients would drop connection, while the 2.4ghz wifi is fine.

that why i'm thinking about re-building the network.
 
IdiotInCharge said:
'Unifi' is the product line; the 'Unifi Controller' is a web application that needs to be hosted somewhere for persistent management and metrics.
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when I played with the switch, I installed the unfi controller on my main PC, and I found the application to be extremely sluggish, from what I understand you can use the ubi key or something like that, and thats where the uni controller can run from?
 
A new switch is not going to help your WiFi performance. Full stop - unless you're upgrading a 100Mb (FastEthernet) to a gigabit one.
 
nekrosoft13 said:
when I played with the switch, I installed the unfi controller on my main PC, and I found the application to be extremely sluggish, from what I understand you can use the ubi key or something like that, and thats where the uni controller can run from?
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You can, I run mine off of a Pi 4.
 
What kinds of options are you missing on the ubiquiti?

Also, whats a web interface? SSH runs on port 22 :p

If cost is a main concern, grab a netgear home router for $8 on ebay (grab a few, why not?) and flash DD-WRT on it, use them as standalone AP's instead of the unifi ones. Then grab yourself some nice used switches (your choice, I use HP 2530 for L2 and 1910 for L3, both should have POE variants) and get those up and running, they seem to work really well for what they were designed for and are pretty affordable.

Whats funny is I just had this conversation with my boss on monday, both of us coincidentally decided that last weekend was the weekend to do a home network overhaul, and he was telling me he spent a few hundred dollars just on a couple unifi AP's. I managed to get all the switches, with a fiber uplink to the core switch(soon to be server if I could find a PCI fiber NIC), plus wifi and the server running it all for under $100. Personally I dont see the point of buying new equipment if its just for home/test use, though that doesnt mean I wouldnt like to have all new equipment :D
 
Smoblikat said:
What kinds of options are you missing on the ubiquiti?

Also, whats a web interface? SSH runs on port 22 :p
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The SSH / console interfaces on 'Unifi' products are rather intentionally limited to.... useless for anything except point them toward a Unifi controller.
 
This is why I went edgerouter 4 and edgeswitch 16 with UniFi aps. I understand the need for a controller to manage aps, that’s kind of normal. But I don’t want to setup my switch and router with a controller.
 
trick0502 said:
This is why I went edgerouter 4 and edgeswitch 16 with UniFi aps. I understand the need for a controller to manage aps, that’s kind of normal. But I don’t want to setup my switch and router with a controller.
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Buying the Unifi switch in my sig is the one regret I have; I balance that with the used Aruba I have that has all the trimmings (and fans swapped with Noctuas).
 
trick0502 said:
This is why I went edgerouter 4 and edgeswitch 16 with UniFi aps. I understand the need for a controller to manage aps, that’s kind of normal. But I don’t want to setup my switch and router with a controller.
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is the edgeswitch more like a traditional managed switch? will it work fine with uni AP?
 
it is some like a regular managed switch. It had a web interface and you can ssh. No controller is needed.

The unifi aps will still need a controller to setup. What I’m trying to say is there’s no unifi integration in edge os.
 
Smoblikat said:
Ouch :/

Seems like another nail in the coffin to me.
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They're intended to be 'cloud' or centrally managed for high end home use and small to medium businesses that don't need extremely advanced network setups.


That said just to echo the others the APs are pretty fantastic, the USG is decent, the switches are meh.
I have a full lineup (USG, US-24, UAP-AC-HD, and a G3 pro camera ~ (I like the cameras but they're pricy AF for what you get, the 4k version is $450).
The single pane of management is convenient is the only thing I have to say about it, the USG has improved substantially in the past few years from meh to the decent level especially around DNS and aliasing.
I setup the controller on windows initially, then migrated to linux, and most recently migrated again to docker its pretty easy to run, that said if you don't want to deal with it the cloud key or dream machine is the recommended way to go or you can pay like $200/year to have ubiqiuiti cloud host it.

That is all from my past experience with the products, the most recent dream machine pro seems to be pretty solid, its basically an 8x 1gb + 1x 10gb switch (plus 2x wan), top end USG, NVR, and a controller all rolled into one for under $400, pretty reasonable considering how many hats its wearing. ~ USG Pro $345, 8 port Switch $100, Cloud Key Plus $200 (and its better performing than the usg-pro and 10g capabilities) only thing its really lacking is POE.
 
People praise the company because the EdgeRouter-X was always such a cheap piece of hardware that outperformed most competitors on the market even double in price. Their APs are also good and support a lot of clients.

I have always liked the Edge line more, however you need to be aware that Ubiquiti is pushing the entire Edge line into their new cloud configuration setup similar to the Unifi controller and managing app. So they will soon both be managed in similar ways and lose that ability go just log in to your switch or router or whatever directly.
 
EniGmA1987 said:
People praise the company because the EdgeRouter-X was always such a cheap piece of hardware that outperformed most competitors on the market even double in price. Their APs are also good and support a lot of clients.

I have always liked the Edge line more, however you need to be aware that Ubiquiti is pushing the entire Edge line into their new cloud configuration setup similar to the Unifi controller and managing app. So they will soon both be managed in similar ways and lose that ability go just log in to your switch or router or whatever directly.
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This right here.

I got upgraded to gigabit fiber, and needed something that could actually route and nat at gig. The choices were slim and prices went astronomical fast.... or pay $100 for an ERL. I use the router and a few AP's today, but thats about it.
 
EniGmA1987 said:
however you need to be aware that Ubiquiti is pushing the entire Edge line into their new cloud configuration setup similar to the Unifi controller and managing app. So they will soon both be managed in similar ways and lose that ability go just log in to your switch or router or whatever directly.
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Do you have any resources that document this move?

While they have put UNMS out there and updated it, I haven't seen anything that suggests that they're intent on removing local management functionality from their Edgemax line.

[also, UNMS runs only in Docker, only on Linux, and only on x86; quite an annoying set of requirements to be frank]
 
There's no need to convince you of anything. Ubiquiti gear is squarely aimed at the SMB market. If you have a device that is enterprise grade then it's going to have more features than anything I've seen ubiquiti put out. That isn't just the switches, that's all product lines. But if you need decent gear that's better than what you get with SOHO, Ubiquiti sets itself apart. They have a decent chunk of the enterprise features, but it's priced closer to SOHO than enterprise.

As for the controller and web managed, you simply aren't going to realize the benefits from it with a single switch. Where cloud managed devices really shine is in zero touch config, but that means you have to set up the controller before the first device. The most common scenario the average user is going to run into this is wireless APs. Once you go through and setup all your network parameters, they are set. Buy another AP, plug it into the network and it automatically updates itself, provisions itself and pushes down the config. You can come back after the fact and change the IP if you really want to, but it's really not important. You don't really care what the MGMT IP is for that device because you'll never need to know what it is. You just hop into the dashboard and look at the device there.
 
I'm a network novice and have an Edgerouter X-SFP POE powering 4 UniFi-AP's and using a passive DAC to a 48port GS748TV4 Netgear gig switch .. I run the UniFi Controller app in a jail on my FreeNAS server and everything has been rock solid and easy to setup/manage .. with great coverage in and around my house with Alexa stuff, Xbox stuff, phone and tablet things .. as well as Plex server, 3 PC's, 1 laptop and another wired Xbox.

I'm just a happy home user that likes hassle free .. and I've gotten just that with my Ubiquiti products
 
Every time i was debating getting something Ubiquiti, i found something else. I wass originally looking at the ER-L but went with a Mikrotik router instead. I was looking at their switches, but I ended up going with used enterprise level gear off ebay. This even got me some bonuses for around the same price as the ubiquiti stuff. Both switchees are layer 3, so i do not put much load on the router. Also, one has POE, and the other has SFP+ for 10G. I probably would prefer single vendor, but it gives me a chance to learn.
 
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I just purchased the ER4..really like it so far. Still in some setup phases( like firewall apps). I am using the ER4 as a router on a stick connected to a Netgear GS728TPPv2(380w POE+) I sniped off of Ebay for $53.
I have several Vlans setup on the switch. ER4 router handles them Flawlessly. I have yet to hook up my IP Cams and the Blue Iris computer that handles them.
All in ALL the ubiquity ER4 has impressed($173 Amazon)
 
Smoblikat said:
If cost is a main concern, grab a netgear home router for $8 on ebay (grab a few, why not?) and flash DD-WRT on it, use them as standalone AP's instead of the unifi ones.
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The issue there is the (maybe) 100Mbps of 2.4 band wi-fi bandwidth on the $8 Netgears compared to the dual (or more) 1600Mbps+ of the Unifi ones.
 
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