Replace UBNT AP-AC-Pro with TP-Link EAP245v3?

[iroc409]

A little frustrated with some things with UBNT, and looking to redo some of my home network stuff, on a whim I purchased a TP-Link EAP245v3. From what I've read it's faster than my current AC-Pro, and since it has a standalone controller in the AP I can get rid of my Unifi controller.

Despite my frustrations with UBNT, wifi has been very stable since switching to Unifi. My biggest two concerns are security and stability, but the speed is a benefit.

Should I just keep what I have with the Unifi setup and deal with UBNT's headaches, or change over to the newer TP-Link (and deal with their headaches I suppose)? Most of the time the speed increase would be minimally noticeable, but I've added more wireless stuff that will probably benefit. I'd really like to try Ruckus or something but the cost is a little more prohibitive.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Aside from the controller instance, which isn't strictly required to be maintained outside of configuration changes, what 'frustrations' are you having?

 

[iroc409]

Aside from the controller instance, which isn't strictly required to be maintained outside of configuration changes, what 'frustrations' are you having?

The controller isn't required, but I'd rather either have it or not have it, not some in-between iteration that would just end in more frustration for me. It's also easier when I forget the wifi password to just hop on and look it up.

My frustrations are just personal nit-picks. Their software updates are one of the biggest, built on old generation software and often updates cause issues for people with bricked routers, broken features, etc. I always have to research before installing any router updates, and as a lot of security mitigations are done via software patches not keeping up to date or using really old versions of Java are things I'm not enthusiastic about. The last time I tried to move the controller and it was such a pain because of the Java issue. The other stuff is just eyebrows raised from some of their business workings, although that's pretty minor. The equipment has been very stable and reliable for me, which is why I keep running it.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

It sounds like you're running the controller directly on your PC/Mac? Yeah, that's flaky in my experience. Things for me got a lot better when I moved the Unifi controller off into it's own container on my Proxmox box. If you have a VM host of any kind, or even just a spare RPi hanging around, I'd strongly recommend using that instead to put Unifi in its own thing.

But I get the frustrations with Ubiquiti's software updates. Buggy releases (e.g., the Edgerouter v2 debacle, I'm still on v1.10), dependencies on older software (Java 8, MongoDB 3.4). I was hoping for more from a SMB+-focused company. Though I wouldn't expect any better from a consumer-focused brand (e.g., TP-Link), and such companies tend to quickly lose interest in maintaining their hardware. At the least, Ubuquiti has been good about offering years of releases and at least trying to fix their issues. And like you, I've found the system pretty solid.

 

[iroc409]

It sounds like you're running the controller directly on your PC/Mac? Yeah, that's flaky in my experience. Things for me got a lot better when I moved the Unifi controller off into it's own container on my Proxmox box. If you have a VM host of any kind, or even just a spare RPi hanging around, I'd strongly recommend using that instead to put Unifi in its own thing.

I ran it previously on a Pi 3B until I moved it to where it sits now. It's on a Dell T20 running Proxmox in a LXC container. I used the T20 because I was expecting some other projects I never got around to, and would like to go back to a smaller footprint. The T20 is running two instances of pi-hole and on Unifi LOL.

But I get the frustrations with Ubiquiti's software updates. Buggy releases (e.g., the Edgerouter v2 debacle, I'm still on v1.10), dependencies on older software (Java 8, MongoDB 3.4). I was hoping for more from a SMB+-focused company. Though I wouldn't expect any better from a consumer-focused brand (e.g., TP-Link), and such companies tend to quickly lose interest in maintaining their hardware. At the least, Ubuquiti has been good about offering years of releases and at least trying to fix their issues. And like you, I've found the system pretty solid.

Sounds like we're about in the exact same place then. Maybe people called them "enterprise grade" for too long LOL. I don't know if the speed difference would be worth it moving to TP Link; maybe I should just run it until something bricks itself.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Honestly, a Pi somewhere for Unifi and Pihole is really it.

 

[Vengance_01]

Yup. If you want better security you need to go full monty with a USG and their switches. Wait for their next gen USGs if you want to turn all goodies on with high downlink connections. Unifi is more Soho/small biz then Enterprise

 

[iroc409]

Honestly, a Pi somewhere for Unifi and Pihole is really it.

Yeah, that seems to be the case. I have moved everything over to a Pi again, I just need to set up the NUT server and I'll be back to normal there, and I already shut down my Proxmox rig. I guess I'll stick with Unifi. It has been pretty good to me so far, even when I neglect it. If I get my entertainment center wired up with ethernet, the only thing would be my laptop that would appreciate the speed. The rest are tablets and smart phones.

One of the things I was dreading was finding the old software, but it was no big deal. The problem is there are a lot of guides out there that have a lot of spurious information and make it overly complicated. UBNT's version seems to work fairly well and it's short and sweet.

Yup. If you want better security you need to go full monty with a USG and their switches. Wait for their next gen USGs if you want to turn all goodies on with high downlink connections. Unifi is more Soho/small biz then Enterprise

I'm not sure I'm convinced I'd have increased security with a USG and Unifi switches, but I do admit in the past I've looked at converting the whole network to Unifi for that fun central control panel. It would be a "nice to have". I find it hard to justify replacing a perfectly functional ER-L and HP switches just to get everything on the controller, but I'd probably consider it when something dies. My ER-L is probably getting kind of old.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

I find it hard to justify replacing a perfectly functional ER-L and HP switches just to get everything on the controller

...and losing layer-3 VLAN routing.

Unifi switches still don't do this. The firmware capability hasn't been released. I regret picking up the Switch-8 60w I use for my AC-Pro and living room stack.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

I'm not sure I'm convinced I'd have increased security with a USG and Unifi switches, but I do admit in the past I've looked at converting the whole network to Unifi for that fun central control panel. It would be a "nice to have". I find it hard to justify replacing a perfectly functional ER-L and HP switches just to get everything on the controller, but I'd probably consider it when something dies. My ER-L is probably getting kind of old.

Yeah, AFAIK the only advantage the Unifi routers/switches have (along with the APs) is the centralized management interface. Also, from what I understand, they're simply not as flexible as what you can do with the Edgerouter/switch series.

I've been itching a bit to replace my ER-Lite (already replaced its USB flash and PSU), but mostly because of the lagging IPv6 support (seriously, put all that stuff into the GUI already). Also, the fact that it can't do hardware acceleration plus LACP/bonding annoys me. I'm really trying to hold off until something with at least one 10 Gb interface and is (at least mostly) fanless becomes reasonably priced, Ubiquiti or otherwise. Would also like to replace my HP-2824 switch and am still holding off, mostly for the same reasons. In the meantime, both are still faster than my internet connection and don't slow down other LAN functions, so... eh.

...and losing layer-3 VLAN routing.

Unifi switches still don't do this. The firmware capability hasn't been released. I regret picking up the Switch-8 60w I use for my AC-Pro and living room stack.

I don't think there's any lower-end switch that can do L3 properly, whether it be from Uqiquiti, Mikrotik, Cisco, etc. Seems like, for home at least, it would be just as well to let the router handle it (assuming you don't hit something like the LACP deficiency I noted above).