Help me set Ubiquiti network

[MacBH928]

So I was told if you don't want your wireless network having flaws or needing to restart you need to set up a separate router, switch, and an access point over the usual consumer 3-in-1 product like the Netgear Nighthawk.

My problem is that I never did this and I don't have an idea how to set it up networks, I know how to setup the ordinary consumer router. The main thing that I do not understand is where and how do I access the main admin panel where I do all the settings like network password, DHCP, UPnP, reserving IPs and so on. Usually on routers you just go to 192.168.1.1 and you can see the admin panel.

My second question is can I buy additional Ubiquiti APs and turn them into a mesh network? Like a real mesh network with a dedicated band for connecting the two APs like the Netgear Orbi, not as a wireless signal repeater.

Do you have another advice, maybe its better to use a different brand for router or switch? I was told Ubquiti APs are the best and most stable.

 

[2984839]

Did you try the Ubiquiti Quick Start guide instructions? https://dl.ubnt.com/guides/edgemax/EdgeRouter_Lite_QSG.pdf

You have 2 ways to get to the management interface on the router.

You can:

Plug in an ethernet cable from your existing router to eth1 on the EdgeRouter, wait for it to obtain an IP address from your existing router/DHCP server, then point your web browser to that IP.

or

Set a static IP address on your laptop to an IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 range, (so, 192.168.1.2 for example), then plug in an ethernet cable from your laptop to the eth0 port on the EdgeRouter. Browse to 192.168.1.1


Default login info for both methods is ubnt for both the username and password fields.


As to your second question, Ubiquiti does make a mesh system branded as Unifi, but they also make standard APs. It depends which ones you buy. If you have a small to medium sized and fairly easy area to cover, or you are able to run ethernet cabling, the standard APs will suit you fine. Mesh is great if you can't run cables where you need them.

And while I would not call Ubiquiti the best or most stable, they are 10x better than anything else in their price range.

 

[blaine07]

 

[MacBH928]

Did you try the Ubiquiti Quick Start guide instructions? https://dl.ubnt.com/guides/edgemax/EdgeRouter_Lite_QSG.pdf

You have 2 ways to get to the management interface on the router.

You can:

Plug in an ethernet cable from your existing router to eth1 on the EdgeRouter, wait for it to obtain an IP address from your existing router/DHCP server, then point your web browser to that IP.

or

Set a static IP address on your laptop to an IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 range, (so, 192.168.1.2 for example), then plug in an ethernet cable from your laptop to the eth0 port on the EdgeRouter. Browse to 192.168.1.1


Default login info for both methods is ubnt for both the username and password fields.


As to your second question, Ubiquiti does make a mesh system branded as Unifi, but they also make standard APs. It depends which ones you buy. If you have a small to medium sized and fairly easy area to cover, or you are able to run ethernet cabling, the standard APs will suit you fine. Mesh is great if you can't run cables where you need them.

And while I would not call Ubiquiti the best or most stable, they are 10x better than anything else in their price range.

This does not seem worth it:
EdgeRouter: $120
Cloudkey: $100
Unifi 8-Switch: $100
NanoHD Access Point: $200
Total: $520

I wonder if I would see any real world difference using Wifi for that much money, over say the latest Nighthawk router with Wifi 6 which is $300.

 

[2984839]

This does not seem worth it:
EdgeRouter: $120
Cloudkey: $100
Unifi 8-Switch: $100
NanoHD Access Point: $200
Total: $520

I wonder if I would see any real world difference using Wifi for that much money, over say the latest Nighthawk router with Wifi 6 which is $300.

You don't need a Cloudkey if you don't want one; they have a free app for managing the APs. I'd skip the NanoHD too and get a UAP-AC-LITE. Any switch would work as well, so if you only need 5 ethernet ports (as the Nighthawk has), you could get a 5 port Cisco SG110 for $30-$40.

That's about $270 savings, so you're dealing with roughly equal prices. I don't know what kind of performance difference it will give you, but you will have a much more flexible, reliable, and secure setup. You can add/move/remove APs later if you want and control them all with the app.

 

[MacBH928]

thanks this is exactly what I was looking for, I am just confused over the cloudkey part, what does it do? Is it the DHCP server?

 

[Strelok]

The cloudkey saves your configuration and gives easy access to changing the settings IIRC. You could technically just set everything up on your phone or other device and not use a cloud key at all. It's mostly for statistics and ease of use.

 

[2984839]

The cloudkey saves your configuration and gives easy access to changing the settings IIRC. You could technically just set everything up on your phone or other device and not use a cloud key at all. It's mostly for statistics and ease of use.

Correct. It also allows you to manage your network from outside it, which is good for a larger deployment, but doesn't make much sense for a home network.

 

[hobowankenobi]

I have an EdgeMax SPF for routing, switching, and POE. Pretty good value for about $90.

Rock solid, but be warned, not a lot of management features (parental controls, etc). Web interface to manage. For the basics: stateful firewall, DHCP, DNS, NAT,etc....it is great. It has many advanced features and options (none of which I need or use)....but not for the timid or tech challenged.

For my 3 APs, I just run the free software tool. It's great. Does not need to run for the APs to run...only to configure and manage. I go 6 months or more without using it.

You can also manage from an iOS app. Can't speak to that, have not used it (you have to pick one tool to manage...can't move back and forth between).

So, if one shops hard:

Router/Switch: $90
3 AC LITE APs: $240
total: $330ish

That's probably about as cheap as you can go for UBNT gear. Granted it is lacking...only 4 switched ports, no parental control. Bare bones, low cost, solid wireless network.

As for backhaul, last I checked, the lower end UBNT APs need a wired connection, at least years back when I setup mine.

Found this:

"Wireless Uplink functionality enables wireless connectivity between APs for extended range. One wired UniFi AP uplink supports up to four wireless downlinks on a single operating band, allowing wireless adoption of devices in their default state and real-time changes to network topology.

For devices that support Plug & Play Mesh, this functionality is extended to allow multi-hop wireless uplink – so wirelessly uplinked APs can support uplink to other wirelessly uplinked APs."

 

[sevoneone]

Correct. It also allows you to manage your network from outside it, which is good for a larger deployment, but doesn't make much sense for a home network.

For small or home network management, you can also sign up for the Always Free tier of Google Cloud Platform. The free tier allows you to spin up a virtual machine in the cloud with one vCPU, 600MB RAM, and up to 30GB of storage, free forever including a static IP address. It is barely enough to run the controller, but it works well for a small network. There are even people that run a personal Wordpress or other webserver off the same instance without any issues. There are tutorials you can find online to set it up: https://metis.fi/en/2018/02/unifi-on-gcp/

If you are going to spend the money on the cloud key though, I'd highly recommend getting the plus model for $20 more. With the built-in HDD, it can act as a controller and NVR for Ubiquity's UnFi Video security cameras, which are as excellent for the price as the rest of their gear.

 

[DoFoT9]

OP: UniFi products require a 'controller' to manage each device, and to record metrics/logs (for nerdy stats).

You can install the Controller anywhere. On your Mac, a NAS, PC, rPi etc. Get that set up first, and it's fairly easy to autodetect the rest of the products on the network.

Configuring things specifically can be a bit tricky the first time around on UniFi but shout out if you require any assistance.

 

[kge420]

My ubiquiti gear:
edgerouter poe5 - bought used $60
ac lite - bought new $95
uap outdoor5 - bought used $60 this sends my WiFi to my garage about 50’ away
At first look the setup was intimidating. Ubiquiti support is phenomenal. They will walk you through anything you may have trouble understanding. When I bought the outdoor5 it was on a very old fw and I couldn’t get it going. Spoke with the support team and was walked through the process of updating via ssh. I had zero experience with this and was more than a bit apprehensive. In short it’s up and running rock solid. As for the other equipment I can’t say enough. This is very solid equipment.
I run my updates about 4 times per year on all three pieces. Handle this via a web page on a windows laptop.

 

[MacBH928]

My ubiquiti gear:
edgerouter poe5 - bought used $60
ac lite - bought new $95
uap outdoor5 - bought used $60 this sends my WiFi to my garage about 50’ away
At first look the setup was intimidating. Ubiquiti support is phenomenal. They will walk you through anything you may have trouble understanding. When I bought the outdoor5 it was on a very old fw and I couldn’t get it going. Spoke with the support team and was walked through the process of updating via ssh. I had zero experience with this and was more than a bit apprehensive. In short it’s up and running rock solid. As for the other equipment I can’t say enough. This is very solid equipment.
I run my updates about 4 times per year on all three pieces. Handle this via a web page on a windows laptop.

thanks for sharing, I decided I am going with the Amplifi HD. The Unifi solution is too much for my home setup. As long as I don't get dropped signals, stutters, freezes, restarts needed, and all the quirkiness of it(and hopefully more privacy) I am happy.

 

[kge420]

thanks for sharing, I decided I am going with the Amplifi HD. The Unifi solution is too much for my home setup. As long as I don't get dropped signals, stutters, freezes, restarts needed, and all the quirkiness of it(and hopefully more privacy) I am happy.

Best of luck. Keep us posted as I may look into this for our son's apt.