How well does Ubiquiti handle things like dynamic channel balancing (figuring out what ap should run on non-overlapping channels), band steering (moving 2.4ghz clients to 5ghz), and roaming features? Having deployed Cisco/Aruba/Arista/Mist/Aerohive/Meraki they tend to do this, but need some orchestration, which I ass-u-me Ubiquiti *should*, but wondering how much tweaking they allow on the RF side. -mb On Thu, Oct 15, 2020 at 7:55 AM Ryan Petris via PLUG-discuss < plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote: > I second the use of Ubiquiti devices, specifically UniFi. While the > management interface is proprietary, you can run it in Docker or as I do on > Debian in a virtual machine. It will automatically discover all Ubiquiti > UniFi devices on the network and allow you to configure them all through > the same interface with the same or different configuration as the rest. > Updates and whatnot all happen through the same interface and makes > managing many of them a breeze; for instance, want to change your wifi > password? Update it in one place and all of your access points pull in that > change. > > They're not necessarily that expensive either; you can get the UniFi > AC-Lite's on Amazon for $89 each; I have 6 of those and one nano HD > scattered throughout my house and I have yet to roam to a spot that does > not have excellent wifi coverage. > > They're also all powered via POE so if you're able to run ethernet to all > of them and plug them into a POE switch then you don't have to worry about > a mess of wires. > > On Wed, Oct 14, 2020, at 8:58 PM, Stephen Partington via PLUG-discuss > wrote: > > I have been using Ubiquiti for the last few years. Their edge devices have > been really solid, and the AP I have has been super stable. All the > management software is free as long as you are willing to set up some > containers or vm's which in my mind is rather nice. > > On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 5:11 PM Michael Butash via PLUG-discuss < > plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote: > > A lot of the consumer "mesh" products I find are pretty janky after review > or use. Not tried Eero, but I did try Samsung mesh AP's for a bit, and > found them mostly inept. I considered the google units, but didn't want > them uploading everything I do back to google. > > The term "mesh" tends to imply remote units are NOT wired, and I need both > ideally. Dealing with a number of wired AP's usually requires some level > of "controller" to orchestrate them, but consumer stuff just doesn't seem > to get how this "should" work... > > I got the Samsungs a few years ago for the "SmartThings" hub with zwave > integrated, but their wireless was terrible, and only the root AP did > zwave, which I thought would be more distributed across my house. > Apparently whoever developed samsung's wireless had no idea how wireless > works, and would put my 2.4ghz network running most often on channel 5, all > 4 of them, which if you know anything about wireless, you just don't do > that. You always use channel 1, 6, or 11, really only channels you should > ever use in 2.4ghz. Not sure how common this is among "consumer" > products. I crap-canned these after about a year as wireless was terrible > at 2.4ghz and even 5ghz was pretty wack as they seemed to think using the > same channel was a great idea. Hopefully that person at samsung got fired. > > Prior to that, I ran a number of wired Cisco AP's (4-5) around my house > using a Cisco wireless controller appliance for them, which I installed a > lot of across enterprises. Any enterprise solution you can configure to > use the right channels, and introduce some channel avoidance between them > for proper wireless channel distribution. In the 2.4ghz range, with only 3 > usable channels (all of which are used by all your neighbors), you're > mostly screwed, but at least at 5ghz should be ok if they adjust/avoid used > channels, and you get some features like band steering to "influence" > devices to move from 2.4 to 5ghz if they behave right. Consumer stuff just > doesn't seem to do these features sadly, but good thing you can usually buy > old enterprise kit cheap on ebay. > > I now run a single Arista enterprise AP that does a well enough job of > covering my house for my purposes. I also have some Fortinet AP's wired in > with my Fortigate firewall as a controller I test with that work both wired > and wireless, but use a different SSID for those. I mostly use the Arista > for my primary SSID as it's an 802.1ax AP, but the Fortinets work in full > mesh (non-wired) using 5ghz for backhaul or as individually wired ap's > orchestrated via my Fortigate ala my prior Cisco's, and Arista via the > "cloud". > > I have heard good things about Ubiquiti, but no experience thus far. I > almost bought into some, but figured I'd screw with the Fortinet and Arista > kit as I work with both lots, and found it best staying with enterprise kit > I can granularly control understanding how wireless "should" work. I'd be > curious to know how well Ubiuquiti deals with dynamic channel selection, > band-steering, and other "enterprise" features consumer crap sorely misses > on. > > -mb > > > On Wed, Oct 14, 2020 at 12:09 PM Mark Phillips via PLUG-discuss < > plug-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org> wrote: > > I need to upgrade my home wifi network with a high speed mesh network > (primarily for better phone coverage in my house - I make a lot of video > calls to the UK). I have Cox Gigablast on my wired network. The issue I am > running into is that the "base" unit of the eero units and other vendors' > boxes have to connect to either (1) the cable model or (2) the router and > not the switch. My modem, router, and switch are all in a cabinet above my > desk in the office, so (1) I don't need wifi in the office and (2) I don't > relish the thought of having a wifi transmitter sitting 3 feet from my head > 12 hours a day. I want to connect the wifi boxes to my wired network in a > couple of different rooms away from the office. Eero (and other vendors) > says the "base" unit has to act as a gateway (my router does that now), so > it cannot be after the switch. Any suggestions on how I can get a high > speed mesh network in my house and not take a daily showert in 2+ GHz > radiation? I also want to use the wired network as the backhaul channel. > > Please don't start a discussion on the health effects of wifi radiation. > Just assume I am so unscientific and superstitious that I believe in wifi > gremlins and I don't want them invading my head.;) > > Thanks! > > Mark > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > > -- > A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from > rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button. > > Stephen > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.phxlinux.org > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > https://lists.phxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss