I have Google Wi-Fi at home, which looks similar spec wise - there's no problems maxing out my 500 Mbps line with it via wireless. I haven't tested it internally, but it would probably be a bit more.
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Netgear Launches New Orbi Dual Band Mesh Wi-Fi System for $230
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I have Google Wi-Fi at home, which looks similar spec wise - there's no problems maxing out my 500 Mbps line with it via wireless. I haven't tested it internally, but it would probably be a bit more.
I'm considering adding a few more access points to keep me warmer this winter. Being warmed directly, from the inside is very efficient.
I added the system to my house 3 weeks ago. I didn't realise it was so old and slightly wish I'd waited a little longer. It's a brilliant system though and covers the whole house perfectly
I just don’t understand. How can Ubiquiti have so many products yet none of them pair well for an actual functioning setup. So frustrating.
My plan was to pair EdgeRouter X via POE to an AP but it seems that’s not actually possible because the controller’s not compatible? Yet Unifi Security Gateways don’t offer POE...
Then the other thing you mention about the APs: UAP-nanoHD has the newer tech with 4x4 MIMO and newer WiFi etc so getting UAP-AC-Pro would be buying outdated tech.
I just want a setup that’s very secure and highly configurable; with room to grow for adding more IoT devices later. And remote access away from home is a must.
Sorta the same, I bought my Orbi system in February. easy -easy and dang - coverage. I have a weird mix metal studs in weird areas, and my modem and router are in the back of the house. Out T-mobile router was dying, no one had wifi most of the times... lots of rebooting and resorting to a hotspot (and our LTE coverage sucks). Now WiFi everywhere and no drops. My older airport couldn’t get the coverage out of the room of doom either - hence jumping on the tmo cell spot router.I added the system to my house 3 weeks ago. I didn't realise it was so old and slightly wish I'd waited a little longer. It's a brilliant system though and covers the whole house perfectly
Anyway, no regrets on my Orbi package purchase.
Feel the same way with mine. Not had to touch the thing since owning it. Occasionally updated the firmware via the app. Coverage is also great.
Ah! interesting. you have to do base to base. The typical 'system' they push, the mesh satelite shave no ethernet ports. https://store.amplifi.com/products/amplifi-mesh-system
Look at the soon coming UDM. It has UniFi controller, AP, Switch, Router all integrated with all the SMB and security features. Since it's all in one, setting up multiple sites is gone but doesn't apply to you. Can still do mesh, either with their beacons or other UAP's.
I just read a little more on the new system and it wouldn't (yet) have satisfied my needs. The current gen Orbi has those lovely Ethernet ports on the satellites, one of which is completely full. Our house has a weird entry point for the cable, it comes in on the first floor. Our TV provider streams their content via the web and it needs to be hard wired at the point the internet comes in, extenders don't work.
The orbi satellite works perfectly so no need to rewire the damn house
I am looking to switching to Ubiquiti...
I wanted to like the Netgear but it seems that their hardware is hit or miss, its often you will get a lemon. The software also is not exactly as solid as it should be in 2019. There is more on privacy concerns as I found their devices ”calling” home.
Really? not even restarting the routers every now and then?
I wanted to like the Netgear but it seems that their hardware is hit or miss, its often you will get a lemon. The software also is not exactly as solid as it should be in 2019. There is more on privacy concerns as I found their devices ”calling” home.
Really? not even restarting the routers every now and then?
I'd note that their gear is more flexible than NetGear which also can mean more complicated to set up than NetGear (or other consumer systems). The UniFi line was designed to get closer to a consumer type setup with nice GUIs to work with and mostly succeeded so if that's important to you I'd check those out. If you don't mind doing some things in command line interface (although there is still a GUI for most operations) and want more fine tuned control you'll want to look at their Edge Router/Switch products. If your needs are small (i.e. you're setting up your home network) then the USG (UniFi Secure Gateway), one of the APs, and a cloud key (runs the management software so you don't have to run it on a computer) would likely be all you need and would all be under that nice GUI umbrella. From there the sky is the limit, they have many switches (including PoE), you can run extensive networks of WiFi APs, can set up captive portals if you intend to have self service guest access, support VPNs and VLANs etc etc...
With regards to IoT, since they support VLANs you could isolate all your IoT devices into their own VLAN and set up firewall rules to control access from your main network to and from your IoT network. Segmenting small devices that are often easily exploited would increase your security but that sort of segmentation can also be a pain as many of those IoT devices make dumb assumptions like assuming they will be on the same subnet as everything else they ever talk to. You end up having to relay broadcasts and whatnot (mDNS repeater is built right in to Ubiquiti EdgeRouters and I think USG too but for other types of broadcast you'll likely have to set up socat or something to relay) to make some IoT things behave properly. That's not a deficiency of Ubiquiti, just a fact of life of segmenting your network.
Hope that helps
why would you want tri band? to use one of them as a backbone for a mesh system?
Dream Machine has the UniFi controller embedded. I'm not familiar enough with AmpliFi to do a accurate comparison.
Routers should not need to be restarted every now and then... they are fixed function.
Or WiFi-6 with 10Gb wired backhaul. This product is old tech. The only thing that is interesting about it is that it’s price point will encourage adoption and demand for products with improved capability.
So lets say hypothetically you came across someone who pretty much fits this description...say, 4000sq feet of house with Cat5 ethernet in most rooms. what devices would you suggest here?
This is what I'm pondering. I already have cabling to the far corners of my palatial mansion, so I'm wondering which setup would use the hardwired drops but give me a single Wi-Fi network through the house.
Menal and thisisnotmyname, I combined this reply because I have the same questions for both of you. I’m wondering what’s your take on the response I got from sirozha below?
I understand DM has an onboard controller but is it so limited in feature set? Regardless I’ve been leaning towards EdgeRouter and UAP via POE so I can ceiling mount the AP. But I’ve read there are compatibly issues with EdgeRouter on Unifi controller; while the Unifi Security Gateway doesn’t offer POE. Are EdgeRouter and Unifi Security Gateway not interchangeable?
Last thing regarding APs, the nanoHD has the newest and most current tech which is why I would lean towards it, but are they that buggy and inferior to AC-Pro? AC-Pro tech is a bit outdated now.
Thanks.
Here’s my advice. Get UAP-AC-HD (more than one if needed) and get a pfSense box. If you need just simple POE Ethernet Switch, you can get an 8-port or 16-port UniFi switch. Just make sure the one you get supports 803.3at (POE+) in order to be able to power the UAP-AC-HD. however, be advised that the UniFi switches have a very stripped down feature set. By no means are the UniFi switches enterprise class switches. They are not even suitable for medium-size business. They are fine for small business and for prosumers.
if you want to get more than one AP, you could get the UAP-nanoHD or UAP-IW-HD, but use it only as a supplementary AP, not your primary AP unless you live in a very small place (less than 1,500 sq ft). If you live in a small place, you can go with the nanoHD or IW-HD as your primary AP. Do not buy the UAP-AC-Pro. Those are 2nd generation APs and are outdated at this point. They choke up on the traffic especially if there are a couple dozen clients associated with them. The chipset is extremely old. This chipset hadn’t been used even in consumer-grade equipment for five years now.
As for the Edge line vs the UniFi line, there’s centralized monitoring software used for the Edge line (not the same as UniFi controller), but it’s not used for configuration but for the monitoring and reporting only. The Edge line is more feature rich than the UniFi line, but the Edge routers are much more difficult to configure. You really need to be a network engineer or technician or admin to be able to configure the Edge routers. The Edge switches can be configured in the web GUI, so they are not so difficult to configure.
Bothe the Edge and the UniFi routers are using extremely weak chipsets. They can’t handle encrypted traffic well at all. Only the new Dream Machine Pro (from the UniFi line) has adequate horsepower, but the firmware is so lacking that it has almost no features outside of basic routing. Even consumer-grade routers have much wider feature sets. Perhaps in a year or two, the Dream Machine Pro May become a decent router for a small business or prosumer. It has a rack mountable form factor, though.
Just for your information, none of the Ubiquiti equipment is enterprise-class gear. None of the routers or switches are suitable for a large or even medium size business. The Edge line is a solid offering for a small business (under 100 people). The UniFi line is only suitable for very small business, but it’s a pretty good offering for the prosumers or large houses. The only Ubiquiti product that I would not hesitate put in a medium-size business (between 100 and 500 users) are the UniFi APs, but only UAP-AC-HD or more expensive ones.
Do not buy UAP-AC-Pro. Do not buy the UAP-nanoHD unless you live in a place that’s less than 1500 sq ft. Go with the UAP-AC-HD.
As for the UniFi Security Gateway vs EdgeRouter, they are not driven by the same controller. Security Gateway is configured using the UniFi Controller. The EdgeRouter is configured via CLI directly on the router. They are only interchangeable in the same sense that any router can be replaced with any other router as long as both support the same features being used on the network. If you go with the EdgeRouter and the UniFi APs, you will have to configure the EdgeRouter using its CLI and configure the APs using the UniFi Controller. As for POE, you can buy Ubiquiti POE+ injectors or buy a POE+ UniFi or Edge switch.
Ubiquiti has several POE types that they use. In the Edge line, they used to only have what they call Passive POE. They had two types of Passive POE: 24V and 48V. The newer UniFi APs use the 802.3at and 802.3af POE standards. The 24V Passive POE is not compatible with 802.3 POE. The 48V passive POE can be used with 802.3 POE, but you have to be very careful or you can damage the connected equipment. If I were you, I would only buy a switch or a router that supports 802.3 POE and not the Passive POE. I think some new Edge switches support 802.3 POE (both .af and .at). The NanoHD can be powered by 802.3af or 802.3at (POE+). The UAP-AC-HD requires 802.3at (POE+).
Also, if you are using more than one AP, make sure you will be using wired backhaul (each AP is connected with an Ethernet Cable). UniFi APs have a poorly implemented wireless backhaul, and I would never recommend using wireless backhaul with them. Additionally, they don’t have three radios so that one can be dedicated to the wireless backhaul. Basically, you will need to make sure that every location where an AP will be installed should have an Ethernet Cable running to the POE+ switch port.
i would not recommend either the EdgeRouter or UniFi Security Gateway. Instead, get a pfSense box.
Frankly, if you are not proficient in computer networking, I would recommend going with Ubiquiti AmpliFi over UniFi. AmpliFi has everything a home user would need. Unfortunately, they cannot be powered by POE, but they can use wired (and wireless) backhaul. Again, I would recommend using the wired backhaul if you can make sure there’s an Ethernet Cable running to every AmpliFi unit. AmpliFi is so much easier to configure than a hodgepodge that you would otherwise end up with (UniFi, Edge, and pfSense).
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You can use UniFi and EdgeOS items together, they just aren't controlled with the same controller software. All your UniFi devices are controlled with either your cloud key device or with the controller software installed on a PC/server somewhere on your network (or even cloud hosted). You could also SSH into any of those devices and control them directly if you prefer. EdgeOS (EdgeRouter and EdgeSwitch) all have typical web front ends for common management functions. That web front end also has a command line interface gateway so you can issue commands to it like you would from a CLI shell; of course you could just SSH into them too. There's also UNMS as a centralized method to connect to all your EdgeOS devices, it's not an aggregated controller like the UniFi controller, more of an easy way to interact with each device.
In any case, it's not like the devices aren't compatible with each other, having a network with a mixture of EdgeOS and UniFi devices is just fine, you just can't take advantage of the centralized UniFi controller to manage your EdgeOS items. I wouldn't let that stop me from choosing EdgeOS items though, if you feel EdgeRouter or EdgeSwitch better meet your needs but want to run UniFi APs and a USG I'd say go for it.
As to POE, there are UniFi switches with it. There are a couple 8 port switches with POE (either 60w or 150w I believe). You could get the little USG and a 8 port POE. They have bigger options too but they would likely start getting expensive for the average home user or small business (sorry you may have said what your use case was but I either missed it or forgot). I don't view Ubiquiti as offering a single box that does everything like picking up a typical NetGear WiFi router, I view them as modular and I pick up the combination of devices that do exactly what I'm trying to accomplish. That results in a multiple devices in my homes but I'm happier with the results.
I don't know anything about the Dream Machine the other poster referenced, I've never used one (or even seen it for that matter). I disagree about their assessment of the APs though. I've worked with nanoHDs and had nothing but good experiences. I also disagree with their recommendation to jump right to the UAP-AC-HD, that would be overkill for most home (and even small business) networks. Unless you're running a hotel/convention center (something with pretty high user density where you can make good use of MU-MIMO) you'll be more than good with the UAP-AC-PRO or even the UAP-AC-LITE. Depending on the size of your home or business you'd be ahead to pick up 2/3/4/more UAP-AC-LITEs and distribute them well to provide good signal coverage rather than wasting money on a single (or multiple) UAP-AC-HD. That said, if this is a home deployment and you have an average size house a single centrally located LITE is usually enough all on its own. Larger homes and offices can benefit from multiple drops positioned to avoid dead zones.
I've also never worked with the In Wall units that the other poster said were buggy so I don't have any opinion on that.
Hope that helps.
I did something similar. Main Internet run goes into an upstairs bedroom modem/router. From there, two runs split off to 8-port gig switches (one in attic, one in crawl). From those switches, those runs go into all the rooms. Anything that has an Ethernet port gets used. I do have 2 APs connected at opposite ends of the house to each 8-port gig switch for our Wi-Fi. It's all cat6...