* Official Ubiquiti Discussion Thread *

the-evaluator · 25 Apr 2017 at 08:38

WJA96 said:
But can each site see only their own site or do they all have to run separate controllers locally?

Just 1 controller for 6 sites. Have a look at layer 3 adoption.

WJA96 said:
The software is the same software, but the only hardware with a UBNT logo on it is the Cloud Key so in my view that makes it the official solution.

Your view is different that that of Ubiquiti.

WJA96 · 25 Apr 2017 at 09:55

the-evaluator said:
Just 1 controller for 6 sites. Have a look at layer 3 adoption.

As I understand it, if I had 6 clients with 6 sites and I set it up with just 1 controller, all sites can see all other sites? Or am I missing something?

the-evaluator said:
Your view is different that that of Ubiquiti.

Really? I don't recall seeing a Unifi branded Raspberry pi. As far as I'm aware the Cloud Key is the solution that UBNT actually sell. The software is free. And you can run it on many platforms but the only hardware platform that UBNT sells for this purpose is the Cloud Key.

the-evaluator · 25 Apr 2017 at 10:03

WJA96 said:
As I understand it, if I had 6 clients with 6 sites and I set it up with just 1 controller, all sites can see all other sites? Or am I missing something?

No, not unless you specifically create a VPN between them.

WJA96 said:
Really? I don't recall seeing a Unifi branded Raspberry pi. As far as I'm aware the Cloud Key is the solution that UBNT actually sell. The software is free. And you can run it on many platforms but the only hardware platform that UBNT sells for this purpose is the Cloud Key.

The only controller hardware that Ubnt will support is the Cloud Key but they'll support the controller software on a whole bunch of other hardware.

BigT · 25 Apr 2017 at 11:37

WJA96 said:
Unfortunately, the only way around this to run a cable.

You could also use powerline networking and hang an AP of a powerline adapter. However I really wouldn't recommend this and if one had to do it, only expect it to be able to have enough throughput for casual web browsing over wi-fi. Dedicated cable is worth the effort every time. I only mention it because in things like listed houses you're possibly not going to be able to drill holes in your exterior walls.

Darrensen · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:00

Just got some of these units to replace some aging equipment and it’s fantastic.

I’ve started to explore other opportunities around this and wondered if anyone here was using social media to authenticate for free wifi and as a result of this, capturing their details for marketing?

Would be interested to hear what methods you have chosen.

Burned_Alive · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:03

WJA96 said:
They're basically identical functionally, just the USG is Unifi enabled. It would be a side-grade step if anything.

Unfortunately, the only way around this to run a cable. These access points are very good, they just don't work miracles. Home hub 6 is probably just as sensitive as an AP-AC-LR and I don't have my AP-AC-HDs yet (middle of May delivery) but they should be a little bit better again. I started out by running two cables outside the house. You drill a hole in the wall where your internet comes into the building big enough to take 2 cables and then you drill a second hole roughly where you want to take the Internet. They you run the cable round the outside of the building and at each point fit a double RJ45 socket. CCS make a tool-less keystone module with faceplates so you don't need a punchdown tool. Two pattress boxes, 200m cable and two loaded keystone faceplates should be under £100. Any semi-competent handyman or aerial installer will be able to do it. Or, if you want to really spend money, you can use the AP-AC-Pro or -LR in a mesh configuration (they call it uplinking) where the first one is wired then the others are meshed into it, but they still have to be powered so you still need a PoE injector for each unit. The best option is to just bite the bullet and run a cable.

Cheers for that. i've got no issues running cables and it's the main reason I'm now looking at these solutions instead of the BT WHW. Although I could run cables for WHW the units dont really lend themselves physically to that kind of install. I already have a gigabit switch in the garage loft (feeding bedroom and kitchen), so will probably just run a cable back from that into the main loft and site an AP in the loft or drop it down into the airing cupboard.

My main query was in relation to how the BT HH and the AP would work on a handover basis and wanted to check whether i should be replacing the BTHH with two APs instead of having a BTHH and a single AP?

pcfarrar · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:11

the-evaluator said:
They're making good progress on the USG. The latest USG firmware (4.3.41) is using Edge OS 1.9.7 which I believe is more recent than the current release version of Edge OS.

The USG and Edgerouter lite have a major flaw (as was mentioned earlier) that results in packet loss on both UDP and TCP. You effectively have a router that can't route, with no fix until October at the earliest.
Your much better off using a third party router instead of the USG, the pretty graphs aren't worth it for packet loss.

the-evaluator · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:13

Burned_Alive said:
My main query was in relation to how the BT HH and the AP would work on a handover basis and wanted to check whether i should be replacing the BTHH with two APs instead of having a BTHH and a single AP?

Badly. When I got my first AP I forgot to disable the wifi on the BT HH and it was a mess. Wireless barely worked. You'd be much better off having 2 Ubnt AP's than 1 x Ubnt and 1 x BT HH.

Voicon · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:14

Burned_Alive said:
Cheers for that. i've got no issues running cables and it's the main reason I'm now looking at these solutions instead of the BT WHW. Although I could run cables for WHW the units dont really lend themselves physically to that kind of install. I already have a gigabit switch in the garage loft (feeding bedroom and kitchen), so will probably just run a cable back from that into the main loft and site an AP in the loft or drop it down into the airing cupboard.

My main query was in relation to how the BT HH and the AP would work on a handover basis and wanted to check whether i should be replacing the BTHH with two APs instead of having a BTHH and a single AP?

There did no real handover between the 2, you can set your devices up to connect to both but they won't switch until they lose the signal, it will work but it's not pretty. I would put 2 unifi AP's in which makes it a much better solution.

the-evaluator · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:15

pcfarrar said:
The USG and Edgerouter lite have a major flaw (as was mentioned earlier) that results in packet loss on both UDP and TCP. You effectively have a router that can't route, with no fix until October at the earliest.
Your much better off using a third party router instead of the USG, the pretty graphs aren't worth it for packet loss.

I can't say I've noticed any issues with my USG but I'm not a gamer. I do work from home though wuth a SIP phone and have had zero issues with that since installing the USG.

Voicon · 25 Apr 2017 at 14:18

the-evaluator said:
I can't say I've noticed any issues with my USG but I'm not a gamer. I do work from home though wuth a SIP phone and have had zero issues with that since installing the USG.

Same here, I use IP phone, stream 4k and my son's are gamers and no complaints with my USG.

ChrisD. · 25 Apr 2017 at 15:39

Can't say I've ever noticed any packet loss with my ER-L.

bledd · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:05

Ditto on the packet loss, I have a USG and my mate has an ERL, he was #1 in some monthly CSGO leauge a couple of weeks ago, we both play games online and would notice if it was a prolific issue.

I'm not saying that it isn't an issue, just that neither of us have noticed it.

Throughout my junior years, I've experienced a lot of packet loss

, but nothing to note with the USG/ERL

DIABLO · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:31

Burned_Alive said:
Cheers for that. i've got no issues running cables and it's the main reason I'm now looking at these solutions instead of the BT WHW. Although I could run cables for WHW the units dont really lend themselves physically to that kind of install. I already have a gigabit switch in the garage loft (feeding bedroom and kitchen), so will probably just run a cable back from that into the main loft and site an AP in the loft or drop it down into the airing cupboard.

My main query was in relation to how the BT HH and the AP would work on a handover basis and wanted to check whether i should be replacing the BTHH with two APs instead of having a BTHH and a single AP?

Having 2 unifi APs would allow us to tune things to allow the crossover be as smooth as possible and they do have a quick hand off feature that speeds up the transition. I would probably buy 1 to start and see how it works out for you.

Voicon · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:31

Actually I have DPI enabled on the USG as well which will be another overhead and doesn't cause any issues.

the-evaluator · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:33

DIABLO said:
There will be never be a perfect handover when using 2 different AP's, having 2 unifi APs would allow us to tune things to allow the crossover be as smooth as possible. I would probably buy 1 to start and see how it works out.

I'm surprised how well the handover works with my pair of AP-AC-LR's. I can start a SIP call on my mobile and pull power one the AP I'm connected do and there's barely a drop in the audio.

Voicon · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:37

the-evaluator said:
I'm surprised how well the handover works with my pair of AP-AC-LR's. I can start a SIP call on my mobile and pull power one the AP I'm connected do and there's barely a drop in the audio.

I do the same, I was worried they didn't support 802.11k and 802.11r but after using my SIP base phone and roaming between 4 AP'S there is barely a blip in audio when switching.

DIABLO · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:48

They don't support the full r and k spec but Ubiquiti has taken parts of the spec and implemented them one of them being quick handoff.

Article https://community.ubnt.com/t5/blogs/mobileblogarticlepage/blog-id/Blog_UniFi_Beta/article-id/122

pcfarrar · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:49

ChrisD. said:
Can't say I've ever noticed any packet loss with my ER-L.

Maybe not, but try and push 20mbps UDP through it and your going to get some serious packet loss. A £20 TP-Link router would have none.

WJA96 · 25 Apr 2017 at 17:53

Burned_Alive said:
Cheers for that. i've got no issues running cables and it's the main reason I'm now looking at these solutions instead of the BT WHW. Although I could run cables for WHW the units dont really lend themselves physically to that kind of install. I already have a gigabit switch in the garage loft (feeding bedroom and kitchen), so will probably just run a cable back from that into the main loft and site an AP in the loft or drop it down into the airing cupboard.

My main query was in relation to how the BT HH and the AP would work on a handover basis and wanted to check whether i should be replacing the BTHH with two APs instead of having a BTHH and a single AP?

Personally, I would go all the way and ditch the Home Hub completely. The USG plus a BT Huawei modem from eBay should be £100-ish and you'll be a lot happier in the long run. I have a Zyxel 130 modem and apart from needing to plug it in and turn it on and off a couple of times, the USG eventually picked itself up and it's been rock solid for the last 3 months. I would always go with the AP-AC-LR over anything other than an AP-AC-HD because the receiving antennae are much better with phones and tablets than those in the AP-AC-PRO. The actual transmission power output appears to be the same but the antennas are better in the LR and, if you can stomach the cost, the HD is significantly better again on paper although I have not actually tested them yet.

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