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Kol · 23 Apr 2018 at 10:38

I seemed to have missed the majority of the conversation on this, but what's with people paying for a hosted controller? What's the benefit against just installing it, for free, on either one of your computers or a raspberry pi? I installed it on my mac, adopted all my APs and that was it.

What's this additional 'cost' people keep talking of or have I missed the point on this one?

Simon42 · 23 Apr 2018 at 11:00

I don't like the idea of an external controller instance managed by a third party so I initially used the controller software for free on my home server (also had a spare RPi I could have used instead).

That worked fine but as I got more into the Unifi kit I decided to move to a cloud key to keep my systems separate. Most people don't even need the controller features that require it up 24x7 so there's always that option.

WJA96 · 23 Apr 2018 at 11:25

There isn’t any benefit unless you go with Unifi Elite. One of the big UK resellers offers 3-years free hosting on their server and then after that it’s £5 per device which could get pricey if you’ve got a USG, a couple of switches and half a dozen access points.

And they’re running the LTS branch, so you don’t get IPS/IDS, no port remapping and you wouldn’t be able to run anything Beta either. Or the new USG-XG-8 as that needs the “right” combination of controller and firmware to run properly.

mattyg · 23 Apr 2018 at 12:58

Ah well you see. I have all the gear but no idea....I break things very easily if I start to play. Which Is A: why I like preconfigured and B: I ask silly questions in here..

I just want a home network that wont fall over and can handle a house full of devices including Video and CCTV

Deleted member 651465 · 23 Apr 2018 at 13:00

Marvt74 said:
Ok, i'm getting somewhere at last. I've managed to get the USG connected to the internet via the HG612 so woohoo! It's also connected to the AP because i have wifi working nicely.

Now my issue seems to be that i can't get the controller software to adopt the USG. I think this is some kind of hangover from when i was last messing around. I had done a hard reset on all the devices but it seems some things are still linked. Is there a way to force the adoption? Also when adopting it asks for a username/password. I've tried loads in there from ubnt/ubnt to my Unifi account details but nothing seems to help.

You need to "advanced adopt" them.

Click on the device, then go to the adopt section in the pop-up menu .
The username will be your admin username (the password will be the DEVICE password which you should have written down when you set them up via the wizard)
Type in the address of your Pi in to the "inform url" field and tell it to use port 22.
Untick the "verify ssh" option
Click adopt and wait.

If you haven't got the device password you can always reset to factory the devices but you'll need to keep a copy of the current config handy.

Martynt74 · 23 Apr 2018 at 13:47

Cheers @EVH. I have actually now got everything adopted and working (don't think i used your method though)

My only issue now is that i keep getting errors when trying to set the controller up on my Pi. I get an error saying my username/password isn't recognised but i know it is. The controller is installed on my laptop and working perfectly.

Googling suggests this error is an old version of Java but i know i have the latest. Will do another clean install on the Pi and see if that fixes it.

Deleted member 651465 · 23 Apr 2018 at 14:00

Marvt74 said:
Cheers @EVH. I have actually now got everything adopted and working (don't think i used your method though)

My only issue now is that i keep getting errors when trying to set the controller up on my Pi. I get an error saying my username/password isn't recognised but i know it is. The controller is installed on my laptop and working perfectly.

Googling suggests this error is an old version of Java but i know i have the latest. Will do another clean install on the Pi and see if that fixes it.

Ok, no worries. This is a good step-by-step guide, which should help you out.

https://www.technologist.site/2016/...quiti-unifi-controller-5-on-the-raspberry-pi/

Martynt74 · 23 Apr 2018 at 14:04

I have managed to install it twice now so never have any issues with the main process.

First time was installed using the Stretch full version and i'm sure it worked at first but then i got the errors with my username/password.

Then when i had my issues i re-installed Stretch Lite and had issues straight away. Given the network is all working, i'm not in a rush to get the Pi working as i'd like to be honest.

Kol · 23 Apr 2018 at 14:06

Yea, I'd always avoid Stretch Lite, always go full fat. Personally, now it's all working, unless you need it 24/7 I'd not worry about it. I just run mine on my Mac and even then I only have it running when I need to make a change/upgrade the APs.

bledd · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:13

Meh, I always use Stretch Lite.

Kol · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:21

Interesting, what benefits? I always seem to have issues when I've used a 'lite' build, maybe it was just me and that pi in particular?

Deleted member 651465 · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:22

I also always use lite. I run the Pi headless, so don't actually need the GUI/features.

@Marvt74 the Pi itself is the easiest part of the Unifi controller. As long as you save the controller configthen the process takes about 10 minutes.

Format Pi
Install Unifi
Restore old controller config

Kol · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:24

Hmph, might try it on my spare. See where I went wrong!

Deleted member 651465 · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:39

Tip: Transfer a file called "ssh" (no extension, no contents) to the root of the directory of the SD card before you put it in the Pi, to let you ssh in.

Otherwise you need to use a monitor to enable ssh, which sort of defeats the object of installed Lite.

bledd · 23 Apr 2018 at 15:51

^Good tip! Since they disabled it by default, I've been faffing around with cables on fresh installs.

Kol · 23 Apr 2018 at 17:10

That's a great tip. Thanks @EVH ...going to have another play with one of my pi's tonight.

RockLobster · 24 Apr 2018 at 15:00

I'm looking at buying two UAP-AC-PROs. One for downstairs and one for upstairs. The one downstairs will be hardwired to my router. Can I have one upstairs without it being hardwired (powered of course)?

I've seen replies in this post talking about the above is not ideal because it's not hardwired and I would be better with a mesh?

Martynt74 · 24 Apr 2018 at 15:02

Yes you could still run it and it'll act as a wireless access point. You could be better hard wiring it though whether direct or by powerline adaptors.

I was advised against the mesh because it halves the bandwidth apparently.

RockLobster · 25 Apr 2018 at 11:45

Thanks Marv. Okay it looks like it maybe best to figure a way of getting a cable upstairs.

niroe · 26 Apr 2018 at 09:34

Got the urge to tinker with my network at home, currently running an AC88U but took delivery of my first Ubiquiti gear yesterday:

AP-AC Pro
Security Gateway
US-8-60W 8 Port Switch

So far, I haven't had chance to hook anything up yet, quite impressed with the build quality and I'm still trying to decide, do I host the controller software on AWS, dump onto a Pi or try run within docker on my NAS - leaning towards AWS atm.

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