*** Official Ubiquiti Discussion Thread ***

[the-evaluator]

Don’t use the SFP+ port unless you’re plugging it into a 10GbE SFP+ port because you’ll need to tell it whether it’s 1Gbps or 10Gbps and you can’t do that until you’ve got the UDM Pro up and running on the controller.

Good point - I forgot about that.

 

[WJA96]

And actually, it needs to be connected to the ONT to set it up. So you will inevitably have some network downtime.

 

[the-evaluator]

And actually, it needs to be connected to the ONT to set it up. So you will inevitably have some network downtime.

You could do it with the WAN port of the UDM connected to a switch port but yeah, may as well just go straight to connecting it to the ONT.

 

[blairw]

Yeah my network is pretty simple so I might just start again with the UDM as a base... will do it when any downtime won't irritate the wife! Thanks folks

 

[steinooo]

why don't Dream Machines ever pop up on the for sale forum here !! (edit: boo no Christmas smileys yet)

 

[WJA96]

why don't Dream Machines ever pop up on the for sale forum here !! (edit: boo no Christmas smileys yet)

Because friends don’t let friends buy Dream Machine Pro’s. There was one for sale in MM just after launch, when they were still very rare and no-one bought it. It sold for a decent premium on eBay in the end I believe.

 

[blairw]

Yep - all sorted and set up! I get some of the UDM Pro hate but I think it's going to do what I need pretty well, and if I do want to swap out to the next best thing then hopefully I don't lose too much on it! After all, this is all pretty overkill for a home network! Though I suspect I will be changing out my AC LR's to the Wifi 6 APs once they are out of early access

 

[WJA96]

I think there are several issues with the UDM Pro that really just don’t “work” in terms of concept.

If you accept that the base UDM will run at 1Gbps with all the features turned on and it’s got a proper 4-port switch and it’s got a 4x4 Wave2 access point built in then you’d start off from why would anyone at home want anything more?

And then you look at the UDM Pro and it’s got the same controller limitations as the UDM (so one site, one UDM Pro, can’t be managed from another controller) and it’s “switched ports” are actually bridged/routed so if you use them for switching it crucifies the throughput on the device then it (currently) has three selling points. Firstly, it can run at line speeds up to 3.5Gbps with all features enabled. Which is great, but slightly pointless when we’re all just getting 900/150 connections. It has the built-in single hard drive to run UniFi Protect. Which again is great, but it locks you into UBNTs cameras and it’s hellaciously expensive. And finally, it’s 19” rack mountable. So long as those features appeal to you then it’s (currently) the right device for you.

But then you look at the UXG Pro and it already has software features that the UDM Pro doesn’t and they’ve ditched all the bells and whistles on the hardware for a straightforward fast as four-x router. And most folks are saying that’s the device they really want. So I think you’ll see the UDM Pro go end of sales (not necessarily EoL) early next year.

 

[platypus]

Not checked on unifi as some devices just have a simple management option to enable ping, if not you can create a firewall rule on the wan interface to allow icmp echo-reply, if it’s just your fibre company then you could also limit to their source addresses, just ask for the ip or range that will be pinging you.

Ah limiting the IP range is a great idea.

 

[platypus]

Create a firewall rule in the 'WAN LOCAL' section. This is mine:
If you want to limit it a specific IP or IP range then add that into the source section.

Cheers, I was expecting a slider button to allow it for some reason!

 

[DragonQ]

My home router is on its last legs so I need a replacement. I'm not sure I'll go with an all-in-one modem/router again since there seems to be less support out there for them, plus any new technologies would require a separate modem anyway (e.g. my current router doesn't support G-Fast). I've heard good things about Ubiquiti but I just went to their website's "products" section and it just lists like 100 products. How am I supposed to know what I want? Do they not have a product chooser page?

 

[WJA96]

My home router is on its last legs so I need a replacement. I'm not sure I'll go with an all-in-one modem/router again since there seems to be less support out there for them, plus any new technologies would require a separate modem anyway (e.g. my current router doesn't support G-Fast). I've heard good things about Ubiquiti but I just went to their website's "products" section and it just lists like 100 products. How am I supposed to know what I want? Do they not have a product chooser page?

No, they’re generally not retail products. Most of them are targeted at Small and Medium businesses where they have an IT person or an IT consultant. They do have a consumer product range - Amplifi but I wouldn’t go down that route.

If you have G.fast then you’ll still need a G.fast modem to use any ‘cable’ router which is what the Ubiquiti products are targeted at.

It’s also important (and I think you’ve done this) is to get yourself educated about what’s in that ‘router’. So it’s the modem, the router, the switch and the access point. Do you want these all separate or do you want an all-in-one unit?

So for a complete UniFi separates system you’d want a G.fast modem from Openreach, a router (UniFi Security Gateway or USG), a switch (they make a wide range) and an appropriate access point. Or the all-in-one solution is the UniFi Dream Machine which is a router, switch and access point all in one. You will still need a G.fast modem though.

And it’s REALLY important to be realistic about what the UniFi access points can do. There are legal requirements for the radio in them and they can’t defeat the laws of physics. What they do allow is to add more access points easily so you can get the WiFi to more areas really, really, easily.

You’re doing the right things. Doing your homework, asking questions. But no, they don’t make it easy for you.

 

[the-evaluator]

The routers they have are USG, USG-Pro, UDM & UDM-Pro. I'd avoid the USG and USG-Pro, they're EOL devices.

The UDM is a very good product - router, 4 port switch & access point in a single package. The UDM-Pro is a pig and best avoided, I expect it to go EOL fairly soon.

What internet connection do you have?

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Do you need a g-fast capable modem? If you haven’t got it already then I doubt you’ll ever get it. FTTP is the only thing being fitted these days.

To be honest, I would just moan at your ISP and get them to send you a new one for £10. If you don’t know what your looking at, just stick to consumer grade modems and routers.

If you want to improve your WiFi coverage then we could recommend a few access points that will do the job. But as far as the actual modem and router goes, the ISP supplies ones are more than fine for a home network.

 

[WJA96]

I'd avoid the USG and USG-Pro, they're EOL devices.

They're actually current products, they're just not on the 'new' development pathway. So they're based on Vyatta rather than the new UBiOS firmware. They are not being developed for but they are still the current (and only) options if you want a standalone Unifi router. The UDM and UDM Pro are combination devices. And even when the UXG goes General Access in the near future the USG lines will still be the entry level routers because there is no UXG lite in the roadmap at the moment.

 

[DragonQ]

Thanks for the replies. I have two problems I'd like to overcome. Firstly, my router just stops working every now and then for no apparent reason and needs resetting without the VDSL cable plugged in (resetting it with the cable plugged it leaves it broken). Hence I'd like to replace it. Secondly, the top floor of my house has slightly flaky WiFi. It's fine on our phones but poor on our Minix U9-H media box. I have a spare Ethernet port on the middle floor which could be a good location for a WiFi AP that would have a better signal for the top floor. I don't see any WiFi 6 APs on Ubiquiti's website though, and it seems silly to buy an AP now that doesn't support WiFi 6.

As I said before, I am fine with using a separate modem (I own lots of VDSL2+ ones) so I don't need a VDSL2+ capable router. I already have a separate 24-port switch connected up to several wall ports in the house. So I'd only be using a new router for the routing and WiFi AP features. I suppose I could even separate those but I'm not sure it's worth it to do so given routers without APs don't really exist in the consumer space. I have a spare 1U of space in my wall rack under the stairs, so yeah I could splash out on an enterprise grade wired-only 1U router...but is there any real point?

 

[b0rn2sk8]

No, there is no point. To fix your issue I would do two things.

Firstly I would moan at your ISP and get them to send you a new router.

The second thing I would do is disable the WiFi on that new router and replace it with a couple of access points. Your right it does seem silly to invest a load of money right now on WiFi 5 kit when WiFi 6 is becoming the norm. If you really want Ubiquiti you could buy a few used WiFi 5 AP and replace them with 6 down the line and not lose much of any money. Or wait for WiFi 6 APs to become available. Or go with another brand.

I would do 2 access points in a 3 story house, one on the ground floor and one on the top floor, ideally on the landing ceiling. Failing that if you can’t get one up there, that first floor option you mentioned will be okay.

 

[WJA96]

The WiFi6 Access points have just been launched, so don't buy them for at least 3-6 months! I'm being slightly facetious as they are quite solid (I've been beta testing them) and they are decent launch products. That said, for £55+VAT you can buy an AP-AC-Lite that you could mount somewhere and it will probably get you the extra coverage you're looking for. And there are plenty of people who will want that in a year's time when you buy the £200 access point that's WiFi6 4x4 enabled. Resale is generally excellent on Unifi whereas no-one really wants an old ASUS or TP-Link router.

Whether you want to buy a 1U router is a decision only you can make but none of the Ubquiti equipment is truly Enterprise grade. They're SME stuff and they'll pass traffic and they'll do all the basic routing stuff but they're not Enterprise grade. They are really solid if you want the basics. VPN and Multi-WAN are the real weaknesses.

 

[DragonQ]

I generally steer clear of ISP routers. Very limited options, bad UIs, and most importantly do not handle more than a few devices well in my experience.

I notice they have an EdgeRouter range and the EdgeRouter X is very affordable and capable, particularly with hardware offloading. I know this would disable some features (e.g. QoS) but I don't think I need any of them. It wouldn't be able to handle a Gigabit connection but I bet it'll be years before I get access to that where I live! Any thoughts on the EdgeRouter series?

 

[neil_g]

Edge series has been solid for me. Running a 6P as my router, also got es48 and a couple of erx running as mini managed switches.

There was a performance bug in the v2 firmware but that seems to have now been successfully patched.

Bit more power user than the unifi range, more is done through cli etc. Unms centralised management I'm not a massive fan of.