New Network

[CBers 6771]

@@Sammy, unless you're already sold on the Ubiquiti hardware, it might be worth totting up the prices and see if you can do it cheaper.

 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Ubiquiti, apart from the price.

 

If you have a small PC with dual NICs, then you could run pfSense on it and then still use the switches you have.

 

I personally use pfSense on a PC, connected into a 24-port Netgear switch and 24-port Cicso PoE switch, for my CCTV cameras and APs.

 

Then I have a small PC running Pi-Hole, with pfSense pointed at it.

 

Just thought I'd mention a different setup.

[Sammy 735]

I'm not sold on anything yet but would need a bit more info on that. My NUC has on NIC BTW.

 

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[Guest asrequested]

And he'll still need an AP, because he won't have WiFi. And pfsense isn't as easy to use.

[Sammy 735]

Here's a thought..

 

In either case can I set my existing routers to AP Mode and use those radios for WiFi?

 

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[CBers 6771]

And he'll still need an AP, because he won't have WiFi. And pfsense isn't as easy to use.

Yes, will still need an AP.

 

pfSense isn't hard, I learnt it.

 

Google is always your friend

[Guest asrequested]

A lot of those routers can be used as APs. You'll have to check your specs.

[Sammy 735]

I know each of the 4 I have can be set to AP Mode.

 

Maybe all I need is a $60 Edge Router X and a managed switch or a pfSense router running on a NUC with a USB NIC?

 

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[Guest asrequested]

No, I don't recommend using a USB NIC. That can lead to headaches.

[Sammy 735]

Well that rules out pfSense unless I run it on my Emby Server machine with the add on NIC card I have. Will this machine still function as it normally does running pfSense or the Ubiquiti Controller for that matter?

 

I'm really leaning towards the $60 Edge Router X and setting my existing routers to AP mode, do I even need a managed switch with the Ubiquiti Router? 

[Guest asrequested]

pfsense is an OS. Whatever you install it on, that will be it's only function. The Unifi controller is an app, that you install on your computer. Unless you use a cloudkey. You're over thinking this a bit. You don't want to make it hard to manage/troubleshoot.

 

Your idea doesn't sound too bad.

[BAlGaInTl 279]

What about the Ubiquiti Edge Router X?

 

That router is very highly rated for the cost.  I would already have one, but my Google WiFi loses the mesh capability behind another router (which I want).

 

Here's a thought..

 

In either case can I set my existing routers to AP Mode and use those radios for WiFi?

 

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You can do that with most routers, but it won't be "mesh".  I had a setup like this and using APs can be a pain if you are moving around.  A device tries to hold on to one AP too long, and you find yourself having to manually connect to a different AP to get a good signal.  

 

It works better for things that are just static.

 

I bought my 3 Google OnHubs for around $60 ea and the coverage is fantastic.... eliminated that issue.

[Sammy 735]

Does ubiquiti work as a mesh system? This is to mainly serve the Ring and Rachio on the fringes. There's a ShieldTV in the dining room on WiFi too BTW. These are all static in their physical location. Signal is fine for phone use in these locations now as it is.

 

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[Guest asrequested]

Does ubiquiti work as a mesh system? This is to mainly serve the Ring and Rachio on the fringes. There's a ShieldTV in the dining room on WiFi too BTW. These are all static in their physical location. Signal is fine for phone use in these locations now as it is.

 

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Yes

[Guest asrequested]

Do yourself a favor. Get a USG and Unifi AP.

[Spaceboy 2493]

I have 2 UniFi aps and have the controller running 24/7 on an nuc as one of a number if services. The aps hand off to each other as I move around the house, I’ve never really looked into any other system so not quite sure what is meant by mesh.

 

Also run pfsense as my router. It’s not complicated at all

Edited January 8, 2020 by Spaceboy

[Sammy 735]

I have 2 UniFi aps and have the controller running 24/7 on an nuc as one of a number if services. The aps hand off to each other as I move around the house, I’ve never really looked into any other system so not quite sure what is meant by mesh.

 

Also run pfsense as my router. It’s not complicated at all

So is pfSense open source? Subscription? You use it as the router and UniFi AP's mix n match? I need to read some more about this..

 

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[Guest asrequested]

Yeah, there's a community release of pfsense that you can get for free. The installation is easy. I went a little OTT with mine

[BAlGaInTl 279]

I have 2 UniFi aps and have the controller running 24/7 on an nuc as one of a number if services. The aps hand off to each other as I move around the house, I’ve never really looked into any other system so not quite sure what is meant by mesh.

 

Also run pfsense as my router. It’s not complicated at all

 

Pretty sure most professional/prosumer APs do mesh.  I know the UniFi APs do.

 

It wasn't that common in consumer level gear until relatively recently.

 

In a mesh system, the APs work together as a single WiFi network.  They connect and interact with each other to determine how to provide the best signal to a device on the network (i.e., which node it should be connected to).  

 

When you are just running extenders or dumb APs, each one is it's own WiFi network.  So if you move from one room that has an AP (node 0) to another that has an AP (node 1), it's likely that your device will stay connected to node 0 even though node 1 is now providing a much stronger signal.

 

I got around this most of the time by quickly turning off/on WiFi on a device, or just naming my APs differently so that I could manually connect to the one I wanted.  I probably cover 4-5k sq ft with my network.  

[BAlGaInTl 279]

Do yourself a favor. Get a USG and Unifi AP.

 

Personally, I'm waiting for WiFi 6 before I make that investment.  I can get by on my current system until then.

[Sammy 735]

Personally, I'm waiting for WiFi 6 before I make that investment. I can get by on my current system until then.

A couple of things here. Is ubiquiti coming out with Wi-Fi 6 soon? How many of my devices use Wi-Fi 6 right now? IDK but it's probably really small.

 

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[BAlGaInTl 279]

A couple of things here. Is ubiquiti coming out with Wi-Fi 6 soon? How many of my devices use Wi-Fi 6 right now? IDK but it's probably really small.

 

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Our situations may be different, so it may not make sense for you to wait.  I already have a decent mesh in place.  If I didn't I would probably go with prosumer gear that's available now.

 

Ubiquiti is coming out with WiFi 6 devices, but I don't know if they've announced anything for the UniFi APs yet.  

 

It's likely that none of your devices are using WiFi 6 yet.  Pretty sure that devices that support it are just coming out. It won't be widely available for a couple of years I'm guessing.  I'm sort of following CES at the moment, and several of the devices being shown off there support it.

[Sammy 735]

Update..

 

The USG and 8Port 60Watt Switch are here. UAP AC Pro comes tomorrow.

 

I won't have the time to set it up until next week though. UGH.

[CBers 6771]

Update..

 

The USG and 8Port 60Watt Switch are here. UAP AC Pro comes tomorrow.

 

I won't have the time to set it up until next week though. UGH.

You succumbed to getting Unifi kit then.

 

Good luck

[Sammy 735]

You succumbed to getting Unifi kit then.

 

Good luck

I did when Amazon Warehouse tossed me Used Like New for $95 on the USG. It said no manual. I'm like, "So?!"

 

It shipped looking brand new with the quick start guide which is probably all a new one has. The manual is on line anyhow.

 

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Edited January 20, 2020 by Sammy

[Sammy 735]

It's always slow go for me on these sorts of things as I need to keep the internet up while I switch over meaning I have to work on it in the off hours but get some sleep as I'm not a machine like Luke and Eric..

 

At any rate, I got everything set up, including a smooth upgrade from Win 7 to Win 10 on my NUC, using the same activation key for success which slightly surprised me. I was working without connecting the USG to the WAN on the Modem until I could not any longer so I moved all the equipment from the dining to the office.

 

Yesterday I connected the USG to the Modem and updated the Switch and AP f/w. Today I wanted to change the DHCP server from 192.168.1.1 and the pool from 192.168.1.2 ~ 254 to 10.0.0.1 and 10.0.0.100~254 respectively. I logged into the USG back end at 192.168.1.1 and changed the server and pool as desired and hit save. A link came up to log into the USG at the new address. I clicked the link and.. nothing.. going to localhost:port for the USG it shows that the USG is not connected but the Switch and AP are. I rebooted the USG, still nothing.

 

Do I need to reset the USG and log into 192.168.1.1 and make the changes before adopting it into the controller? No biggie to start over as I really haven't gone any farther than this anyhow.