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Ubiquiti Networks UniFi Controller in an Ubuntu LXD Machine Container
- dawnerd 10y agoRunning their controller in a container was the best move I made on my network. I went this route though: https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi/ https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi/ Already had an unraid box running so it was trivial to toss that docker image on it with all the others.
- creeble 10y agoQuick q: My understanding is that the unifi controller doesn't actually control anything actively, it just serves as UI to the APs. When my controller box goes down, I don't seem to notice any service difference with my 3 APs. Is that true?
- nikcub 10y agoIt doesn't need to be running unless you have guest portal. I recently moved my internal network to containers - forgot to move the controller and didn't even notice until weeks later.
- elahd 10y agoThis is true. You don't need a dedicated box (at least for the simple configurations that I've run). A home user would be fine installing the controller software on their laptop and only launching it when changing config settings.
- lvillani 10y agoI just run the Unifi Controller on my Mac when I need to configure something and then shut it down. AFAIK some features (e.g. WiFi captive portal, if I remember correctly) require a Controller running full-time.
- Freestyler_3 10y agoWe ran the controller in enterprise setup (100s of APs) for easy adopting of new devices and monitoring. It did add some functionality there, but for a home solution it does not need a controller at all.
- cwisecarver 10y agoThey have some hardware that runs it's management interface on the device itself. Their UniFi and USG and some of their more prosumer-ish switches and stuff require you to run the UniFi Controller, which is web-based, on a computer. Our ops guys manage our 3 UniFi APs running the UniFi Controller on their individual laptops. If they need to change configuration they fire up the UniFi Controller and hit a webpage on their localhost. The devices, once configured, run independently of the UniFi Controller. It's just needed for configuration changes or monitoring outside of snmp. (or apparently the guest portal)
- dawnerd 10y agoYeah don't need it all the time, but it's nice to have running since you can use their mobile app to make config changes without having to boot up a laptop or make sure the app is running.
- myrandomcomment 10y agoThe cloud key is $79 that they sell. It is the simplest solution by far.
- myrandomcomment 10y agoFor more colour, I have 4x AP Pro and 2 X POE switch and their gateway. The key was just logical as it can be plugged into the POE port and done. I have tried to remove having servers running at home as I am working to cut down on the power bill. I have the Intel Compute Stick on the 3 TVs that run Windows 10 and Kodi (I am to lazy to figure out how to get Linux on the stick). They sleep when not in use (well one does, have not figured the other 2 out - you would think they would behave the same). The only thing I have running all the time is my FreeNAS system and a Minecraft server (friends and family). I am thinking about replacing the Minecraft server with a compute stick also. It is currently an old dual code PC with 4GB of RAM. I am sure that the power draw it stupidly high.
- HorizonXP 10y agoDoes anyone know if you can get a stick PC in this form factor? I'd really like to deploy some software on PoE driven devices.
- rb2k_ 10y agoAlong the same route: I run the UniFi Controller using the linuxserver.io docker container: https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi/ https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi/ 2 commands to get it up and running in a semi isolated environment.
- sofaofthedamned 10y agoLinuxserver do some superb containers, including that one, they deserve a lot of thanks. From memory I use three of theirs at least (Unifi, NZBGet & Sonarr)
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ericcholis 10y agoTo clarify for anyone unfamiliar with UniFi from Ubiquiti. The controller is the GUI that allows you to adopt new UniFi devices and manage the network devices. It's cross-platform via Java. It doesn't have to run continually, as the devices themselves hold the settings. However, continual logging does require the controller to run. While the switches, Security Gateway and WiFi access points are managed; none of them actually have their own GUI. The can, however, all be accessed via SSH. The Cloud Key is a POE dongle that runs the Controller software. Nice out-of-the box, plug and play option.
- nicpottier 10y agoYep.. most annoying bit is that the Cloud Key uses 48v POE while all their APs (and the cheaper routers) only support 24v. So you can't actually run a Cloud Key off say an EdgeRouter X SFP. Annoying for sure, though if you are doing a big install you'll probably need another switch and you can just make it a POE one. Still love them though.
- emilw 10y agoThis statement is not complete, almost all new Ubiquiti PoE equipment is 802.3af compatible (48V). Older hardware is 24V only. To cross this gap they released several switches (and routers) with PoE ports which can do both (passive 24V or auto sensing 48V).
- Freestyler_3 10y agoI was going to say this, because I have handled all these different models. At first they didn't have this yet when they came out with 48v devices, but not long after they came with the hybrid switches.
- nicpottier 10y agoSorry, I should have clarified that this is for their consumer grade stuff. Yes, the pros and edu unifi's are 802 but the lite and LR are not. The prosumer edgerouters are mostly 24v as well. (what reading I've done says to stay away from the ER lite POE and get the X SFP instead but that's only 24v) Anyways, not a big deal, just pointing it out as I was bitten by this. Nothing a $50 switch didn't solve.
- totalthrowsj 10y agoYou can combine an EdgeRouter lite plus a 5GHz UniFi AP for a good BBC + Netflix streaming box. The EdgeRouter has an IPsec VPN offload https://community.ubnt.com/t5/EdgeMAX/ERL-Performance-Testing-with-IPSec-VPN/td-p/1050229 https://community.ubnt.com/t5/EdgeMAX/ERL-Performance-Testin... which I use with BlackVPN's "TV subscription" so my parents can watch HQ BBC shows. EdgeRouter firewall you can write a small script so whenever the BBC app is running it and the Chromecast2 are automatically rerouted to the UK VPN, while everything else is sent over their regular provider like Netflix. This guy also wrote a php app that manually does this https://github.com/TravisCook/Detour https://github.com/TravisCook/Detour though it's easier just to have a go app running automatically reroute the requests. The one issue I had with it was Chromecast2 not initially connecting to the 5GHz network, which is solved by creating a 2.4GHz network, setting it up, disabling that network and then creating a new 5GHz one with the exact same SSID which the Chromecast2 will automatically connect to. The UnFi AP is so powerful covering the entire apt building with a good signal I thought about setting up the guest network and dropping a card charger on there to charge unlimited WiFi Netflix and BBC access for $5/month to the neighbors as the building has a fibre ISP w/'unlimited' bandwidth.
- jimmcslim 10y agoUnfortunately your BBC access is likely to be cut off soon as I think the Beeb will be restricting iPlayer access to validated TV license holders only.
- chakalakasp 10y agoThe Great British Bakeoff ended just in time, it would seem.
- mbesto 10y agoI have a Raspberry pi that controls my Unifi Controller. Works great and here is the script to set it up: http://www.lowefamily.com.au/2016/06/02/installing-ubiquiti-unifi-controller-5-on-raspberry-pi/ http://www.lowefamily.com.au/2016/06/02/installing-ubiquiti-...
- chrissnell 10y agoDoes anybody know if it's possible to pull a running configuration from a working AP back to a fresh Controller install? I configured the APs here at the house with a laptop running UniFi that has since been decommissioned. Now that I've installed UniFi on the new laptop, it seems I have to re-adopt the APs to the new controller and start from scratch with their configuration. This is a huge pain. Is there any way around this?
- graton 10y agoI know that if you SSH into the access point there is a file in /tmp/system.cfg with the configuration. I had to use this myself to get what were my old settings when I did an upgrade of my Synology docker container and seemed to lose my settings.
- creeble 10y agoUg, old thread now, but I've got the same problem. Is the ssh password the same as the old UniFi password I wonder? I guess I'll try that.
- graton 10y agoYes, same username and password as whatever is used to login to the controller software. At least it is for me. I only have one user setup for the Unifi Controller.
- zippergz 10y agoI ran the controller on my own machines, for a while in AWS and for a while in my closet, for a few years. It's fine. But I've been happier since I switched to the Cloud Key. The functionality is the same, but I find the maintenance (upgrades, etc.) a fair bit easier, and it gives me more freedom in choosing to run or not run the servers and instances that I had the controller software on (I do like having the controller running all the time). I guarantee that I've spent more than $80 worth of my time maintaining the Linux system and controller running on it over the years. With the Cloud Key, I've never had to mess around more than clicking the "upgrade" button.
- fpgaminer 10y agoYeah, I brought up a UAP-AC-Pro+ERLite3 network both at my office and my home. The first time I did that setup I spent maybe an hour learning about the ERLite3 and configuring it, and then proceeded to spin my wheels for two hours trying to get the UniFi Controller working under Linux. I just gave up and ran it on a Windows machine. The second time I brought the EdgeRouter online in 5 minutes, and then proceeded to spend another two hours of my life trying to get the UniFi Controller running in a container using a pre-built Docker image. No go. By the end it would see the AP and begin configuration, but then lose it halfway through. Had to use it on my Windows VM instead, where it worked first try. This Ubiquity based setup has been the most stable network I've had at my home in all my years, even when used in RF-crowded environments. But the UniFi Controller is the biggest downside for someone like me who just wants to throw up a network.
- hedora 10y agoI was also bummed about having to install the controller, so I double checked apple's app store. There's an official, but defeatured app that was still overkill for my home network. I think bootstrapping only worked because I was replacing an existing access point, and had IP access to the ubiquiti via etherenet through the old one, but I didn't rtfm, and connecting via wifi to a non-setup access point seems like an obvious feature to include. Zero issues connecting to the access point directly now that it is setup.
- praseodym 10y agoJust this weekend I created a Docker image to run the UniFi Controller on my Raspberry Pi. Works like a charm: https://github.com/praseodym/docker-unifi-armhf https://github.com/praseodym/docker-unifi-armhf
- nicolas314 10y agoThe Unifi controller is largely overkill when you just have one AP to manage. Booting up 200 megs of Java software on a desktop to just tweak a few bits quickly became old. Re-flashed my Unifi AC Lite with LEDE and configured it through Luci. I can happily forget about Unifi controller and maintaining a live Java stack on a desktop.
- L_Rahman 10y agoIs there a particular reason you were running the controller regularly with just one AP? I used the controller once to setup my AP and haven't touched it since.
- dawnerd 10y agoYou can also use their mobile app for just one AP. You scan the little qr code and setup goes from there.
- nicolas314 10y agoWiFi networks need to be configured every now and then, e.g. to set up a guest WiFi, change the password, change the channel to a less crowded space, or activate MAC-filtering to kick my neighbours out. With LEDE I can do all of that with a straight ssh. No way I will maintain Java alive on my Mac just for this. The tipping point for me was a bug in the Ubiquiti firmware, I systematically had to boot the AP twice to get it working. LEDE is perfectly stable.
- AlexandrB 10y agoI run mine on a Raspberry Pi 2 using Arch Linux which has a native package for UniFi [1]. Pretty cheap and hassle-free. [1] https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/any/unifi/ https://www.archlinux.org/packages/community/any/unifi/
- jagermo 10y agoI might try this, i still have a few pies lying around. Do you need the power of a Pi 2 or do you think an earlier model might be enough. Small home network, 2 APs, no fancy stuff (so far...)
- mbrock 10y agoIf you're interested in WiFi access points beyond the consumer level but still affordable, check out Mikrotik. It's a Latvian company that makes really cool stuff. Their cheapest dual band ac access point is around $40, very small and nicely designed, PoE in and out, and works together with their ecosystem of access points and routers. They are almost endlessly customizable through ssh, a web interface, or a Win32 program (supported on Wine). I only got my first Mikrotik a few days ago but I love it so far. Haven't yet actually connected it to another one so I can't really comment on using several access points.
- jtl999 10y agoI have a CRS125-24G-1S-RM switch and love it.
- graton 10y ago+1 on this switch. I have two of them in my home network and very happy with then, now that they are setup. Configuring them initially was kind of a pain when I was setting up the VLANs. But I got it figured out on a Saturday and now it runs like a champ :)
- jlgaddis 10y agoAny idea if Mikrotik still makes you pay $40 or so for the GPL sources and then waits to send them to you on CD until several months later?
- graton 10y agoOne issue for me is that they didn't seem to have any "nice looking" access points. I like the Unifi ones as they look pretty nice mounted on the ceiling. I took another glance at the Mikrotik site and I see they have an 802.11b/g/n ceiling mount access point, and I wanted 802.11ac. I have a Mikrotik switch that I am very happy with though.
- daurnimator 10y agoWhat about the wap-ac? https://routerboard.com/RBwAPG-5HacT2HnD https://routerboard.com/RBwAPG-5HacT2HnD
- mrbill 10y agoFYI, there's also an iOS/Android app that you can use for one-off simple setup of their APs now. I used it when setting up my UAP-AC-LR. Years ago, I got fed up with the Java-based controller as well, and reflashed my UAP-LR at the time with plain OpenWRT so it was all self-contained. Still one of the best APs I've ever used.
- jimmcslim 10y agoAlso see [1] for a techie field report on Ubiquiti in the home. [1] https://www.troyhunt.com/ubiquiti-all-the-things-how-i-finally-fixed-my-dodgy-wifi/ https://www.troyhunt.com/ubiquiti-all-the-things-how-i-final...