4 ms·

Ok I'll sound like such an amateur, but that's one nice router. Probably the nicest one I've ever seen. I hope it's a commercial success. Unifi/Amplifi makes g

by cmer 7y ago

Ok I'll sound like such an amateur, but that's one nice router. Probably the nicest one I've ever seen. I hope it's a commercial success. Unifi/Amplifi makes good hardware.

gouggoug 7y ago
Since you mention Unify, I've come to absolutely despise the Unifi (from Ubiquity) wifi routers and avoids them at all cost, here's why: In order to set them up, you need to download a terribly confusing software (the "Unify controller") that has never worked well on my mac os machines. Said software then needs to "adopt" the wifi routers you want to configure. The configuration is then saved onto your computer (as opposed to "applied" to the wifi router). This means, you can not easily manage your access points from any computer. You need to set up a permanent machine to host the configuration, or, you need to somehow move the configuration from computer to computer. To add insult to injury, if like me you happen to loose the configuration files, "re-adopting" the access point will force you to take your router offline, which is less than amazing for an enterprise product that an entire office depends on to get work done. Once you've gone through the hoops of download, installing, debugging the proprietary software, you have to deal with its utterly confusing UI.
- zamadatix 7y ago
  I think unifi is meant to be managed via cloud/cloud key. They also have the dream machine which is an all in one for smaller deployments.
  - gouggoug 7y ago
    A few years back, they did not offer the cloud solution and only offered that "controller" software. I haven't tried their cloud solution, but it's in my opinion not ideal to depend on a cloud solution to configure my internet access.
    - zamadatix 7y ago
      That's what cloud key is for.
    - cafxx 7y ago
      Your previous message used the present tense ("avoids") though. Also it looks like their "cloud solution" is not really (public-)cloud based at all, it looks like a standalone piece of metal: https://unifi-protect.ui.com/cloud-key-gen2 https://unifi-protect.ui.com/cloud-key-gen2
      - zamadatix 7y ago
        unifi cloud is public cloud. Unifi cloud key is an on prem/hybrid version.
      - gouggoug 7y ago
        Haa, the nitpicks, let me be more explicit: through my past (and current, because I still own those routers) experience with Unify, I've come to avoiding them, because of [everything I explained]. I'm glad they offer an on-premise hardware turn-key solution (it wasn't available in the past). Now, see my other commment[0]: I understand that my user experience might very well be due to Unify not being ideal for my use case. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21589894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21589894
  - behexen 7y ago
    I had a terrible experience with the first version of the cloud key. Any time it lost power it would be corrupted and I had to go through the whole ordeal to restore a backup and re-adopt all the APs. A new version of the cloud key is out with a battery, so that would seem to solve the problem. However, like all unifi hardware, it's not cheap. My current solution, which I am very happy with, is running the controller software in a Docker container on a $5/month vps. It's lightweight enough that it does not use enough resources to affect the other things I had on the vps.
- blacksmith_tb 7y ago
  They don't require a controller, though - I have a Unifi AP at home, it can be managed from an app on my phone, zero setup needed. But having a controller means being able to push configuration changes to multiple devices at once etc. (which I don't need in a small house, but would be handy in an office). I also have a Mikrotik router, which is not 'friendly' compared to consumer routers, but can certainly do a lot more.
- DominoTree 7y ago
  The intent is that you'll host their software somewhere on your network as a service, rather than running it from your laptop. They have cloud-based offerings or dedicated management hardware you can also use if you don't have a system to run UniFi on. These are managed devices and you can't really approach them as you'd approach a traditional standalone AP or router.
- walrus01 7y ago
  Respectfully, if you are having technical difficulty installing or maintaining the Unifi controller software on something like a very basic LAMP stack debian or centos virtual machine, Unifi is not the product line for you. You should go with something like Meraki.
  - gouggoug 7y ago
    It's not really a technical difficulty, aside from the fact that the unifi controller works really badly on macos. (also, I specialize in infrastructure, so the LAMP stack isn't an issue) I just find it impracticable to have to maintain a dedicated machine (or VM, or whatever it is) just to configure those routers. Now, however, I realize that this is because my current office only has about 4 of those and we're a 70 people company. I imagine it starts making a lot more sense once you start handling a few dozen of wifi routers. So I guess the overhead of using Unifi at a small company might not be worth it, but, passed a certain amount of routers I can understand the overhead is lessened.

by cmer 7y ago

Ok I'll sound like such an amateur, but that's one nice router. Probably the nicest one I've ever seen. I hope it's a commercial success. Unifi/Amplifi makes good hardware.

gouggoug 7y ago

Since you mention Unify, I've come to absolutely despise the Unifi (from Ubiquity) wifi routers and avoids them at all cost, here's why: In order to set them up, you need to download a terribly confusing software (the "Unify controller") that has never worked well on my mac os machines. Said software then needs to "adopt" the wifi routers you want to configure. The configuration is then saved onto your computer (as opposed to "applied" to the wifi router). This means, you can not easily manage your access points from any computer. You need to set up a permanent machine to host the configuration, or, you need to somehow move the configuration from computer to computer. To add insult to injury, if like me you happen to loose the configuration files, "re-adopting" the access point will force you to take your router offline, which is less than amazing for an enterprise product that an entire office depends on to get work done. Once you've gone through the hoops of download, installing, debugging the proprietary software, you have to deal with its utterly confusing UI.

zamadatix 7y ago
I think unifi is meant to be managed via cloud/cloud key. They also have the dream machine which is an all in one for smaller deployments.
- gouggoug 7y ago
  A few years back, they did not offer the cloud solution and only offered that "controller" software. I haven't tried their cloud solution, but it's in my opinion not ideal to depend on a cloud solution to configure my internet access.
  - zamadatix 7y ago
    That's what cloud key is for.
  - cafxx 7y ago
    Your previous message used the present tense ("avoids") though. Also it looks like their "cloud solution" is not really (public-)cloud based at all, it looks like a standalone piece of metal: https://unifi-protect.ui.com/cloud-key-gen2 https://unifi-protect.ui.com/cloud-key-gen2
    - zamadatix 7y ago
      unifi cloud is public cloud. Unifi cloud key is an on prem/hybrid version.
    - gouggoug 7y ago
      Haa, the nitpicks, let me be more explicit: through my past (and current, because I still own those routers) experience with Unify, I've come to avoiding them, because of [everything I explained]. I'm glad they offer an on-premise hardware turn-key solution (it wasn't available in the past). Now, see my other commment[0]: I understand that my user experience might very well be due to Unify not being ideal for my use case. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21589894 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21589894
- behexen 7y ago
  I had a terrible experience with the first version of the cloud key. Any time it lost power it would be corrupted and I had to go through the whole ordeal to restore a backup and re-adopt all the APs. A new version of the cloud key is out with a battery, so that would seem to solve the problem. However, like all unifi hardware, it's not cheap. My current solution, which I am very happy with, is running the controller software in a Docker container on a $5/month vps. It's lightweight enough that it does not use enough resources to affect the other things I had on the vps.
blacksmith_tb 7y ago
They don't require a controller, though - I have a Unifi AP at home, it can be managed from an app on my phone, zero setup needed. But having a controller means being able to push configuration changes to multiple devices at once etc. (which I don't need in a small house, but would be handy in an office). I also have a Mikrotik router, which is not 'friendly' compared to consumer routers, but can certainly do a lot more.
DominoTree 7y ago
The intent is that you'll host their software somewhere on your network as a service, rather than running it from your laptop. They have cloud-based offerings or dedicated management hardware you can also use if you don't have a system to run UniFi on. These are managed devices and you can't really approach them as you'd approach a traditional standalone AP or router.
walrus01 7y ago
Respectfully, if you are having technical difficulty installing or maintaining the Unifi controller software on something like a very basic LAMP stack debian or centos virtual machine, Unifi is not the product line for you. You should go with something like Meraki.
- gouggoug 7y ago
  It's not really a technical difficulty, aside from the fact that the unifi controller works really badly on macos. (also, I specialize in infrastructure, so the LAMP stack isn't an issue) I just find it impracticable to have to maintain a dedicated machine (or VM, or whatever it is) just to configure those routers. Now, however, I realize that this is because my current office only has about 4 of those and we're a 70 people company. I imagine it starts making a lot more sense once you start handling a few dozen of wifi routers. So I guess the overhead of using Unifi at a small company might not be worth it, but, passed a certain amount of routers I can understand the overhead is lessened.