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As a former Ubiquiti employee, I'm sad to watch the slow decline of the company. There was a steady exodus of engineering talent through 2020. The CEO was focus
by ex_ubiquiti 6y ago
As a former Ubiquiti employee, I'm sad to watch the slow decline of the company. There was a steady exodus of engineering talent through 2020. The CEO was focused on moving to countries where engineering was cheaper and employees complained less about constant crunch mode. If you search around, you can find interviews where he brags about closing the San Jose office because he thought everyone there was too entitled.
The saddest part is that we had many good engineers who could have continued to do amazing things with the UniFi momentum. So much time was wasted on dead end products like FrontRow. Most everyone I know left for jobs where we were treated better and paid more.
- judge2020 6y agoHave suggestions for an alternative? Most web UIs are garbage but the Ubiquiti one looks fine, even if it is cloud based.
- giobox 6y agoSecond this. I'm no great expert in this area but have greatly enjoyed using Ubiquiti gear for my home the past few years. If there is something else that offers a comparable experience at similar price point would be great to know. The Unifi Controller software has been some of the nicest I've used in a domestic setting.
- asciident 6y agoStrange, I found the Unifi Controller web UI to be really poorly architected. 1) You start a .app that sits for a few seconds then requires you to launch the browser by clicking a button. While using the browser, you can't close the extra window for the controller. 2) On the browser, you go to a localhost website that has an invalid TLS certificate (you can a "Not Secure" warning) and have to click through to the unsafe website (and it's still like that in my current Unifi version). 3) The login page doesn't let you use the Chrome password manager, so you have to type it all in each time to access a local program. 4) In the web UI, the icons are not intuitive, and some combination of circles and rounded rectangles. 5) The new UI makes it seem like you can configure things that can't actually be configured outside your router. 6) Speaking of your router, Ubiquity's own EdgeRouter routers aren't supported in the Controller UI. They require a completely different interface. In case anyone thinks the problem with the certificate is something to do with my own setup, it's not. It's a universal problem [https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/212500127-UniFi-SSL-Certificate-Error https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/212500127-UniFi-SSL-Ce...]
- tfvlrue 6y agoI'm not sure it's fair to fault the Unifi software for using a self-signed SSL certificate. I think the only theoretical security risk here would be that Ubiquiti could decrypt the traffic between you and your Unifi controller, if they could somehow obtain it. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.) Ultimately, if you don't trust the certificate it comes with, it's not too difficult to replace it with one of your own (in fact, the page you linked explains how). I haven't had the password manager issue you describe. KeepassXC in Chrome and Firefox both fill out my credentials successfully on the login page. I totally agree about the UX of the web application though. It feels like over time, options have become more and more hidden and the icons more cryptic.
- m0dest 6y agoI think it's fair for few reasons: - Without a valid SSL certificate, there's no way to tell whether you're actually visiting your UniFi controller or a honeypot. Ubiquiti isn't the risk here. - UniFi features that depend on WebSocket and WebRTC are unavailable when using self-signed certificates. This includes live stats updating, device terminal, airView, etc. (Those features can be used in the cloud UI... if your Internet connection happens to be working fine.) - Valid SSL certificates would be easy to auto-provision these days with LetsEncrypt. There are some minor challenges around port forwarding / relay, but that isn't rocket science. If Plex can figure it out, Ubiquiti can figure it out :)
- fomine3 6y agoEnabling non self-signed TLS certificate on IoT devices looks like easy task but actually it has difficulty. Especially router is hard because it bootstrap WAN connection.
- fomine3 6y agoTo be fair, there is no (or very few) practical solution other than to use self-signed certificate. https://lwn.net/Articles/837491/ https://lwn.net/Articles/837491/
- 6y ago
- darkfiremp3 6y agoIts not the most pretty thing, but has a lot of features I wanted in Unifi; Ruckus has a version of firmware you can load on their APs called Unleashed. It turns one of the APs into the controller, then you can manage all of them from there.
- paxswill 6y agoYou can run the controller software locally [0]; I use Unifi switches and APs, but use pfSense for routing/firewall. After getting a look at what Unifi offers for that with a Dream Machine, I'm pretty happy with my choice.
- MisterTea 6y agoI run the webcrap in a docker in a VM: https://hub.docker.com/r/jacobalberty/unifi/ https://hub.docker.com/r/jacobalberty/unifi/
- labas 6y agoCheck out latest Teltonika's products. They are made for industrial customers mostly, but UI (on top of openwrt) is the best I've seen. Here's a review: https://seabits.com/teltonika-rutx11-lte-router/ https://seabits.com/teltonika-rutx11-lte-router/
- hindsightbias 6y agoAny idea what it would cost to develop a completely open source router?
- Jonnax 6y agopfsense and opnsense are BSD based routers. openwrt is based on Linux
- rejberg 6y agoI'm unsure if you're referring to open-source software or hardware, but for software pfSense [1] and OpenWrt [2] are both popular open-source routers. [1] https://www.pfsense.org/ https://www.pfsense.org/ [2] https://openwrt.org/ https://openwrt.org/
- BostonEnginerd 6y agoThe Turris Omnia is an OpenWRT based open source option.
- globular-toast 6y agoAny running Linux kernel is a router. You just have to know how to configure it. Of course, you might be expecting a lot more than just a router, ie. DHCP, DNS, traffic shaping etc. It's all available in most distros.
- atkbrah 6y agoBuy a small PC with lots of network ports and install VyOs [1] on it. If I recall correctly, Ubiquiti's EdgeOS is based on VyOs. 1. https://vyos.io/ https://vyos.io/
- andrewnicolalde 6y agoCan I ask what networking gear you run at home these days?
- twblalock 6y agoI bought a Unifi Dream Machine last year because it was an all-in-one device that seemed like the simplest way to have multiple VLANs on my home network, in order to segregate my IoT devices and security system from the rest of my home network. At the time, I didn't see any similar products. Are there any other "prosumer"-type devices on the market that could replace a Dream Machine? If Unifi is going downhill it doesn't seem like I'll be going with them for a replacement.
- JamesBrooks 6y agoSomething from Mikrotik, perhaps a hAP AC2? I'm a big fan of RouterOS for a home/prosumer use-case (I used a hEX myself)
- enlightens 6y agoI think Mikrotik would be great as well. I'm currently running a RB2011UiAS-2HnD-IN and a RBcAPGi-5acD2nD-US (the cAP ac).
- floatboth 6y agoIf you only need to VLAN-tag the 4 ports on that one device, you can do it with like… about literally anything? e.g. an Archer C1750 with OpenWRT does that easily. The benefit of UniFi is that you can centrally control a bunch of switches. It's definitely overkill and overpriced if you just want an all-in-one.
- tonymet 6y ago> brags about closing the San Jose office because he thought everyone there was too entitled. He's not wrong
- stretchcat 6y agoWhat do you mean? What was going on at Ubiquity?
- zeeg 6y agoI think he's implying people in Silicon Valley are often entitled, and he's not wrong. Which is pretty hard to disagree with.
- rhexs 6y agoAppreciate this. I’ve been recommending Ubiquiti to family and friends for a while and have noticed the decrease in quality and features recently. Not sure where to go next, but it probably won’t be Ubiquiti.
- logbiscuitswave 6y agoI’m not sure how it is that they still don’t have a hardware update to the USG3P that can enable both IPS and DPI without throttling network speeds to sub-80Mbps speeds. It’s been years now. I’m a big fan of the ecosystem and I’ve recommended it to many people but I’m constantly astonished by the slow pace of hardware updates.
- Sottilde 6y agoUDM Pro can do it. But there is no standalone security gateway that can do gigabit.
- uncanneyvalley 6y agoUDM Pro can do it, but can't do dual NICs yet. Still.
- logbiscuitswave 6y agoThe USG3P can do gigabit (I get very close to gigabit speeds in internet speed tests - ~950/950) but I can’t use IPS/IDS without severe performance penalties. It basically becomes a fancy router with little in the way of actual “security” besides its basic firewall functionality. I am aware of the UDM Pro and USG Pro but those things are expensive 1U monsters. Maybe fine for SMB use but this is for home use and I’m very space constrained. If Ubiquiti made a small footprint security gateway with some modern hardware (the USG3P is some 8 years old at this point!) I’d buy it in an instant.
- tallanvor 6y agoI guess you're more waiting for the XSG-Pro, which was announced at least a year ago but hasn't materialized yet. I'm guessing that the UDM and UDM-Pro are meeting the needs for most customers, although obviously they're not the right fit for everyone.
- remote_phone 6y agoUXG-Pro is the successor to the USG. It’s available in the EA store. I was tempted to get it but it’s $500 so I’ll wait for it to go GA.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- 29athrowaway 6y agoNothing worse than working for a shitlord. I hope things are better now.
- pupdogg 6y agoAs someone who uses Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 APs very often as a part of wireless bridging solution for our own products, I was wondering what is happening with Ubiquiti. I have close colleague in Taiwan and he was so excited to inform me that he’s now working for Ubiquiti. I was sorta shocked because I thought Ubiquiti was a US based R&D team. When it first started, I remember watching the video of all the awesome engineers that left Cisco to start this new revolution. It’s sad to hear how the company is now being driven into the ground (merely for profits over innovation). I always thought that Ubiquiti would champion something in the 5G realm that would give US an edge over everyone else.
- tekproxy 6y agoInnovation leads to profits, imho. "Short term profits" is the killer in most cases.
- pupdogg 6y agoYes of course, but there also comes a time at such companies that have experienced exponential growth (primarily attributed to innovation) that the innovation curve reaches a plateau and the focus shifts to brining in the next hot CEO to deliver profits and profits only by reducing overhead and increasing market share. At this point, any innovation and employee morale goes running out the door.
- gonzo 6y ago> If you search around, you can find interviews where he brags about closing the San Jose office because he thought everyone there was too entitled. Robert Pera (the CEO) got his start in the industry in San Jose.
- dehrmann 6y agoThe product lineup has also gotten pretty scatter-shot. What is Ubiquiti doing selling solar panels?!
- tallanvor 6y agoI can't see that they're actually selling solar panels. What I do see is them selling a specialized switch that is powered by solar panels and a battery that can then be used to power remote devices in locations where they would otherwise need to run power lines. It's not traditional networking gear, sure, but I can certainly see the play they're making, so I wouldn't call this a scatter-shot approach.
- aksss 6y agoThey did sell solar panels but the product line was mostly killed. Product number SM-SP-260W-DC-US. You can find a legacy datasheet for the product family still. But I think this is an example of them having an ideas they only end up abandoning. They are now selling an access control solution, but would you trust them to be standing behind this in 5 years? Enough to deploy it to a customer building? Not me. Attractive for the hobbyist perhaps.
- aksss 6y agoI think some of their seemingly wackier stuff makes marginally more sense when you think of them trying to outfit their WISP customers - having solar to power stuff on your rohn tower, manage it all from one pane of glass, that kind of thing. They had a whole line of managed power products (since abandoned) for several years aimed at this crowd.
- degif 6y agoI'm a developer from one of the cheaper engineering countries to where Ubiquiti has moved to. I'm not sure what are you implying with your comment and I hope it's not "the company is declining because the company moved talent to countries where developers are cheaper". I do personally have friends working there and they are top class developers. Living costs don't necessarily correlate with talent levels. That said I don't hear the best about the company (long working hours, not the highest pay) and have declined a job offer there myself.
- tda 6y agoMaybe there is no causality, but quality is definitely declining, and the company focus is shifting from making enthusiast hardware to extracting profit at all costs. The fiasco with the UDM firmware, releasing more incompatible PoE products (I think they use every possible variation of the standard now), passive/active, 24v/48v). And discontinuing stand alone video software just to force everyone on new hardware? Almost forgot, but just last month my wife started complaining about the WiFi, turned out the latest firmware that was pushed to my UAP's is horrible. You have to turn off auto update and check reddit before upgrading firmware, what a joke!
- smokey_circles 6y ago> Living costs don't necessarily correlate with talent levels. As someone who lives in a low cost country: rubbish. There's a reason we're a lower cost. 1. We have a lower standard of education 2. We have a higher cost of technology (relative to average income) 3. We have a lower need for the luxury market where most technology resides You can also look at the proportion of field leaders. Are more from the developed nations or the developing ones? The developed nations had a headstart on technology, do you think the developing ones have overcome that, despite most of us going backwards in terms of access to education and the wealth gap? Don't take it personally, I'm not trying to tell you that you're a bad developer. What I'm saying is we have to work harder to uplift our country's fields and not fall into the trap of "well I'm the biggest fish in this tiny pond so therefore I'm an equally big fish in the ocean". It does not work that way.
- 6y ago
- rawoke083600 6y agoYea that sounds toxic ! And to "brag about it" ! I once worked for a company, there were some "grievances" between the programmers and CEO (nothing major) but enough to elicited a "meeting" between all the devs and the CEO to "smooth" things over and build a better path forward, we will all in high spirits for the meeting and optimistic. The very FIRST opening line from the CEO in the meeting was: "How extremely lucky we(programmers) are to be working there..." It all kinda just went downhill from there... 6 Months most of the programmers quit.