Pricing up Ubiquiti Wireless advice

[kernits]

We used to get get all our unify kit from MSDist but 4Gon have been loads cheaper recently especially on CCTV, they are a pain to get an account with but we go there in the end. We have 22 switches, fifty odd APs and 60 odd cameras, it all just works and allows us to have the sort of performance we could not afford with other manufactures. The total cost is not unlike some will try charging per year for ongoing licensing alone... Edited September 13, 2018 by kernits

[The_IT_Guy]

Just running a final check, would I be right in thinking the below would be all we need to purchase?

 

Obviously you guys will not know about coverage in my place but technically speaking? Looking to have a POE switch in each of our cabinets where about 8-10 APs would be run from each.

 

40 X Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC Pro UAP-AC-PRO-E Indoor / Outdoor Access Point

5 X Ubiquiti UniFi Switch 24 500W - US-24-500W

Create a controller on our VMware host to manage switches and APs

 

Thanks

Edited September 14, 2018 by The_IT_Guy

[CAWJames]

Looks good to me, hook it all up, load up the controller on an Ubuntu instance(it can be done with CENTOS, but most instructionals are on Ubuntu Server), setup your SSID's, make sure all used VLANS are available on the switches and the ports that the AP's are connected to, then adopt all the AP's and let it ride

[CAWJames]

Oh and make sure you keep a copy of the adopt password somewhere safe, having to manually visit and reset a load of AP's after a controller crash and rebuild is not fun. Although to put your mind at rest from that statement, the controller is pretty rock solid, deleting the wrong VM isn't....

[Katy]

If you're using dynamic VLAN you will probably need to update the firmware on all the APs too if they've been in a warehouse for a while - when I put mine in last year I spent ages trying to get it to work before discovering it's a relatively recent thing on Ubiquiti, firmware update later and it just worked perfectly.

[TMBS]

We’ve integrated our unifi into radius for our byod. That means we can transmit one SSID and all our users can use it but radius server will assign a vlan based on their security group membership.

There is a guest pass section in the controller to use with the captive portal.

We use Unifi which has been brilliant with our school Chromebooks but since moving away from Smoothwall we cannot use any BYOD (apparently the Smoothwall box did something that Schools Broadband/Netsweeper doesn't). I spoke to Unifi support (who are very good, another tick) and they said I need to set up RADIUS on my server. I've never done this and have no idea what is entails. Can you point me to any good websites, guides, etc? Or can anyone recommend a company in the Leicestershire area that will assist us with this?

 

Thanks.

[IrritableTech]

We use Unifi which has been brilliant with our school Chromebooks but since moving away from Smoothwall we cannot use any BYOD (apparently the Smoothwall box did something that Schools Broadband/Netsweeper doesn't). I spoke to Unifi support (who are very good, another tick) and they said I need to set up RADIUS on my server. I've never done this and have no idea what is entails. Can you point me to any good websites, guides, etc? Or can anyone recommend a company in the Leicestershire area that will assist us with this?

Thanks.

 

I haven't studied every line on these but they look to cover most of it...

https://www.gypthecat.com/how-to-configure-windows-2012-nps-for-radius-authentication-with-ubiquiti-unifi

Configuring RADIUS authentication for a wireless network (802.1x EAP) | Blinky's Blog

 

Just note that the APs are the radius clients - not the controller. You need to add them individually as clients or you can pop in a subnet as we've done, but the NPS server doesn't make it clear you can do subnets.

[chazzy2501]

its a shame that only the 48port unify switches have the sfp+ for 10Gbit. (and the xg)

 

Remember that VLANs should never be used for security as it's trivial for a packet smith to hop across. The unifi APs do have a guest mode for the APs which will limit the clients ability to use the LAN. (pretty much gateway only)

[MS2011]

Unifi kit is fantastic, we really needed a new forward thinking Manufacturer to shake up the status Quo.

 

Regardless of what APs you actually buy, make sure you have one per classroom and a system that automatically balances the power (most do nowadays). One AP per classroom means you can minimise distance and always avoid a device connecting to an AP through a wall. Going high distance to the AP and through walls makes a massive difference to connection speed and bandwidth. You may find that you are getting 15% of the bandwidth just going through one brick wall at 10 metres away.

 

So 1 ap per classroom. Even keeping the same old APs, and just adding one per classroom will make a big difference to your users perception.

 

My advice? Go unifi. Get one Nano HD per classroom as they are a billy bargain.

 

We have Aerohive and their prices for licensing and new device gone up. Probably next summer we are looking to upgrade or get unifi kit.

 

Please can someone advice ?

 

What is the cost of 2 unifi AP’s with cloud manage portal and testing it out from now

 

Thanks

[LeMarchand]

What is the cost of 2 unifi AP’s with cloud manage portal and testing it out from now

 

Depends which AP you want, but the AC pros (probably what most have?) are around £100 ex VAT and the portal is free (shove it on any spare suitable machine/VM) unless you want their optional cloud key (around £65).

[AlanD]

I'd be trying to get the ac wave 2 ones - ideally the HD pros....as a longer term investment....The Nano HD would seem to be a good idea - but I'm not sure you can actually get them. No point in vesting in yesterday's standards. You'll be glad you made the choice in 5 years' time....when there is even less money around and you are still trying to make do with less.

[CAWJames]

https://linitx.com/category/ubiquiti-unifi-wireless-access-points/1054/1038,1054 or https://www.4gon.co.uk/ubiquiti-unifi-indoor-c-337_610_760.html

[mdrabble]

For those who use Unif APs and Smoothwall - do you have/use the Unifi Security Gateway as well?

[TMBS]

For those who use Unif APs and Smoothwall - do you have/use the Unifi Security Gateway as well?

 

We had Smoothwall when we first put Unifi in and didn't have the Unifi Gateway and it worked fine.

[CAWJames]

I have the small gateway, AP's, outdoor POE switches, G3 cameras and nanostations..at home though.

[mdrabble]

Was looking to use some of the features on the Unifi Controlller which require USG and if it would have any issues working alongside smoothwall.

[supportman]

Unifi is an absolute game changer in the market and has an excellent set of products and easy interface to use while keeping it cheap as well.

 

Certainly I will be looking at this in the future I think.

[CAWJames]

They are definitely being disruptive, I am getting vendors coming in to me to pitch things, and as soon as I mentioned we are a Unifi user, they suddenyl back track and tell me $brand is bringing out model that compete on price with Ubiquiti. One was Dell who have 1000 series switches and 2000 series switches that compete. Well the 1xxx does-ish on the PoE model, but they are only half the ports PoE, and the 2xxx is every port but hundreds more than the equivalent Edgeswitch. Also one of the big wireless companies is going to start shipping "cheap" wifi, can't remember if it was Ruccus or another one. But it all means disruption is happening.

[synaesthesia]

UniFi has been "disrupting" for quite a few years, the trouble is they've continued by getting a larger range of devices, improving current ranges etc and noone else is really doing anything to keep up other than the usual slew of new AP's when a new standard arrives. Quite like they don't take Ubiquiti seriously enough.

[snagrat]

Anyone looking at Cambium at all?

We’ve been putting it in a lot of schools recently and the performance is great.

 

A lot of ex Ruckus guys went to Cambium when they started to do APs rather than just backhaul.

 

Free cloud controller and the APs are relatively well priced and much closer to UniFi than anything else.

[IrritableTech]

Anyone looking at Cambium at all?

We’ve been putting it in a lot of schools recently and the performance is great.

A lot of ex Ruckus guys went to Cambium when they started to do APs rather than just backhaul.

Free cloud controller and the APs are relatively well priced and much closer to UniFi than anything else.

 

Not seen them so thanks for that - struggling to work out their USP though, why use them instead of Ubiquiti?

[snagrat]

Not seen them so thanks for that - struggling to work out their USP though, why use them instead of Ubiquiti?

 

Free cloud controller.

 

Direct support, I don’t know UniFi that well but thought their support was all forum based?

[IrritableTech]

Free cloud controller.

 

Direct support, I don’t know UniFi that well but thought their support was all forum based?

 

Used to be the case but you can pay for support now with ubiquiti - not sure why many would though!