Recommended smart switch for Unifi AP? Easy interface, inexpensive, secure
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(you may need to use a crossover cable)
Crossover cables are passé. Gigabit and many 100 Mb ports are auto MDI-X and so don't need a crossover cable.
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You could also ditch the Cloud Key and run the UniFi Controller directly on pfSense.
I'm thinking of taking the plunge into a Ubiquiti switch, possibly the 48-port Unifi non-POE, to be connected to my Qotom i5 router. I don't need that many ports, but would like the SFP+ ports for future expansion. How well and easy does running the Unifi controller on pfSense work? How easy is it to upgrade - you are limited to what the maintainer of that script updates it to, right? Thanks
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How many ports would you need - 48 is a lot of freaking ports.. And its not even L3..
Why would you not look at say sg300 line, all of which have combo ports for sfp+
Once you have ports out your know what - why would you not just run the cloudkey for your controller vs putting it on pfsense? If your going to run it on the same hardware then I really would just run VM hosting on your box and then run your controller and pfsense in different vms.
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How many ports would you need - 48 is a lot of freaking ports.. And its not even L3..
Yes I don't need 48. Need about 16-20 at the moment. But the only Unifi switch with SFP+ is the 48.
I'm not sure I really need full L3 functionality. I haven't segmented my network with VLANs yet but am hoping to experiment in the future. If I needed to do routing between the VLANs couldn't that be done at the pfSense level? Sorry, I'm still learning….Why would you not look at say sg300 line, all of which have combo ports for sfp+
I actually have been looking at the Cisco small business line. But from what I could see amongst the dozens of models, the SG300 series do not have SFP+, for that you need the 350x or 550x….. or am I wrong?
Always hard to know from online reports/reviews, but I read mixed opinions about the small business line.Once you have ports out your know what - why would you not just run the cloudkey for your controller vs putting it on pfsense? If your going to run it on the same hardware then I really would just run VM hosting on your box and then run your controller and pfsense in different vms.
What would be the advantage of the cloudkey over running the Unifi controller on my pfSense router or simply on my laptop? If I'm the only admin. I should add this is all for a home/homelab type situation.
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If I needed to do routing between the VLANs couldn't that be done at the pfSense level? Sorry, I'm still learning….
Yes, but with a lot less performance and more load on the pfSense device.
What would be the advantage of the cloudkey over running the Unifi controller on my pfSense router or simply on my laptop? If I'm the only admin. I should add this is all for a home/homelab type situation.
In that case you can also use an RPI2 or 3 to run the controller on. Maybe you have one collecting dust somewhere.
Running the controller on the pfSense OS can have unforseen issues when pfSense upgrades or a controller upgrade installs conflicting packets. If you absolutely need to run both on the same hardware I'd strongly agree with johnpoz, put each into it's own VM.
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What specific are you wanting to use with the SFP?
All of the sg300 lines even the 10 port model come with 2 combo ports, so you can use just standard copper or you can use a SFP module in place of using the copper port
Shoot they even sell a 10 port SFP only model in the sg300 line.
You can view what sfp are compatible here
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/small-business-smart-switches/data_sheet_c78-610061.html -
Correct me if I'm wrong, but all those combo ports are SFP, not SFP+. i.e 1G not 10G.
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Yes they are sfp not sfp+
So what your looking for is 10ge uplink?
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Yes they are sfp not sfp+
So what your looking for is 10ge uplink?
Yes, copper gigabit ports with at least 2 SFP+ uplink ports. Initially to run at 1G speed with SFP modules but later to upgrade my 2nd switch in another room and swap-in SFP+ modules to enable a 10ge link between the two.
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Yeah if you want 10ge uplink You would have to go with the SG500X or 350X I do believe..
Sorry about that I didn't catch you wanted the ability to go to 10ge uplink - I overlooked the + on your sfp ;)
Yeah pricepoint the unifi 48 prob your best best to allow you to go to 10ge uplinks in the future.. How much in the future are you thinking? Like something your going to do in next year or so - or just wanting to future proof? For some unknown date down the road?
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Yeah if you want 10ge uplink You would have to go with the SG500X or 350X I do believe..
Sorry about that I didn't catch you wanted the ability to go to 10ge uplink - I overlooked the + on your sfp ;)
Yeah pricepoint the unifi 48 prob your best best to allow you to go to 10ge uplinks in the future.. How much in the future are you thinking? Like something your going to do in next year or so - or just wanting to future proof? For some unknown date down the road?
No worries, and thanks. The "future" would likely be within the next year. Really I'd like to now, but I want to take it a bit step-by-step. On switches with 10ge uplinks there is a great and very long thread here (just in case it's of help to anyone else):
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/gigabit-10gb-switches-under-550.6921/
At the more consumer end the TP-Link T1700G-28TQ:
https://www.tp-link.com/us/products/details/cat-40_T1700G-28TQ.html
is pretty great bang for the buck with 24 x 1GB RJ-45, 4 x 10ge SFP+, is completely fanless and goes for around $300 in the US. But I haven't been entirely happy with the firmware on the TP-Link router I use as a pure access point, so I'm not sure I want to go with them. Netgear GC728X…
https://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/insight-managed-smart-cloud/GC728X.aspx
is also interesting hardware [ignore the cloud aspect, it has a normal Netgear web GUI as alternative].
10ge gear is getting a lot more affordable these days. But the whole user experience is also important for me so…. more research to do first I think :-)
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In that case you can also use an RPI2 or 3 to run the controller on. Maybe you have one collecting dust somewhere.
Running the controller on the pfSense OS can have unforseen issues when pfSense upgrades or a controller upgrade installs conflicting packets. If you absolutely need to run both on the same hardware I'd strongly agree with johnpoz, put each into it's own VM.
Good points there. Thanks. I don't have an RPI but I do have a Macbook that runs 24/7 so could use that. Also I have a QNAP NAS running 24/7 and I believe you can run the Unifi controller as a package or via a docker.
