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Unifi controller on pfsense?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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  • J Offline
    JKnott @bingo600
    last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:09 PM

    @bingo600 said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

    A small VM works fine

    I had considered that, but it appears I'll soon have it running native on opensuse.

    Still, it would be nice if it could run on pfsense.

    PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
    i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
    UniFi AC-Lite access point

    I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

    B 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:12 PM Reply Quote 0
    • B Offline
      bingo600 @JKnott
      last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:12 PM

      @JKnott said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

      Still, it would be nice if it could run on pfsense.

      Not on my Box ....
      A wifi controller has nothing to do on my Fwall , would IMHO just be adding more attack vectors.

      /Bingo

      If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

      pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

      QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
      CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
      LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • P Offline
        plfinch @JKnott
        last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:13 PM

        @JKnott said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

        @plfinch

        You can't. You need the controller, unless I'm missing something.

        https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/360047417733-UniFi-Setting-up-a-UniFi-Access-Point-in-Standalone-Mode

        Peter

        J 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:30 PM Reply Quote 0
        • J Online
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
          last edited by johnpoz Nov 20, 2020, 9:31 PM Nov 20, 2020, 9:28 PM

          I have been running the controller on linux for years.. Just use debian or ubuntu - these are the sported OSes.. Any other distro is DIY..

          Its as simple as installing the package..

          If you don't want to run debian or ubuntu - then just run it as a VM on said box or via a docker..
          https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi-controller

          I would never in a million years put this on pfsense..

          Currently running 6.1.26 on Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS, via VM on my nas..

          An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
          If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
          Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
          SG-4860 25.07.1 | Lab VMs 2.8, 25.07.1

          J 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:32 PM Reply Quote 0
          • J Offline
            JKnott @plfinch
            last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:30 PM

            @plfinch

            Tnx. I'll have to look into that.

            PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
            i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
            UniFi AC-Lite access point

            I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • J Offline
              JKnott @johnpoz
              last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:32 PM

              @johnpoz said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

              If you don't want to run debian or ubuntu - then just run it as a VM on said box or via a docker..

              I run opensuse and don't plan to change. However, I have found a package for the version I'm running. I have exchanged email with the person maintaining the repository and expect to have it running shortly. I just have to get past some certificate errors.

              PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
              i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
              UniFi AC-Lite access point

              I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

              B 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:35 PM Reply Quote 0
              • J Online
                johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:33 PM

                VM gives you the ability to take snapshots.. so if you want to play with new version of the controller, and something doesn't work it takes 30 seconds to rollback. You can install very min install of the VM, and doesn't need much ram.. Mine is currently running with 1GB of ram given to it, and uses like nothing of the host cpu.. currently show it using a whole 4% ;)

                An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                SG-4860 25.07.1 | Lab VMs 2.8, 25.07.1

                J B 2 Replies Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:37 PM Reply Quote 0
                • B Offline
                  bingo600 @JKnott
                  last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:35 PM

                  @JKnott
                  I'm a Debian/Mint guy.

                  But just had to fire up SLES on a VM in order to install a Siemens OpenScape PBX.

                  One uses the tool that fits best 😊

                  Well .. If you get the package served ...

                  /Bingo

                  If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                  pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                  QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                  CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                  LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • J Offline
                    JKnott @johnpoz
                    last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:37 PM

                    @johnpoz

                    BTW, I got the AP-Lite and it appears to work well. Even on 802.11n on 2.4 GHz, I'm getting about twice the performance of my TP-Link AP. Also, it doesn't have that TP-Link VLAN "feature" that prevented me from running IPv6 on my guest WiFi.

                    802.11ac is about 10x the performance I was getting on 2.4 GHz.

                    PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                    i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                    UniFi AC-Lite access point

                    I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • B Offline
                      bingo600 @johnpoz
                      last edited by bingo600 Nov 20, 2020, 9:49 PM Nov 20, 2020, 9:38 PM

                      @johnpoz said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

                      VM gives you the ability to take snapshots..

                      Cheater ... I bet you use the licensed version (i assume ESXi)
                      I use the free , where API's are crippled.
                      AFAIK free can't do snapshots "Live" or ??

                      I do know that ghettoVCB (backup for free) don't like snapshots.

                      /Bingo

                      If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                      pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                      QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                      CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                      LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                      K 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:46 PM Reply Quote 0
                      • J Online
                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                        last edited by johnpoz Nov 20, 2020, 9:46 PM Nov 20, 2020, 9:40 PM

                        I have a lite in the guest room - works fine.. The pro in the center of the house is the normal work horse with the most clients on it. And then have a LR in the kitchen near the patio door that covers that side of the house and also good coverage of the patio that is off the kitchen. They make a nice AP... But if you don't really have to run the controller if you don't want to.. You could just leave it on windows, if you happen to have a windows machine - and just fire it up if you want to make a change, or troubleshoot something.

                        I leave mine up all the time because I like the info that provides you.. But its not really a requirement to have the controller up and running 24/7 if you don't really have a place to do what on..

                        edit:
                        While I use to run the free esxi version, last couple of years I just use the VM Manager on my synology nas.. Even if you can not take "snapshots" with the vm software your using - you can always just export copy of the VM before you make changes, so you could always put the VM back to how it was, etc. But pretty sure even with free esxi you can do snapshots - you can't do vmotion without lic for that.. Been a couple of years :(

                        An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                        If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                        Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                        SG-4860 25.07.1 | Lab VMs 2.8, 25.07.1

                        J V 2 Replies Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 10:01 PM Reply Quote 0
                        • K Offline
                          kiokoman LAYER 8 @bingo600
                          last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:46 PM

                          @bingo600
                          you can take snapshot on free version of esxi without any problem

                          ̿' ̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(◕_◕)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿
                          Please do not use chat/PM to ask for help
                          we must focus on silencing this @guest character. we must make up lies and alter the copyrights !
                          Don't forget to Upvote with the 👍 button for any post you find to be helpful.

                          B 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:47 PM Reply Quote 1
                          • J Online
                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
                            last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:47 PM

                            ^ yeah I thought you could.. I remember doing it, and I only had the free license..

                            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
                            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
                            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
                            SG-4860 25.07.1 | Lab VMs 2.8, 25.07.1

                            B 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:53 PM Reply Quote 0
                            • B Offline
                              bingo600 @kiokoman
                              last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:47 PM

                              @kiokoman
                              Cool
                              Will try ASAP

                              Thanx 👍

                              If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                              pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                              QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                              CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                              LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • K Offline
                                kiokoman LAYER 8
                                last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:49 PM

                                the only limitation afaik is that you have to use vmxnet3 / emulated network card, it does not work with passthrough

                                ̿' ̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(◕_◕)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿
                                Please do not use chat/PM to ask for help
                                we must focus on silencing this @guest character. we must make up lies and alter the copyrights !
                                Don't forget to Upvote with the 👍 button for any post you find to be helpful.

                                B 1 Reply Last reply Nov 20, 2020, 9:51 PM Reply Quote 0
                                • B Offline
                                  bingo600 @kiokoman
                                  last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:51 PM

                                  @kiokoman said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

                                  the only limitation afaik is that you have to use vmxnet3 / emulated network card, it does not work with passthrough

                                  For the snapshots ?
                                  Aren't they Disk copy only or ?

                                  If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                                  pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                                  QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                                  CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                                  LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • B Offline
                                    bingo600 @johnpoz
                                    last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:53 PM

                                    @johnpoz said in Unifi controller on pfsense?:

                                    ^ yeah I thought you could.. I remember doing it, and I only had the free license..

                                    Sorry JP
                                    I just made a snapshot 🤕
                                    Why didn't i try that before now ... In my mind snapshot was crippled on free

                                    If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a 👍 - "thumbs up"

                                    pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                                    QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                                    CPU  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                                    LAN  : 4 x Intel 211, Disk  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • K Offline
                                      kiokoman LAYER 8
                                      last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:55 PM

                                      it's a limitation, I don't remember the details but if you have something configured as passthrough (network card or video card or something else) you can't take live snapshot only offline snapshot

                                      ̿' ̿'\̵͇̿̿\з=(◕_◕)=ε/̵͇̿̿/'̿'̿ ̿
                                      Please do not use chat/PM to ask for help
                                      we must focus on silencing this @guest character. we must make up lies and alter the copyrights !
                                      Don't forget to Upvote with the 👍 button for any post you find to be helpful.

                                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • B Offline
                                        bmeeks
                                        last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 9:57 PM

                                        A VM running UniFi Controller is nice, and is what I use at home currently. However, if you have a PoE switch I would very seriously consider running the CloudKey USB dongle. I use one for our church setup. Works great.

                                        Yeah, it's more expensive than a VM if you already have the hypervisor hardware, but it you don't have the hardware, then the cost of the CloudKey is pretty reasonable (assuming you have a PoE switch already for your UniFi APs). Of course with no PoE switch to plug the dongle into, then a VM is a better option.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • J Offline
                                          JKnott @johnpoz
                                          last edited by Nov 20, 2020, 10:01 PM

                                          @johnpoz

                                          I live in a condo, which a single AP covers well. Even the TP-Link did that. What VM are you referring to? I have VirtualBox on a couple of computers and had considered an Ubuntu VM to run the controller.

                                          PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
                                          i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
                                          UniFi AC-Lite access point

                                          I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

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