Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend
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Hi,
I am currently running last pfSense version with an Asus RT-N66U (dd-wrt) for the wifi part. It's working well. But at least once a week, I have to reboot the RT-N66U because I have no more network on equipment connected through wireless. But my main concern with this solution is that wifi is not working at 10 meters from the RT-N66U.
I have read a lot of good comment about Ubiquiti access points and I would like to give it a try.
But there are so many access points that I'm a bit lost. My setup is quite easy. I have 4 vlans (home, guest, plant and manufacturing), I need to have for each of them a wireless network. With my Asus RT-N66U I have been able to make it work only with 3 wireless networks. I forgot to mention that I need (2.4 and 5ghz)I have found a vendor close to me that have these 3 references available
UniFi AC Lite
UniFi AC LR
UniFi AP AC PROCan someone tell me if these options can work easily with pfsense or provide me another reference?
Thanks
Alex -
Well, without knowing your situation, it's hard to recommend one, but I have the Lite.
Provide some details about where it will be used.
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@alexmex To be honest I'm not a fan of Unifi gear. Consumer quality HW packaged up and sold at a premium. The software is hit and miss, mostly miss lately.
Do you have a budget in mind? What environment will it be used in? House, Apartment? Lots of wireless devices or just a few. Is speed (throughput) really important to you? Do you think you may need to have more than one AP to cover your space at some point? Do you have IoT devices that you might want too wall off in their own network?
There are a few options that could be recommended with some more information. I'm not saying ignore Unifi, but it can be a bit of a dumpster fire once you get into it.
Also, DD-WRT is good firmware. Nice feature set and stability.
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I have 2 Unifi APs, a Pro and HD. They work fine, but I am using 1 VLAN with them. Any AP should work with pfSense, it is just another "switch" on the network.
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@alexmex said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
Can someone tell me if these options can work easily with pfsense or provide me another reference?
What AP you use has zero to do with pfsense.. Pfsense works with any AP on the planet.. be it from some 20$ old wifi router your using as an AP... To a $1k+ ciso or aruba AP.
While the controller software is going through a bit of mess right now, I will give @jwj that.. In general I have been very happy with my unifi AP.. I have a lite, a LR and the Pro.. And my son has the flexHD for his house..
Either of the 3 you mentioned would be fine.. Unless you are wanting to do something special.. All 3 support vlans, They do 2.4 and 5 ghz bands.. All 3 of those support wpa3 that they just released.. You can pick up a lite for like $80... So if your just looking to dip your toes in the water.. Prob start with that one..
To be honest unifi was really one of the first AP that were available at reasonable prices that supported even basic enterprise functionality in AP. They were not so overpriced that home user could not afford them. Now there are other options that you can do vlans with..
Are they the best you can buy.. No - do they have some problems, sure what company doesn't. But I have not run into any sort of show stoppers that would have me thinking never again would I buy an AP from them..
And yes they have lots of users, many of them also pfsense users. So if you do dip your toes in the water.. There would be many people here to could help, even if not really pfsense related.
Are you looking to get some sort of specific speed out of your wifi? Do you have AX clients, any plans of AX clients in the near future? etc. How many wifi clients do you actually have?
I have not - nor do I have any plans on jumping all unifi.. I used a usgp3 for a very short time, not overly impressed with it - and down right hated it if you wanted to do anything at all.. All of which is pretty clickity clickity in pfsense. It routes, it nats - it moves packets at decent rate.. My son is currently using it - because it was sitting on my self collecting dust.
Their switches are all over priced for what they do.. Camera's seem overpriced as well.. The only switch that might be worth playing with is the $29 5 porter that you can power with poe.. That could have some use cases, etc.
So I would say go for it if your looking to get an AP that does vlans, but for switches and such - there are better choices at lower prices that is for sure.
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Thanks for your answers, here are some details.
I will be using it in my house (my office is attached to the house) so I need to cover both.
Red area is not properly covered today
Do you have a budget in mind? 200/300 USD maybe up to 500 if necessary.
What environment will it be used in? House
Lots of wireless devices or just a few ? 5 phones on guest vlan (they are just going to Internet), 3 on home/manufacturing vlan, 3 laptops en house vlan, 2 on plant / manufacturing vlan.
Is speed (throughput) really important to you? Today we are able to see netflix on two laptop at same time meanwhile others can still access Internet decently.
Do you think you may need to have more than one AP to cover your space at some point? That's a good question, I would be happy if not.
Do you have IoT devices that you might want too wall off in their own network? Not today.Regards,
Alex -
For sure they have sold
shitship loads of them. They work.I have 2 nanoHD's and a Pro. As I have said in other threads they are being replaced. The cost of replacing them with AP's that are actually better (better radios, better antennas) is high. Ruckus, Aruba, and some Cisco's prices are outrageous for home use. I bought Ruckus used on eBay and it worked out about ~$220-230/each.
I think it's fair to say you can do better than Unifi but you are going to have to go the used route or be prepared to splash out some serious cash.
For the money Unifi has been in a class of their own for a while. Cisco has new CBW AP's that are price competitive with Unifi and, like Unifi, are built around off the self consumer grade parts. There is no free lunch.
As @johnpoz say's, one advantage of Unifi is the enormous installed base. You will be able to find lots of people that can offer first hand experience and help you over the rough spots.
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@alexmex That's a big budget. You could do a lot with that budget. Not saying you should but you could.
You can look at Ruckus R710 (WiFi 5, wave 2) on eBay and see what prices are available without crazy shipping to you.
I found this thread helpful:
https://forums.servethehome.com/index.php?threads/ruckus-wireless-as-an-unifi-alternative.26384/
Take a minute to think it through.
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@alexmex said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
200/300 USD maybe up to 500 if necessary.
For 1 AP, or do you plan on buying more than 1.. And placing them around your home?
That is pretty decent budget..
If you looking for something you can just place somewhere on end table or something. The flexHD might be an option ($180)... About the size of a pint beer can.. Maybe a little less big around.. My son just has it placed on on tvstand table in the basement and it covers the whole house.. All comes down to actual structure of your house, number of walls - overall sq feet, etc.
They can be wall or ceiling mounted as well.. But they also just can sit on a table somewhere.
With that sort of budget - yeah might want to look for a used actual enterprise AP..
Here is the thing - depending on the size of your home.. And what your willing to live with for coverage.. I you want good wifi in all areas of the house, your prob going to want multiple AP.. I have 3 AP.. And I have a small house.. single floor ranch.. But then again I have great 5ghz coverage no matter where I am at in the house ;) Even on out the patio.. I put my LR in the kitchen near the patio door.. The pro is in the center of the house.. and then the lite is in on the other end of the house in the guest room, and gives that side of the house good 5ghz coverage..
So again depending on what your house is made of, the shape of it - how wall might break up coverage.. If what your looking for is great 5ghz coverage your prob going to want more than 1 AP.. But at 300, you could for sure get 3 lites.. Or 2 flexHD for example..
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@alexmex said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
Red area is not properly covered today
Then you need at least one other AP. The Ubiquiti APs can use fast roaming, which makes transition between APs smoother. Incidentally, they have a couple of APs that fit in a utility box. If you have an existing Ethernet outlet, you could replace it with one of those. In addition to WiFi, they provide 2 Ethernet ports, one of them PoE. This might make for an easier/neater installation.
I guess that RTN66U is sitting on a shelf or similar. With the regular Unifi APs, you can mount them on a wall or ceiling. Mine's on my laundry room wall. They use PoE, so you don't need to have AC power handy.
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@jwj said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
You can look at Ruckus R710 (WiFi 5, wave 2) on eBay and
Good call, basically what I did. But for a home you won't need the 700 series, 500 is more than enough (if you're not planing to host superbowl in your backyard). I have some R500s in the office and at my home with "unleashed" firmware which acts as WLAN controller. Works amazingly well.
Lots of screen mirroring and other video stuff in the office, few devices, higher bandwidth. But not that much neighbours/other WiFi around.
Two demanding kids at home, >30 devices on 3 SSIDs with high rogue AP count (32 when I last checked) and lots of traffic in the air from neighbours. Ruckus' beamforming does wonders here.
So my vote would be for Ruckus R500/R510 from ebay and if you need more than one install unleashed firmware.
PS: that's already overkill for a home.
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@alexmex said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
UniFi AC LR
UniFi AP AC PROCurrently I have 2 an UniFi AC LR and a UniFi AP AC PRO. The Pro is in my main living area and handles 3 floors of living space quite well. The lite is in my garage to give me better signal to the wifi devices I have there, and outside.
They have been rock solid for over a year.
They are handling 21 wireless clients with three vlans.
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Hi,
Thank you very much for your answers. I got a look to the Ruckus R510/R710 and they look good and ... overkill.
I have found several references on Ebay:
- 9U1-R510-WW00 zoneflex R510 Unleashed
- 9U1-R510-US00 zoneflex R510
- 976-R510-US00 R510
I got a look for a local provider in Mexico but it seems that ruckus has no reseller for home users. My concern with Ebay is warranty. With power supply and shipment (to Mexico) price is around 300USD.
I will continue my investigations and see if I can find an easy way to get Ruckus else I will go with Ubiquiti.
Thanks again for your help.
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@johnpoz said in Which Ubiquiti AP do you recommend:
Their switches are all over priced for what they do.. Camera's seem overpriced as well.. The only switch that might be worth playing with is the $29 5 porter that you can power with poe.. That could have some use cases, etc.
So I would say go for it if your looking to get an AP that does vlans, but for switches and such - there are better choices at lower prices that is for sure.My switches are netgear DGS-1100-08 (x4) and I'm really happy with them. VLANs work perfectly with pfSense, ESX and Unraid. I have also 2 Cisco 3560CG that supports PoE but they are apart. I may try to mix them to connect through PoE my future AP.
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Sounds like you have this all under control :) Let us know how it turns out. Be well!
