I currently have an old Linksys WRT1900ac and am thinking about building out a proper setup with a U6 Enterprise, Mikrotik CRS310-8G+2S+IN, and something running opnsense for a router. My question is: am I creating headaches for myself by running three different kinds of gear?
Ubiquiti’s USW-Enterprise-8-PoE fits the bill but is 2x the price. Netgear has an AP but the switches seem to be hated. The mikrotik doesn’t have poe but I can use an injector but their APs aren’t well liked.
I have a desktop and NAS that I’d like to be on 2.5gbe. I’d also like some VLANs to separate my other things from my important things.
Side note, it seems like the WiFi6E/2.5gbe gear is really slow to roll out. What’s everyone waiting for…
Engenius has been really fantastic for me. Expensive, but worth it. Ive posted about my experience over on the STH forums and can dig it up at some point.
The reason for slow 6E uptake is 7 is right around the corner. For ex, engenius has the wifi7 APs shipping next month. 6E was more a bandaid than a cure for most of the problems with WiFi people have been having.
If you are only doing one AP then I would follow @infinitevalence and/or @BVD advice. Unifi really only makes sense if you plan on having more than one AP or switch or whatever. Otherwise it is a pita to maintain the controller for a single device.
I run the controller app on my laptop only when I need to add new hardware. It doesn’t need to be on all the time. If you do run it all the time you get statistics, but I don’t need statistics in order to know that my wife is consuming massive amount of bandwidth streaming movies 24/7.
I can back this up. I’ve had a TP Link managed switch for years and then went with their access points (EAP 225/245) and have had great performance. I also recently changed my Ubiquiti Edgerouter-x for an ER605 VPN router. Managing it all with the Omada controller (running in a docker container).
The only issue I have has with the Omada controller is if you also run a PiHole and the controller goes down, there isn’t a good failover for DNS.
I am about to swap to att fiber from comcast. I have a ubnt router, but I haven’t bothered to call comcast to change the wan mac address. I also have a ubnt 8 port (4 are poe) switch with 4 ac lite wifi access points (they are often cheapest if you get them directly from ubnt). I am using a wired backhaul to all of the access points though I know that if I get the better access points with more channels I can do a wireless mesh setup. I like having the ubnt poe switch, it makes it ridiculously easy to turn power off and on for the various devices, and the interface makes it simple to determine what device is on which port downstream. The ubnt router may be more difficult to configure than pfsense (I have configured both), but it is capable of gigabit without getting pricy.
Everything I can I am connecting with wires, then using wireless for the mobile devices. I just reorganized it all and currently have wires strung up along the tops of doorways while I figured out the ideal locations for the access points, but now I don’t get drop outs anywhere in the house or the yard. Last week I ran new cable through the attic to several the top of wall points throughout the house. Next step for me is to drill through the top plate and run the wires down the walls then terminate them. I have crimped and punched down a few hundred connectors so that should not be an issue.
I have a similar unit by TrendNet which has proven very reliable. Like yours, it also has POe and it automatically detects whether the device plugged into it requires the power. Solid metal case and sturdy construction makes it surprisingly heavy for such a small switch but it didn’t take long to fill those 8 ports. I am quite pleased with it as it will run additional TP Link switches attached to it without issue. I have over a dozen different devices running throughout the house and I don’t use WiFi so you can imagine how handy this is for me. The most difficult part of it was running the Cat 6 through the entire building as I’m in my mid 60’s so it was a bit of exercise. Crimping the connectors was a whole lot easier. Anyway, the family is happy with it and that’s what matters.
I pulled out the switch this morning. I got the 24 port model with 12 Poe. I remember that I paid plus $65 for the upgrade from an 8 port model. About half of the ports are in use, mostly unpowered as it is behind the tv.
Always handy to have extra ports. I thought my TrendNet would be enough and now all ports are in use. Last I checked this little toy was on the pricey side of life. I got it on a great deal so maybe I’ll wait 'til Black Friday?
I am personally a big fan of an Ubiquiti stack with a pfSense/opnSense based router.
I use a similar setup in multiple locations, and have recommended similar setups to many friends and family. So far the combination has been solid for everyone I personally know using it.
I have a Cloud Key to run my console, but have used the app based console before. The cloud key is not really needed all the time.
For my stack I have a enterprise XG 24, the industrial POE 8 port switch(forgot the name), a pair of U6 pros, and a Aliexpress router PC running Untangle. I’ve had to spend time on configuration here and there to make things stable, multi WAN for example, but am very happy with the way everything is performing.
Using a mix of gear from different manufacturers can potentially introduce compatibility and configuration challenges. It’s generally advisable to stick with a unified ecosystem, such as Ubiquiti, for better integration and support. However, if cost is a significant concern, and you’re comfortable managing potential interoperability issues, your proposed setup could work.
In terms of your desire for 2.5 GbE connectivity, consider that the adoption of these technologies in consumer-grade equipment may be slower than expected. You might want to check the latest products available and their reviews to ensure they meet your requirements.
Additionally, using refurbished servers for certain components of your home network, like a router or storage server, can be a cost-effective solution. Ensure that the server hardware aligns with your performance needs, and be prepared to handle any setup or compatibility issues that may arise with older equipment.
Remember to thoroughly research and plan your network architecture to minimize potential headaches down the road.