It looks like I will be needing a router for my 1 Gigabit home connection, and there’s very little chance that I won’t be getting the UB ER-6P
Every networking device I have is from UB, switches, access points, that management key thingy. And to top it off I found a used router for about $160 converted, brand new would be $260.
Everything seems to be aligned, even though I don’t need the many ports it has.
What I’d like to know is how safe it is to buy something like this used? I know there’s a big market for used networking equipment, but I’m pretty sure the seller bought it like 3 weeks ago for around $100 and is now making a profit off of it.
The only warranty I’m aware at this point is his word that he’ll take it back in a week if something goes wrong. His reputation suggests he’s good for it though.
I’ve been using Edgerouters since about 2014 and I’ve never had one die. The 6P hasn’t existed very long, so unless it was abused, I’d be pretty confident in it.
Testing-wise, test all the ports including the POE and then run it for a week or so. You can technically install apt packages on it if you want to run some other tests.
Are you pretty comfortable with networking? EdgeOS/Vyatta is a robust routing platform, but it doesn’t hold your hand like Unifi or even pfsense. There are a couple really basic wizards for initial setup, but in general, it will let you do some terrible things with no warning.
I strongly dislike the Unifi gear, sure it works but there are better options IMO.
I would look at getting a SFF PC like a dell Micro or Lenovo and modding in a 2nd network port. Then run OpenSense or PFSense on it.
Way better services and configuration plus much better support since its running commodity gear and will keep getting BSD/Linux support for years to come.
Meanwhile Ubiquity will have moved onto new/shiny and will want to drop support for older gear to get people to buy new gear.
You can go through the basic wizard and have a functional network, but I really recommend going with something else. The Edgemax series was designed for WISP providers. It’s not even really intended for LANs (although it works fine for that because it runs vyatta).
It isn’t a Unifi router, unless you just mean Ubiquiti. It runs EdgeOS which is a downstream Vyatta with a basic web gui for configuring it (but to get the most out of it, you’d want to configure it with vyatta commands in cli).
It is, but every piece of networking hardware is from Ubiquiti. A US-8-150W and a US-XG-6POE PoE switches, a UCK-G2-Plus Cloud Key, and 6 U6-Lite access points. I can manage these from my phone app, roll out updates, look at statistics, and it just works.
I’m willing to concede that I’m still wrong for wanting to get the exact same brand of device that fits right into this puzzle. I could also get a “simpler” EdgeRouter X for a bit cheaper, but not that much cheaper. So then why not get the bigger one?
I would like it if I had the time to tinker with networking, but I need something that works, without having to SSH into, and separately manage and update. Yes it costs a lot, but that’s the price of convenience.
A Raspberry Pi 4 is not cheap either. €90 for a very basic kit, plus accessories and the time to set it up.
So Edgemax is not Unifi. You cannot manage an Edgerouter from a Unifi controller. It will be completely separate. It has its own web GUI that runs directly on the router which is very different from Unifi.
If you want to add a router to your Unifi environment, you should get a Unifi gateway.
@romeozor If you don’t have time to tinker or learn networking, the best advice I could give you is to use the device provided by your Internet service provider. They are by default secured as long as the device can still receive updates. So when you start messing with enterprise-level equipment and you don’t know what you are doing, it’s effortless to misconfigure some settings and end up with an unsecured device. The following situation after that is someone has taken over your network.
I have an Unifi switch and the same cloud key as you, and I have a NetGate firewall device (Pfsense) acting as my router. But the difference in my situation is that I am willing to tinker and learn networking, and I have an ASUS router in front of my Pfsense device to help protect me from getting into trouble.
