Crystal Web ADSL performance feedback thread Part 3...

Status
Not open for further replies.
Icemanbrfc said:
Hmm, i just had that as well. My router just lost connection, and my internet light went red. Reboot and it was okay again, but that happened about 3 or 4 times. Tried both my Afrihost and CW trial account. So im praying its not again a line issue.
Click to expand...

I got on the chat with CW support and it was sorted in 5 minutes - reset password.
 
SauRoNZA said:
I find it a little ridiculous that the Gateway doesn't run the controller and that they sell you a whole separate product to do that.

Just seems like a not-so-cheap cash in by Ubnt.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I also find it ridiculous. If a Raspberry Pi can run the controller, I bloody well expect their expensive gateways to be able to.

AfricanTech said:
Re the second device, apparently the controller s/w can be run on a raspberry pi - so that's a cheaper option (not done it myself but there are support articles available)
Click to expand...

You got my hopes up there for a sec, until I saw the price of a basic Pi kit on pishop.co.za. R1020 for the board, a case, 8GB memory card and power supply. May as well just spend a few hundred more and buy a Ubiquiti product, which also includes the remote functionality.

CataclysmZA said:
I'd just run PFSense on a PC with a wireless card that has extension cables to nice antennae and be done with it. All logging can be done on the device and you can e-mail that and optionally set up SMS alerts, bla bla bla. Buying a second device just to enable real-time logging just doesn't make sense to me.
Click to expand...

The last thing I want is a PC running 24/7 to run my controller, and having my network go down if the PC turns off.

SauRoNZA said:
Yeah but I would seriously expect a Gateway to be a stand alone device.

WTF.

For the money you might as well get a Sophos UTM device then.
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate? I'm not seeing an obvious home solution on the Sophos website.

SauRoNZA said:
Thing is Ubiquiti isn't very mature in this market and in my opinion it shows.

****

Note I love their products.
Click to expand...

I love their products too. Usability is what matters to me, and Ubiquiti UniFi has an awesomely easy to use and good looking interface. It's a big part of why I want to buy more Ubiquiti equipment to introduce network monitoring to my setup.
 
Bryn said:
Yeah, I also find it ridiculous. If a Raspberry Pi can run the controller, I bloody well expect their expensive gateways to be able to.



You got my hopes up there for a sec, until I saw the price of a basic Pi kit on pishop.co.za. R1020 for the board, a case, 8GB memory card and power supply. May as well just spend a few hundred more and buy a Ubiquiti product, which also includes the remote functionality.



The last thing I want is a PC running 24/7 to run my controller, and having my network go down if the PC turns off.



Can you elaborate? I'm not seeing an obvious home solution on the Sophos website.



I love their products too. Usability is what matters to me, and Ubiquiti UniFi has an awesomely easy to use and good looking interface. It's a big part of why I want to buy more Ubiquiti equipment to introduce network monitoring to my setup.
Click to expand...
Why would you want to buy a whole kit?

Case - homemade out of wood - easy

Memory card - SD cards are a dime a dozen (I had a couple of spare ones lying around that I repurposed)

Power supply - ordinary cellphone charger - lots of those lying around

So for me it's only the cost of the rPi (and of course the time investment)

Thing is, if time is important to you and you just want a plug and play solution then that Ubiquiti product is perfect :)
 
The stuff will run standalone with the controller down - you just won't get logging. Your network won't go down.
 
AfricanTech said:
Case - homemade out of wood - easy
Click to expand...

:erm:

Yeah lol, I'd rather not.

I do have bits and bobs lying around, but I'd rather keep them available and get the Raspberry Pi its own stuff. And R639 for just the board isn't free anyway.

The UniFi Cloud Key is definitely a safer bet. I can't imagine how hard I would be kicking myself if I was having hectic issues with the Pi a week from now.

Sinbad said:
The stuff will run standalone with the controller down - you just won't get logging. Your network won't go down.
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks. Good to know.
 
Bryn said:
:erm:

Yeah lol, I'd rather not.

I do have bits and bobs lying around, but I'd rather keep them available and get the Raspberry Pi its own stuff. And R639 for just the board isn't free anyway.

The UniFi Cloud Key is definitely a safer bet. I can't imagine how hard I would be kicking myself if I was having hectic issues with the Pi a week from now.



Ah, thanks. Good to know.
Click to expand...
Ha ha yes indeed.

I have a Pi lying around from the first round - cost around 300 rands at the time iirc
 
Bryn said:
Yeah, I also find it ridiculous. If a Raspberry Pi can run the controller, I bloody well expect their expensive gateways to be able to.



You got my hopes up there for a sec, until I saw the price of a basic Pi kit on pishop.co.za. R1020 for the board, a case, 8GB memory card and power supply. May as well just spend a few hundred more and buy a Ubiquiti product, which also includes the remote functionality.



The last thing I want is a PC running 24/7 to run my controller, and having my network go down if the PC turns off.



Can you elaborate? I'm not seeing an obvious home solution on the Sophos website.



I love their products too. Usability is what matters to me, and Ubiquiti UniFi has an awesomely easy to use and good looking interface. It's a big part of why I want to buy more Ubiquiti equipment to introduce network monitoring to my setup.
Click to expand...

https://www.sophos.com/en/products/free-tools/sophos-utm-home-edition.aspx

The Home Edition is a self-install so you need a mini-PC (I used a Lanner device before).

Conventional "product" you would need to buy the UTM hardware.
 
Official Crystal Web ADSL performance feedback thread Part 3...

Bryn said:
A small PC will be a similar cost and more hassle than the UniFi gateway and cloud key I think.

Where did you buy your Lanner device from? I'm not seeing the VES-300 available locally.
Click to expand...

Imported from them directly back then.

Yeah my point wasn't really that you should go and buy a PC to make it work. If you were going to fork out money just buy a Sophos Hardware device.

Might be worth a look to demo in a VM if you want to check it out.

It was more a commentary on Ubiquiti being a little out of their depth here and pricey. But that being said I haven't used this cloud gateway but I know the controller software quite well.

I do however know the Sophos UTM product very very well and it's out of this world when it comes to being a Gateway device.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Imported from them directly back then.

Yeah my point wasn't really that you should go and buy a PC to make it work. If you were going to fork out money just buy a Sophos Hardware device.

Might be worth a look to demo in a VM if you want to check it out.

It was more a commentary on Ubiquiti being a little out of their depth here and pricey. But that being said I haven't used this cloud gateway but I know the controller software quite well.

I do however know the Sophos UTM product very very well and it's out of this world when it comes to being a Gateway device.
Click to expand...

I'm skeptical that a Sophos device can be had for R4k or less. At first I thought the Sophos SG 115 UTM small desktop is what I would want, but that costs hundreds of dollars.

From the Youtube videos I've seen on UniFi gateways, the interface and functionality looks pretty damn good. Very in-depth analysis of users and usage, stretching back as far as the device has been in operation and with the same slick presentation typical of other Ubiquiti products. And of course a nice overview of the current state of the network on the landing page.
 
Official Crystal Web ADSL performance feedback thread Part 3...

Fair enough I haven't seen the latest pricing but I recall we paid about R7000 for the mid range devices a few years ago so I expect the smaller ones to be cheaper.

Will see if I can find out later.

Maybe the R/$ has cocked it up like most things.
 
is there Ubiquiti wifi range extender? is Ubiquiti a brand or something else lol.. sorry im probably asking a stupid question now. :o
 
Icemanbrfc said:
is there Ubiquiti wifi range extender? is Ubiquiti a brand or something else lol.. sorry im probably asking a stupid question now. :o
Click to expand...

Yes it's a brand and they have all sorts of awesome wifi toys. Not sure about an extender though.

Just put in another AP.
 
Sinbad said:
Yes it's a brand and they have all sorts of awesome wifi toys. Not sure about an extender though.

Just put in another AP.
Click to expand...

Thanks... if i have another router, can i use the 2nd one to extend the range, or how would that work? what are my limitations etc by doing that?
 
Icemanbrfc said:
Thanks... if i have another router, can i use the 2nd one to extend the range, or how would that work? what are my limitations etc by doing that?
Click to expand...

You can. Just turn off DHCP tabling on the extender and it's basically plug and play beyond that.

The downside is that such a setup is not 'intelligent'. Your devices won't switch access points particularly well and you may have a few minutes downtime after switching. This is something Ubiquiti specialise in - seamless handing over between access points for the best connection.
 
Bryn said:
You can. Just turn off DHCP tabling on the extender and it's basically plug and play beyond that.

The downside is that such a setup is not 'intelligent'. Your devices won't switch access points particularly well and you may have a few minutes downtime after switching. This is something Ubiquiti specialise in - seamless handing over between access points for the best connection.
Click to expand...

Thanks pal. so what does Ubiquiti have that can extend my wifi range? Or should i just get one of those powerline devices? My walls are pretty hard, although the wifi analyser app says my signal is pretty strong, but when im in another room, my wifi is down by 2 bars.
 
Bryn said:
The last thing I want is a PC running 24/7 to run my controller, and having my network go down if the PC turns off.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I see it a being no different when you rely on a single router to provide services to your network including internet connectivity. A PC running something like PFSense or OpenWRT can extend its capabilities far beyond what regular routers are capable of, especially if you're running virtual machines on it and using it to host a basic website, running virus scans, a hosted mail server, etc.

Bryn said:
The downside is that such a setup is not 'intelligent'. Your devices won't switch access points particularly well and you may have a few minutes downtime after switching. This is something Ubiquiti specialise in - seamless handing over between access points for the best connection.
Click to expand...

I've set up a network where D-Link routers at various points in a building all served the same SSID, but had different channels so that the clients could switch between them based on signal strength (I also set their signal bands to 20MHz). Is that what you're talking about?
 
I put a single UniFi AP AC Lite in my ceiling over the weekend. Full house coverage, including the patio. Happiness.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X