Let me start off by saying that I've been searching for the ultimate in wireless for the last 7 years. I've run the whole gauntlet of devices, from Netgear, to D-Link, Billion, SMC, Apple etc.
Almost always there's the same stumbling block: signal propagation throughout the home. Inevitably people try larger antennas or repeating. On this note, I had one particular setup which was stellar and near flawless with wireless repeating - the Apple AirPort range. This is what I basically upgraded from - 3 Airport AP's with 2 repeating. Didn't have perfect zero hand-off though.
After my experience with another Ubiquiti product and a rather frustrating wireless roaming issue, I turned to UniFi. Besides for the novel mounting methods and aesthetics, I was particlarly drawn to UniFi's claims of zero-handoff technology. I was also all for PoE. Another trump card for the UniFi range is the seamless addition of other access points - I think up to 100 units - without any performance degradation or roaming issues.
This is what I came home with from Scoop:
Not pictured is the loot from the second trip.
Taking the first UniFi-LR out the box, I felt quite excited. I was greeted by this sleek enterprise-class device that I hoped would finally be the ultimate in wireless.
I opted to skip 5.8GHz and remain on old trusty 2.4GHz. I didn't have an issue with 2.4GHZ spectrum availability anyway. I also shied away from 802.11ac and remained with 802.11n. It is an as-yet unproven technology and the cost is pretty exhorbitant - 300% more than 802.11n.
Techcnical specifics aside, the unit is quite small - 25cm in diameter. Its LED come in the form of a concentric slit in the dome where the LED shines through. The halo effect is quite pleasing. I have to immediately compare these to the domineering Cisco APs. Not only are the Ciscos outdated they are fugly. They don't even surface mount properly. Most lot of the installations I've seen the installer leaves off the back cover and the device is somewhat exposed.
Mounting was really easy. Supply power to the unit was not. By this I mean the obligatory roof crawing. *Spit* After checking for branders, I marked out the base plate holes with a braddle. I then drilled an 8mm hole for the network cable.
For PoE supply I decided to go use a Ubiquiti TOughSwitch Pro. This thing is basically carrier-class as two of them make up the official carrier units. Voltage supplied is a standard 24V with the option to increase to 48V for UniFi Outdoor units. This is basically what sets the Pro apart from the standard ToughSwitch.
Once each end was terminated I tested for continuity.
This is especially important with PoE. I imagine your device would blow if the power is not delivered on the correct cable pairs (either way, I didn't want to test this theory!). Even more imporant is not using PoE powered network cable for anything else!! So what do I do while testing? I forgot to disconnect my continuity tester which went with a loud POP and a burning smell. Ugh!
Configuration of each AP
The biggest challenge came with seeting up the UniFi's. I installed 3 in total. There is no 192.168.1.1 home page. Instead, you need to use Ubiquiti controller software. Once installed on host computer connected to the network, you need to "adopt" all Unifi APs. Then they are provisioned into the network. Weird indeed. You adopt an AP by dragging and dropping it on the deployment area map. From there things become really simple, especially with repeated use of the UniFi controller.
The cool party trick
A VERY nice feature for UniFi is Google API integration. For me, obtaining house plans to manage the whole network is not very feasible. Getting a Google Earth image is. So while other manufacturers have wirless controller appliances, Ubiquiti have achieved this with a software controller which has zero licensing costs. At a glance you can ping an AP, check which APs have no power, estimate signal coverage, client management, bandwidth management, hotspot management, etc.
An obstacle for me was having a host computer, running the software controller, powered and on the network 100% of the time. So I'm personally not using the software controller to the best of my ability because I don't leave any PC's running. I'm going to investiagte using somelike like Tanaza cloud service for this purpose. I have a lot of wireless clients between sites now and some of bandwidth hogs. Until mobile data becomes cheaper (35-50Mbps LTE chows it up real fast), I need to keep an eye on things. Edit: Tanaza is way too costly, around R200pm.
The end result and performance
The day-to-day performance of these units is nothing short of amazing, to me at least. No downtime, zero hand-off is a reality, multi-site wireless roaming as is the UniFi fundamental promise, great coverage, perfect mesh network.
I was wondering what they'd look like at night and if they might interfere with sleep if a bedroom door was left open.
The effect isn't all that bad and actually gives a kind of "guiding light" during midnight trips to the kitchen. My 8-month old also loves them, they're pure UFO to him. The light is very dull and you'd never be able to read with it. Just happy it's not invasive.
Edit: here is a wonderful primer on UniFi for anyone interested...
http://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi/...ual-and-beyond/m-p/110107/highlight/true#M170
Almost always there's the same stumbling block: signal propagation throughout the home. Inevitably people try larger antennas or repeating. On this note, I had one particular setup which was stellar and near flawless with wireless repeating - the Apple AirPort range. This is what I basically upgraded from - 3 Airport AP's with 2 repeating. Didn't have perfect zero hand-off though.
After my experience with another Ubiquiti product and a rather frustrating wireless roaming issue, I turned to UniFi. Besides for the novel mounting methods and aesthetics, I was particlarly drawn to UniFi's claims of zero-handoff technology. I was also all for PoE. Another trump card for the UniFi range is the seamless addition of other access points - I think up to 100 units - without any performance degradation or roaming issues.
This is what I came home with from Scoop:
Not pictured is the loot from the second trip.
Taking the first UniFi-LR out the box, I felt quite excited. I was greeted by this sleek enterprise-class device that I hoped would finally be the ultimate in wireless.I opted to skip 5.8GHz and remain on old trusty 2.4GHz. I didn't have an issue with 2.4GHZ spectrum availability anyway. I also shied away from 802.11ac and remained with 802.11n. It is an as-yet unproven technology and the cost is pretty exhorbitant - 300% more than 802.11n.
Techcnical specifics aside, the unit is quite small - 25cm in diameter. Its LED come in the form of a concentric slit in the dome where the LED shines through. The halo effect is quite pleasing. I have to immediately compare these to the domineering Cisco APs. Not only are the Ciscos outdated they are fugly. They don't even surface mount properly. Most lot of the installations I've seen the installer leaves off the back cover and the device is somewhat exposed.
Mounting was really easy. Supply power to the unit was not. By this I mean the obligatory roof crawing. *Spit* After checking for branders, I marked out the base plate holes with a braddle. I then drilled an 8mm hole for the network cable.
For PoE supply I decided to go use a Ubiquiti TOughSwitch Pro. This thing is basically carrier-class as two of them make up the official carrier units. Voltage supplied is a standard 24V with the option to increase to 48V for UniFi Outdoor units. This is basically what sets the Pro apart from the standard ToughSwitch.
Once each end was terminated I tested for continuity.
This is especially important with PoE. I imagine your device would blow if the power is not delivered on the correct cable pairs (either way, I didn't want to test this theory!). Even more imporant is not using PoE powered network cable for anything else!! So what do I do while testing? I forgot to disconnect my continuity tester which went with a loud POP and a burning smell. Ugh!
Configuration of each AP
The biggest challenge came with seeting up the UniFi's. I installed 3 in total. There is no 192.168.1.1 home page. Instead, you need to use Ubiquiti controller software. Once installed on host computer connected to the network, you need to "adopt" all Unifi APs. Then they are provisioned into the network. Weird indeed. You adopt an AP by dragging and dropping it on the deployment area map. From there things become really simple, especially with repeated use of the UniFi controller.
The cool party trick
A VERY nice feature for UniFi is Google API integration. For me, obtaining house plans to manage the whole network is not very feasible. Getting a Google Earth image is. So while other manufacturers have wirless controller appliances, Ubiquiti have achieved this with a software controller which has zero licensing costs. At a glance you can ping an AP, check which APs have no power, estimate signal coverage, client management, bandwidth management, hotspot management, etc.
An obstacle for me was having a host computer, running the software controller, powered and on the network 100% of the time. So I'm personally not using the software controller to the best of my ability because I don't leave any PC's running. I'm going to investiagte using somelike like Tanaza cloud service for this purpose. I have a lot of wireless clients between sites now and some of bandwidth hogs. Until mobile data becomes cheaper (35-50Mbps LTE chows it up real fast), I need to keep an eye on things. Edit: Tanaza is way too costly, around R200pm.
The end result and performance
The day-to-day performance of these units is nothing short of amazing, to me at least. No downtime, zero hand-off is a reality, multi-site wireless roaming as is the UniFi fundamental promise, great coverage, perfect mesh network.
I was wondering what they'd look like at night and if they might interfere with sleep if a bedroom door was left open.
The effect isn't all that bad and actually gives a kind of "guiding light" during midnight trips to the kitchen.
My 8-month old also loves them, they're pure UFO to him. The light is very dull and you'd never be able to read with it. Just happy it's not invasive.Edit: here is a wonderful primer on UniFi for anyone interested...
http://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi/...ual-and-beyond/m-p/110107/highlight/true#M170
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