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Cloudless if and only if you run their gigantic bloated Java network management tool.

I really like ubiquiti hardware but I got fed up with their software BS. Now I use either Mikrotik or TP-Link’s industrial offerings. Both are way easier to work with than ubiquiti and the hardware is usually in the same tier.



Mikrotik? Easier?

Do not get me wrong, I love Mikrotik, but easier would not the word I would be using. This image (https://www.reddit.com/r/mikrotik/comments/jyjgnc/mikrotik_v...) sums it up neatly.

Also, Mikrotik is not directly comparable, you cannot replace Unifi Controller with Capsman.


Only thing disappoints me about Mikrotik is the wireless performance of their routers, which seems to that is more about the RouterOS then the hardware itself. You can never know if the next update will improve or worsen WiFi perf. Otherwise they have really good products.


It is both. Hardware-wise, many Mikrotik products are shipping with just 2x2 radio. Software-wise, even where hardware supports it, RouterOS doesn't support MU-MIMO and beam-forming (there is some preliminary support in the ROS7 beta, for selected chips). There are also some weird bugs, like when you have a client with Intel WiFi and it is unable to connect to VHT80 band... but all the other clients do not have such problem.

So in the end, for APs, I'm using Unifi.


MikroTik is great, but hard to configure compared to UniFi AND capsman NEVER worked reliably for me.


... we run it on a raspberrypi. Not sure I'd call that gigantic or bloated.


RasPis have a fair bit more grunt than people give them credit for.

The big problem with the Ubiquti thing is that it takes a long time to start, so if your usage model is to start it whenever you want to make a change it's rather piggish. If you start it once and leave it running forever on a dedicated device it's not nearly as bad.


Its not a great solution. The application logs and writes to storage alot.

Also it usually works fine, but when it breaks, it breaks HARD


Agree. Our DHCP pool is around 200, so we're not talking a huge amount of data. If I were running any bigger of a LAN I'd definitely ratchet the skookum factor up.


You can also just run a docker container for it [0]. This has the added benefit of separating your data from the runtime so you can move it around as if you had a physical cloud key.

[0] https://hub.docker.com/r/linuxserver/unifi-controller


Yeah ... I find that the containerized UniFi controller tends to crash after a few days with various Java errors. I've tried several different unifi-controller containers, although I haven't tried this particular one so I'll give it a try.


That particular image has been problem free for me on unraid for I dunno feels like years now. They did do some update that I missed the notes on that wiped out my database and I had to re add everything. Wasn't too happy about that.


I have tried a couple of others before and have currently been using:

https://github.com/goofball222/unifi

But every couple of days, the logs start to fill up with random java exceptions, then it starts leaking memory and eventually brings the host to a grinding halt and crashes.

I've had no troubles when using the Cloud Key Gen2 Plus, but I like the idea of the controller NOT being located on site.


I shouldn't have to run a docker appliance for my network appliances to function. Are you kidding me?


You don't. The docker appliance (or whatever platform you use to run the controller) only is needed for config changes. You can shut it down when finished making changes and everything runs fine. The install at my mom's house has the Windows controller, and I don't think it's run in 6 months.


They have a little device (IIRC they call it "cloud key" or something like that) that runs that interface pretty well. Much better than setting that UI up on a device yourself.


The CloudKey is actually pretty decent -- the CK2 Plus Gen2 if you're running UniFi Protect.


I've been running the Unifi controller on a Raspberry Pi 2 for four or five years now with no problems that I can recall.

After the initial installation and configuration was done, I've probably only logged into it a handful of times.

(With the exception of their APs and said controller, I avoid Ubiquiti as much as possible, though.)


You don't need their Java client (which I agree, is BS) if you use a Cloud Key or a UDM PRO.




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