https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubiquiti_Networks#U-Boot_confi...
And FWIW, they have recently started shipping a UniFi Mesh product called... UniFi Mesh. I haven't used it so can't really speak for it, but its marketing site is here: https://unifi-mesh.ubnt.com/
Ubiquiti works well in a low RF noise environment.
We have 1k+ unique SSIDs visible throughout our office and I was having horrific latency spikes, lost connections, etc. with top of the line Ubiquiti equipment. Trying tuning them every which way from sunday. No Dice.
Spent the money and switched to ruckus and instantly: perfect wifi. Never looked back.
Be aware with Unifi gear there is no onboard configuration or UI beyond busybox shell via SSH and a basic command line tool. They are intended to be deployed using the Unifi controller which once setup can be shut down, but will be required again to change passwords, etc.
Unifi is definitely at the top of my list for multiple AP deployments, I still prefer MikroTik for edge devices though.
I also love the MikroTik router with wifi I have back home though.
> Be aware with Unifi gear there is no onboard configuration or UI beyond busybox shell via SSH and a basic command line tool. They are intended to be deployed using the Unifi controller which once setup can be shut down, but will be required again to change passwords, etc.
To clarify, this applies to the edge AP/repeaters. I know for sure every router I have purchased from Ubiquiti has had an onboard/hosted web management UI.
That said, you can install the UniFi management portal on a local machine and serve it on demand from a laptop. Or, as you (eltoozero) have done, host it remote.
And finally, you can also buy their "Cloud key" device which acts as a host for the web management portal.
This used to be the case, they now have a app for Android and iOS which will setup and manage APs even without a controller.
I believe you loose some of the functionality, like captive portals on guest networks, but 99.9% of people don't need these things.
My house is 17th century bastide in France which was apparently built to repel canon or nuclear blasts -- my walls are a meter thick in some places and average over a half meter of pure stone. Wifi is a challenge and pulling cable is excruciating.
The software is fine by the big advantage is that it has meraki reliability without the licensing.
Also, the linked article is wrong. The iphone app is more than adequate for simple home setups (no crazy java pc installation required while you're up on a ladder / in the attic installing it). It wouldn't surprise me if they have a comparable android app. Didn't check.
Also Ubiquiti are launching a new mesh networking product this month.
The AC-PRO covers my entire house (2 story, 2500+ sqft new construction) and garage with no latency issues or dead spots. There's no handoff issues like having multiple APs/extenders, there's a faster throughput than I was getting with the Nighthawk, and the PoE made it a breeze to install centrally in the house.
I'm only upset that I waited so long to just give up on the purely 'consumer grade' crap.
If you need a router functionality, get there edgerouter but I'll tell you this, it's super powerful but not something easy to figure unless you have a deeper understanding of network protocols. Great stuff.
You don't need Java to work in the browser. The management tool runs on a Tomcat webserver. That requires Java. I don't know if you need to install Java to get that working, or if Java is included in the tool itself. But you don't need the Java plugin in your browser for the tool to work. To test this, disable or remove the plugin and see if the management tool keeps working!
The Archer C7 the article recommends is solid, too. At least when flashed to OpenWRT, stock firmware is horrible.
I guess I should have said that right away. If interference or false DFS positives aren't an issue, they're excellent radios and with the 34dbi antenna dish UBNT offer you can potentially bridge unbelievable distances.
For LOS Backhauls I'd always go for the AF24HD unless the steep price is an issue. Then again, the license for 18ghz radios alone costs more in Germany and tbh I haven't seen any interference ever with 24ghz, even if it is a free band.
Airfibers are our choice any time there is interference. They handle it better than any other radio we've tested. Have you found another vendor that can handle it better? Obviously there would be no comparison against a licensed setup.
As for the AF24, they're not an option in Florida for distances over 1 mile due to rain fade. They are great radios, but 24ghz is not a viable frequency if you need it to work when it's humid, foggy, or raining.
Probably unfair to blame it on the AF5X.
As for the weather, I would assume Southern Germany has as much in common with Florida as Switzerland with Hawaii. Snow is an issue but in LoS links it was never a big one. Only on 60/80 Gigahertz links, but those you can kill with a well placed wrapper of tinfoil anyway :)
Our DFS false positives were, since FCC reqs don't matter here, most likely due to congestion or Swiss mobile providers playing with nanocell setups or what not.
All in all I prefered Ubiquity over Mikrotik, Ruckus and Cambium. Mimosa I liked, too, but when it came down to it Ubiquity had the nicest features, the best build quality, the most accessible configuration and the best resulting links.
Not in the WISP biz anymore but I do enjoy talking shop. Did you try the Amplifi the article mentions yet? I have my Unifi setup at home and really don't think I will change it to something else, but I would love to try their first consumer product :)
As a rule of thumb, any time I see "mesh" I run far far away as it usually refers to a bunch of single-radio half-duplex access points and some sort of super "self-healing" magic. One second you get great speed, the next you have horrible speed. But most of the routers mentioned in the article are dual radio with a dedicated "backhaul" thus probably work much better than the mesh networks of the past.
On 24ghz I do have an 18km link running at 250mb/s FDX on a standard set of AF24, but the slightest atmopheric disturbance takes it out. Even my 3km link will drop in a heavy storm. I haven't even bothered with 60/80. I doubt they would make it across the street!
Though the binary firmware blob can still go to hell, it's certainly troublesome or was when I installed about a year ago.
The thread's been going for a while but the problems persist.