So I’ve come to accept that I need to upgrade my wifi if I want a good Roon experience. I can’t/won’t run wires everywhere I want to listen to music and the remotes will always be wireless. I also see this as a good opportunity to learn about better wifi solutions.
From this thread which seems the most comprehensive one on the matter WiFi Router Recommendations?
Ubiquity comes on top as the most recommended brand; it is also mentioned in the Roon KB as one of the to-go networking brands.
As the above thread already covers general recommendations maybe we can keep this one strictly about Ubiquity.
So I would like to open the discussion on which Ubiquity setup to choose for best performance with Roon? I couldn’t find any other thread on this subject matter, if there’s one please direct me there and ignore this.
Lots of questions, but to begin with:
maybe let’s see if ubiquity’s mesh solution is worth considering versus a fully separated setup;
if going separate, which router family to choose, edge or USG?
Should I worry much about ax, as they are about to release an ax compatible mesh solution
Anything else that I’m missing since I am such a noob
My house is two storey, brick/concrete with a concrete slab between floors, about 100 sqm/level. If I do this I’d want good coverage in the garden as well which means about 15 meters from the house in two opposite directions. However I’m fine with adding this at a later date to stagger the expense somewhat, maybe adding an access point later would do.
Any comments and suggestions are highly appreciated.
Depends on what you want to achieve. Edgeswitches require more network knowledge, unifi ones are pretty straightforward. I would not recommend mesh unless your hardwiring the uplink to each endpoint as its more stable. I have a full unifi setup USG, US-W8 60w which power over ethernet two other switches and two AC Lite aps. If you want the better aps you need the higher wattage switch. This gives me whole house coverage.
By the way.
Do I need PoE? I’m considering placing a router upstairs where the ISP cable enters the house; wire the ISP modem to the router and the router to the in-wall ethernet cabling which goes to the living room where I can place a switch and an AP. I would need a switch here to plug computer, Playstation and an AP. I can plug the switch and AP and everything else to the mains - so do I still need a PoE switch near the router or one downstairs near the AP if I have power outlets?
Might be worth also looking at the UDM / UDM Pro as the USG now seems very outdated.
FWIW I have 2 UAP-AC-Pro APs and an UAP-AC-M-Pro externally. Aside from the odd glitch introduced with firmware updates, I’ve been very happy with them (my router and switches aren’t Unifi yet).
The UDM is also much more expensive - of course it includes so much more than a router. But yeah, I was considering it, just forgot to mention it in my initial post.
Since we’re here - I know that UDM also includes the controller key functionallity. I am not sure I fully understand what that does. If you go with a separate setup, is it really needed? or is it just a nice-to-have?
It’s recommended to install the Controller somewhere - this can be anything from an RPi to a desktop…or the integrated controller on the UDM. Note that it doesn’t have to be permanently running if you don’t want it to be.
Personally I don’t use the controller atm but will migrate when I have the energy - probably when I migrate to a UDM. With hindsight I wish I’d set it up to start with!
Yes saves on extra psus. I dont regret going for it makes it all neater. Just ensure you get the right switch to power them as the lower watage are af only which wont power the better aps. The swotch can be anywhere you want it but the one that feeds everthign needs its own power.
If going Ubiquiti, I recommend staying in the Ubiquiti line of products (more separated device implementation) than their sub-brand, AmpliFi. I have had AmpliFi’s highest end WiFi solution (HD Gamer’s Edition) and its performance is FAR off the advertised mark and support is a relative joke. A lot of the issues likely stem from the system using a wireless backhaul, which as OP mentioned can be a real PITA.
I never had any problems with WiFi access points (“flying saucers”) distributed throughout but when we moved to a new house, it just wasn’t feasible to run ethernet cables (and AC power for PoE power baluns in select places) to where they needed to be mounted, so I purchased the AmpliFi HD-GE mesh rig and have been quite disappointed with its performance comparatively. The Ubiquiti line of products started out as enterprise grade gear and still attempts to maintain that brand identity, whereas AmpliFi is pointed at home/consumer grade systems. It’s a relatively new venture for Ubiquiti and it’s just not ready for prime time. Indeed, if I’m honest, I’ve been using Ubiquiti products for a LONG time and it seems in the past few years they are really falling behind their old precedent from both quality and support perspectives. That said, it’s still considered among the best gear you can put in a home setup.
Oh, to answer your other question, if thinking about going Ubiquiti/Unifi, with wireless access points located throughout, you will pretty much have to go with POE. I’d recommend getting a switch(es?) that have POE on it/them as this is much easier than having to run power to a wall wart/balun at/near your AP. It may be more expensive on the front end but it’s more than worth it in time/trouble and takes up a LOT less space as well.
so, trying to move forward, what do you guys thing about this setup:
one EDGEROUTER ERPOE-5 sitting upstairs - the router gets the internet feed from the ISP modem
Since this router has 5 PoE ports I gather that I won’t need a PoE switch near it - anything that leaves this router is also powered, right?
Then in the same room, or elswhere on the floor (I have Cat5 cabling in two other rooms) I would place an UNIFI AC LITE.
Downstairs where I have another through-walls ethernet cable connection I would place an UNIFI SWITCH 8 60W. I need a switch here because I want to connect several devices: PC (Roon Core), Playstation and one acces point. This switch has 8 powered ethernet ports so it seems like it’s overkill but I don’t see any other unifi PoE switch with fewer ports. Not sure if the PoE is a problem when connecting powered devices like a PC or Playstation? If so, what would be a better solution?
So in a nutshell, one Edgerouter, two AC LITE acces points and a PoE switch. That’s about 500USD where I live, not including configuration and sorting out cable issues, plugs, etc.
How does that sound? What am I missing? would it be worth going for the more expensive AP’s? the next one up costs about double the AC LITE. Or go with a single, more powerful AP, like a Pro, or HD Nano?
Normally a “clean” installation will put a big switch (we have Unifi 48-port POE) in a central place and run wiring out from there. It’s easier to manage, and you acn put the whole thing on a UPS if you want to. However if you can’t do that, your design with a separate switch downstairs would do.
One product I’ve recently tried is the Unifi in-wall (UAP-AC-IW) which replaces a wall ethernet socket and gives you both wifi nearby and two ethernet sockets (one PoE, one not). It’s an amazing little device and is a great way to hide wifi without adding more boxes around the house. The only weakness I’ve found is that in Europe where we often have solid masonry walls, the US-centric design with a CAT-5 socket on the rear is just too tight for the available backbox space (we typically terminate cables into sockets using punchdown connectors not plugs).
Re the controller, as others have said you can run that on anything. It needs to be there when you want to manage the network (look at security, throughout or network quality; add new access points; etc) although if you want to run a segregated guest wifi for visitors, I think that may require the controller to be online so it can do authentication. Ours lives on a Unifi CloudKey so it is always there, which is a neat but more expensive solution - it just hangs off one of the ethernet ports on your switch.
You may want to think about future paths – eg might you want at some stage to add a security camera system? That would suggest a beefier PoE switch so you can add more powered devices to your network over time.
Oh, and it’s Summer (if you are in the northern hemisphere) so while you are at it, chuck a UAP-AC-M on the outside wall of your house and flood your garden with lovely wifi too!
Steer clear of the edgerouter series unless you want a steep learning curve. Go with a USG 3P get an sw8-60 and the 2 ap’s you like. Use the UniFi GUI and run your controller on your Mac/pc if you don’t want the expense of a cloud key
I use a Unifi dream machine,8 port 60 watt switch and a nano hd.Works well for me.But if you run into issues don’t expect much help from Unifi.I find there support terrible.
