unifi alternatives?

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richms

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#140891 23-Feb-2014 18:08

Am pretty close to just buying a few of the unifi pro's for home to replace the mismatched random routers I have as accesspoints to make future wpa key changes less drama and hopefully to reduce the need for power cycling things.

Anyhow. Is there anything else comparable that I should look at as well? The pros are quite a premium over the 2.4ghz only ones and up to the price where there may be other options to consider.

Richard rich.ms

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#992953 23-Feb-2014 18:20

The biggest pitfall is the lack of band steering. It means 5Ghz is almost a waste of time unless you're locking your end user devices to 5Ghz.

richms

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#992960 23-Feb-2014 18:34

The 2.4 only ones are bastard power over ethernet so can't use my overpriced switch to run them off without buying converters so I would probably get the pro even without the ability to do that. 2.4ghz isn't that bad once inside my house so no huge loss there. Might even consider a couple of the AC ones but I don't think my 802.3af switch will power them.

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qyiet

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#993319 24-Feb-2014 13:51

richms: The 2.4 only ones are bastard power over ethernet so can't use my overpriced switch to run them off without buying converters.

I've always had them come with their own little power injectors so you can use them with a regular switch (if a bit untidy).

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richms

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#993340 24-Feb-2014 14:04

Yeah they are messy and I have already killed some other gear with a misconception to bastard Poe so will only get compliant things with sensing before powering now. Huge oversight on their part with the 2.4ghz model.

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qyiet

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#993348 24-Feb-2014 14:17

richms: I have already killed some other gear with a misconception to bastard Poe

Oooh no.. Defiantly just for use with UBNT gear.

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sbiddle

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#993350 24-Feb-2014 14:18

richms: Yeah they are messy and I have already killed some other gear with a misconception to bastard Poe so will only get compliant things with sensing before powering now. Huge oversight on their part with the 2.4ghz model.

The UBNT active->passive adapters are pretty cheap and work well.

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wasabi2k

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#993360 24-Feb-2014 14:39

haven't found anything remotely close in price

CYaBro

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#993382 24-Feb-2014 15:29

What about Open Mesh units?
Gowifi sells them and they work well, I've used them at a couple of locations.
The Cloudtrax management for them is all web based.

They only do 2.4GHz however.

Gowifi supplies the UBNT PoE units with them too.

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jnimmo

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#993387 24-Feb-2014 15:38

Any reason not to settle on something like Airport Express? Buy a few refurbished for probably quite a bit cheaper than UAPs.
I just personally find the Unifi controller dodgy Java software a huge nuisance even in a business environment let alone my home

EDIT: I see there aren't any refurbed Airport Expresses at the moment, retail price still isn't bad though

richms

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#993388 24-Feb-2014 15:38

I really need dual band to keep the flatmate off my case about hogging all the channels so I have all mine on the same 2.4ghz channel so he can use 11 for his one

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jnimmo

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#993391 24-Feb-2014 15:45

richms: I really need dual band to keep the flatmate off my case about hogging all the channels so I have all mine on the same 2.4ghz channel so he can use 11 for his one

Not sure if that was in reply to me, but the Airport Express does do dual band, also now has two gigabit ports so you can piggyback a device off them as well if needed.

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qyiet

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#993403 24-Feb-2014 15:57

CYaBro: What about Open Mesh units?
Gowifi sells them and they work well, I've used them at a couple of locations.
The Cloudtrax management for them is all web based.

Getting a little off topic, but are there any on-going costs associated with the cloudtrax controller?

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CYaBro

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#993408 24-Feb-2014 16:00

qyiet:
CYaBro: What about Open Mesh units?
Gowifi sells them and they work well, I've used them at a couple of locations.
The Cloudtrax management for them is all web based.

Getting a little off topic, but are there any on-going costs associated with the cloudtrax controller?

No there isn't.

Opinions are my own and not the views of my employer.

richms

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#993412 24-Feb-2014 16:06

jnimmo:
richms: I really need dual band to keep the flatmate off my case about hogging all the channels so I have all mine on the same 2.4ghz channel so he can use 11 for his one

Not sure if that was in reply to me, but the Airport Express does do dual band, also now has two gigabit ports so you can piggyback a device off them as well if needed.

No power over ethernet and I'm not sure how they handle centralizing the management of them. Also would rather not give apple any money if I can help if.

Richard rich.ms

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#993469 24-Feb-2014 17:27

I am sure the real network geeks on this forum regard Airport Express as amateur products, but they are ridiculously easy to set up as a single network and administer using Airport Utility. I have a couple of Extremes and 3 expresses linked via both Ethernet ( if using as an access point) and wifi ( if just using as an Airplay device) to create a whole of 2 story house dual band wifi network. All devices roam with no hiccup. I note that you say your flat mate uses channel 11. That only leaves you with channel 1 and 6 available to create a 2 device (2.4 GHz) roaming network if you were going to bridge them with Ethernet. There is a serious performance penalty if you do wifi extending all on the same channel.

You can pick up the old plug in style Airport expresses on Trademe for under $100 each regularly, if the more modern models are not available as refurb.

Peter

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