Would love advice on a basic Home Wifi setup

[Matt Clerck]

Hey fellow nerds :)

 

I would love some advice if a network setup that I have in mind will work.

I'm from New Zealand, I have Fiber coming to my house which uses VLAN to connect to the internet.

 

I have a network cabinet where I would like to setup my Ubiquity router and have it connect to 3 access points around the house using POE to power them. The walls are made of gib and wood so probably don't need anything super powerful to push through the entire house.

 

I was thinking to use this system:

- 1x Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ER-X-SFP Advanced Gigabit Router 5 x Gigabit RJ45 with Passive PoE (Max 50W), 1 x SFP
- 3x Ubiquiti UniFi AC MESH UAP-AC-M Dual-band AC1200

 

This would be the first time I setup Ubiquity through a switch and I'm just not sure wether I've selected the right power or router. This is the cheapest system I could find which I think will give me good performance.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

I'm buying from this website:

pbtech.co.nz

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

[Bdavis]

The edge router isn't supported as a controller for your access points which would require you to set them up individually or run the controller software on another device. I'm also not sure the access points will work with passive POE. Usually passive POE is used for ISP wireless gear. The access points you selected are typically for outdoor use.

 

 

I would recommend the dream machine pro special edition along with three U6 lite access points. It's the cleanest setup as the dream machine SE has a built in poe switch.

 

If you're really on a budget the dream machine with a cheap poe switch and older access points such as the AC lite would work.

 

 

 

[Falcon1986]

8 hours ago, Matt Clerck said:

I have a network cabinet where I would like to setup my Ubiquity router and have it connect to 3 access points around the house using POE to power them. The walls are made of gib and wood so probably don't need anything super powerful to push through the entire house.

Are you sure you'll need 3 APs if your internal walls are made of wood and drywall? Is it a multi-level or large home?

 

8 hours ago, Matt Clerck said:

I was thinking to use this system:

- 1x Ubiquiti EdgeRouter ER-X-SFP Advanced Gigabit Router 5 x Gigabit RJ45 with Passive PoE (Max 50W), 1 x SFP
- 3x Ubiquiti UniFi AC MESH UAP-AC-M Dual-band AC1200

I have this very same router at my parents' house, but the U6-Lite APs are being powered by a dedicated UniFi PoE+ switch and, attached to the switch, is a CloudKey Gen2Plus for local management. BTW, individual UAP-AC-M units should come with their own compatible PoE injectors, so you don't need a PoE switch or the ER-X-SFP to power them.

 

Are you planning of hosting the UniFi Controller on a separate device, in the cloud or using the phone app?

 

Personally, I wouldn't be getting the UAP-AC-M in this day and age unless I wanted something sturdy for outdoor placement. In the home, a U6-Lite costs almost the same and supports WiFi 6. However, I notice the cost of network hardware in NZ is quite high!

 

4 hours ago, Bdavis said:

I'm also not sure the access points will work with passive POE. Usually passive POE is used for ISP wireless gear. The access points you selected are typically for outdoor use.

Actually, the UAP-AC-M uses passive PoE (24V, 8.5W max).

 

4 hours ago, Bdavis said:

I would recommend the dream machine pro special edition along with three U6 lite access points. It's the cleanest setup as the dream machine SE has a built in poe switch.

 

If you're really on a budget the dream machine with a cheap poe switch and older access points such as the AC lite would work.

For those on a budget [and where stock is available] and looking for a smaller footprint, a setup like this is also possible:

Spoiler

UCG-Ultra + USW-Ultra + UK-Ultra (x how much you need)

The UCG-Ultra hosts the UniFi Network (not any other app at the moment except Inner Space) which eliminates needing a CloudKey or UDM/UDR.

[Matt Clerck]

11 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Are you sure you'll need 3 APs if your internal walls are made of wood and drywall? Is it a multi-level or large home?

It is a large and multi-level home yes.

 

16 hours ago, Bdavis said:

I would recommend the dream machine pro special edition along with three U6 lite access points. It's the cleanest setup as the dream machine SE has a built in poe switch.

The dream machine is a bit more than I'd like to spend.

 

11 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Are you planning of hosting the UniFi Controller on a separate device, in the cloud or using the phone app?

I'm Looking to use the phone app most likely

 

11 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Personally, I wouldn't be getting the UAP-AC-M in this day and age unless I wanted something sturdy for outdoor placement. In the home, a U6-Lite costs almost the same and supports WiFi 6. However, I notice the cost of network hardware in NZ is quite high!

I mostly thinking that for the U6-lite you need a 48V POE device? Whereas the UAP-AC-M only needs 24V from what I can tell. I'm not too fussed about Wifi 6, There won't be more than 5 people at the house at the same time and there's no direct neighbours to compact the wifi channels

 

11 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

The UCG-Ultra hosts the UniFi Network (not any other app at the moment except Inner Space) which eliminates needing a CloudKey or UDM/UDR.

Won't need any gigabit speed as the Fiber to the house is roughly 300mbps and 90 up

 

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I think the setup below should work for the basic setup that I have in mind

If you guys could confirm this works I'd be grateful

 

Cheers from NZ!

[Bdavis]

While the above setup should work, I wouldn't recommend it. Without the network gateway or controller your stuck configuring all your APs with the app or running the controller software on another device, and then configuring your router on its own interface. The main selling point of ubiquiti gear is the ability to control everything from one interface.

 

You could also get the unifi express that is a gateway and access point in one. Then add a cheap poe switch with two other access points.

 

At 300mb download speeds you would definitely benefit from wifi 6. Remember theoretical speed never equals real world performance. My old ac pro would not consistently deliver 300 mb/s and my U6 lite does.

 

I could possibly bring you some stuff from the states. I'll be traveling to Auckland for work on March 16.

[Matt Clerck]

Thanks for the suggestion davis, especially your offer to bring some stuff here I really appreciate that but I'd like to order now and setup the system on the 16th.

 

I'm terribly unfamiliar with Ubiquity and most of what you guys suggest is probably much better than what I came up with but I can't make heads or tails off so many things that are on offer. Which leads me to buying something as simple as possible.

 

Any chance you can have a look at pbtech.co.nz and let me know what you would install here?

 

Thanks for confirming the above system will work even though I need to use the app to setup.

 

 

[Bdavis]

Damn, their prices and selection both suck. The only routers that support being a network controller on the site are the dream machine, dream machine pro, dream machine special edition, and the uxg pro.

 

The cheapest option is dream machine with two access points as it has wifi 6 built in. You will need POE injectors or a poe switch to power the access points.

 

The cleanest install is the dream machine special edition and 3 access points. The special edition has POE built in so it's one box and 3 access points, no messy injectors. You can add cameras if you want later as an added bonus.

 

The edge router is a fine product, but the one you selected is intended for wireless ISP (ubiquiti air max) devices. The problem with passive POE is it is can fry things that are plugged in that don't support it. With the edge router you turn poe on and off in the interface and it's up to you to make sure your devices are compatible. Active POE performs a handshake between the devices to supply the correct power.

[Falcon1986]

19 minutes ago, Bdavis said:

The edge router is a fine product, but the one you selected is intended for wireless ISP (ubiquiti air max) devices. The problem with passive POE is it is can fry things that are plugged in that don't support it. With the edge router you turn poe on and off in the interface and it's up to you to make sure your devices are compatible. Active POE performs a handshake between the devices to supply the correct power.

Actually, the ER-X and ER-X-SFP do not have to be used with WISPs or AirMax. You can use it as a regular router and it performs well for what it is.

 

The AC-M requires 24V passive PoE, so PoE compatibility shouldn't be a problem here. I do agree that you have to manually "switch" PoE on in the router interface.

 

3 hours ago, Matt Clerck said:

Thanks for the suggestion davis, especially your offer to bring some stuff here I really appreciate that but I'd like to order now and setup the system on the 16th.

 

I'm terribly unfamiliar with Ubiquity and most of what you guys suggest is probably much better than what I came up with but I can't make heads or tails off so many things that are on offer. Which leads me to buying something as simple as possible.

 

Any chance you can have a look at pbtech.co.nz and let me know what you would install here?

 

Thanks for confirming the above system will work even though I need to use the app to setup.

Are you sure you want a system like Ubiquiti? Why not keep it a bit simpler with a mesh system using ethernet backhaul between the primary unit and peripheral nodes?

[Bdavis]

Agreed, a mesh system would be less complicated. The unifi express is the ubiquiti version of that, but I'm not sure it's available in your area.

[Matt Clerck]

6 hours ago, Bdavis said:

Damn, their prices and selection both suck.

Haha welcome to NZ top tech website selection!

 

5 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Are you sure you want a system like Ubiquiti? Why not keep it a bit simpler with a mesh system using ethernet backhaul between the primary unit and peripheral nodes?

I actually also agree, thing is that the ethernet ports in the house do not have power supply next to them so that forces me to use POE. And the best POE system we have here seems to be a ubiquity option. otherwise I'd probably use a TP-Link Deco Mesh system with the backhaul you suggested

 

5 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

The AC-M requires 24V passive PoE, so PoE compatibility shouldn't be a problem here. I do agree that you have to manually "switch" PoE on in the router interface.

Fortunately I do believe I am technically capable of setting up that much

 

I think I got the answer I was looking for here.

 

Thank you both fine gentleman! Time to dig up that good old Comptia Network+ again and do a refresher course lol