Set up UCG Ultra on existing network infastructure without removing Google Wifi

[Crazyfun205]

Ok so i know this is not an ideal setup, but i am currently still living with my parents and would like to be able to easily set up VLans and manage my network without taking away the Wifi from my family.

As you can see in the diagram i made, we have an existing Google wifi mesh with two other AP's spread around the house. in my room we have a Altibox (Norwegain ISP) router which has the fourth Lan port set up in as a bridge port, and the rest are just normal Lan ports (according to what i know from working in IT. So what i am trying to figure out is if it would be possible to simply connect the UCG Ultra (Unifi Cloud Gateway) directly to one of the free Lan ports on the Altibox router, and be able to set up and use the UCG for my VLan needs, but still have the Google Wifi system for the rest of my family.

I am still waiting for the UCG Ultra to arrive so i have not been able to set it up to see if it works, but thats why im asking to so i'll know what to do.
I am aware that i may run into issues with "Double NAT" but whenever i try to find out what spesificly would be affected, the only answer i have found is "some online games" but i have not been able to find any spesific games being stated. 
I am aware it would be much more ideal to simply buy Unifi AP's and set them up, but keep in mind im setting this up for fun mostly so i don't want to spend loads of money on it if it won't be nessicary.
I also considered if it would be easier to connect each Google wifi "AP" to the UCG Ultra and simply use them as AP's, but then i would have to route network cables from the loft, to the ground floor and the basement since we do not have network ports in the wall anywhere, so i would prefer not having to do this.

Im planning on posting an update once i get the UCG Ultra

[Falcon1986]

On 4/30/2025 at 5:28 AM, Crazyfun205 said:

So what i am trying to figure out is if it would be possible to simply connect the UCG Ultra (Unifi Cloud Gateway) directly to one of the free Lan ports on the Altibox router, and be able to set up and use the UCG for my VLan needs, but still have the Google Wifi system for the rest of my family.

Should work as you want in this way.

 

My suggestions:

1. Assign your UCG Ultra with a static client IP on the ISP gateway so it's doesn't drop your secondary network during IP lease renewal.
2. Use a different LAN IP scheme than the primary network so you get full use of that subnet rather than sharing part of the primary network.

[Bdavis]

Can the Google wifi mesh just be put in access point mode while still maintaining wireless meshing?

[Crazyfun205]

1 hour ago, Bdavis said:

Can the Google wifi mesh just be put in access point mode while still maintaining wireless meshing?

Did some research earlier and found out it can be used as an AP but the mesh system won't work then, so i would only be able to connect to the one in my room. I am still unsure tho if it would be possible to manually connect to each AP with a network cable and have it work, or if you can only connect to one.

[Crazyfun205]

UPDATE:

So i got the UCG ultra up and running without issue, but i did it a bit different to how i originally planned to. Here is a diagram showing how i connected it. As you can see i will have to deal with the "Double NAT" situation, but that dosen't really bother me tbh. and with this current setup, i can easily switch between connecting my computer to the UCG ultra and the google Wifi network. I used two female to female keystone connectors in the rack to act like a patch pannel, which can be expanded in the future. and the TP-Link 5 port switch is connected to the google wifi, which is where the UCG ultra gets its network from going to the WAN port on it. I am also planning on connecting the proxmox to both the UCG ultra and the TP-Link switch using both the onboard RJ45 port and a network card, so i can set up VM's on either network. But i will have to set up the proxmox from scratch again since the UCG ultra took the IP-address that the proxmox had (if I had to guess, its probably because that IP-address was for static IP-addresses, but idk) but i don't have anything important on it anyways so i don't mind this.

Might not be the best setup, but it works well for my needs so im happy with it.

 

(As you can see i changed a few things in the diagram like the Altibox router, because our router, is behind a pannel in my wall, so i diden't bother to go back there to check the model before i got the UCG ultra)

[Falcon1986]

3 hours ago, Crazyfun205 said:

Might not be the best setup, but it works well for my needs so im happy with it.

Good to hear.

 

*Cringes at Power-Over-Ethernet* 

[Lurick]

12 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Good to hear.

 

*Cringes at Power-Over-Ethernet* 

Why cringe at PoE?

[Falcon1986]

4 hours ago, Lurick said:

Why cringe at PoE?

Lol! I guess autocorrect got me there. Meant Powerline.

[Crazyfun205]

13 hours ago, Falcon1986 said:

Lol! I guess autocorrect got me there. Meant Powerline.

agreed tbh, its just that our house has no ethernet outlets, and its just left over from how the TV in our basement was set up (and to be fair no one has used the TV in the basement for watching TV in years). This was one of the key reasons i wanted to keep the google mesh system.

PS: I spent like an hour making those "Home:Link" powerline thingys in Draw.io, cause the only pictures i could fine online that where top down, had like 5 pixels

[Crazyfun205]

Here is a picture of the physical "mini rack" with the new UCG ultra installed (i might move the cabel going from the TP-Link switch to the ucg, from port 4 to 5 just to make if look a little cleaner)