Question Network Rebuild from Scratch - UniFi AP's Not Working

[EXCellR8]

Well, I had myself an exceptionally rough day today as I found myself sloppily and anxiously rebuilding my home server after a ransomware attack encrypted all of my files. Didn't really lose anything of merit, except my entire router and wireless controller config.

Long story short... I've had to completely build my router/server from scratch and now one of the last steps (getting WiFi back up) is just adding insult to injury. I'm exhausted, and can't figure out why it's not working, but I can say that I've been trying to get my 2x UAP-AC Lite's to be adopted by the Controller (installed on the newly-reformatted server).

I can ping both access points with the server, yet the UniFi controller software does not see them. Held the reset button down for 5-10 seconds; no change. It looks like they are getting IP addresses via DHCP, so I can't figure why the controller can't manage them.

I've still got hours of work to do, and I'd like to see this start working by morning.

Any and all help/input is appreciated.

 

[EXCellR8]

On paper it seems like a pretty impressive appliance... maybe something like that for future build-outs. I've got a rack in storage from a corporate cleanout we did years ago; planning to actually use it after I move in the spring.

not a bad option if you've a few thousand burning a hole in your pocket I suppose.

 

[ch33zw1z]

If you have none of the gear, and aren't planning to use the various products, the udm base is probably a better option.

 

[aigomorla]

If you have none of the gear, and aren't planning to use the various products, the udm base is probably a better option.

udm is still 299....
Id honestly say fork over the 80 extra and just be done with it with the pro.

 

[ch33zw1z]

udm is still 299....
Id honestly say fork over the 80 extra and just be done with it with the pro.

Sure, but you'll still need an AP and maybe a switch. The pro isn't for everyone, and guys like us drool over it, but a regular user would just get a udm if all they wanted was a soho combo device.

Me? Im refreshing the UPS tracking like a crackhead

 

[aigomorla]

you'll still need an AP and maybe a switch.

Ahhh thats right its also a WIFI access point.

But the switch isn't a gain, as the Pro has that.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Ahhh thats right its also a WIFI access point.

But the switch isn't a gain, as the Pro has that.

Yea, exactly, the pro is like buying a beefed up USG, 8 port switch, and cloud keys for controllers, and a very flexible product.

For users like us, it's a great device even at $379. The UDM base is still ok at that price because you get the USG, 4 port switch, AP, and controller built in all together. It's like piecing together $400 of ui gear for $299, so totally geared towards a soho replacement but someone who wants more out of a home router.

I was just replying to @EXCellR8 because he makes a good point, that the costs adds up pretty fast. So if you're not planning to use all their products and just want a soho replacement, the UDM base is a better pick.

 

[ch33zw1z]

So far the UDM-Pro is pretty good. I like the interface compared to the ER-X, took me a couple hours to get my 3 VLAN's configured and isolated the right way. One bonus is the networks can have 4 DNS servers. I run two pihole's locally, but in some weird scenario is they both went offline, my networks wouldn't be rendered useless.

 

[aigomorla]

@ch33zw1z EYEHAYCHOO

$414 non black friday price with tax.. Sigh... bought.
Also preordered 2 of these badboys to replace my legacy LR's which are getting phased out and i am tired of seeing the warning message everytime i log into my controller :

UniFi6 Long-Range

High-performance, indoor/outdoor WiFi 6 access point with extended signal range. Features: 5 GHz WiFi 6 band (4x4), 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 band (4x4) 3.0 Gbps aggregate throughput rate Horizontal, downward-tilted antenna pattern to widen coverage area (1) GbE RJ45 port (PoE In) Powered with PoE+...

store.ui.com

Ugh.... FML ubiquiti.... im not going to like my CC bill this month. lol.

PFsense was pissing me off last night with port forwarding and some dedicated game servers and port.
It was not playing nice.
I threw on a USG i have as a spare and it worked fine.

I guess im retiring out the C2750, and i'll be using the UDM Pro.
The only thing i don't like about ubiquiti is DHCP reservation.
Its a hassle trying to find what you want to reserve on a list and then going through options.

@EXCellR8 Your the last man standing now without a UDM-Pro.. lol...

 

[ch33zw1z]

@ch33zw1z EYEHAYCHOO

$414 non black friday price with tax.. Sigh... bought.
Also preordered 2 of these badboys to replace my legacy LR's which are getting phased out and i am tired of seeing the warning message everytime i log into my controller :

UniFi6 Long-Range

High-performance, indoor/outdoor WiFi 6 access point with extended signal range. Features: 5 GHz WiFi 6 band (4x4), 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 band (4x4) 3.0 Gbps aggregate throughput rate Horizontal, downward-tilted antenna pattern to widen coverage area (1) GbE RJ45 port (PoE In) Powered with PoE+...

store.ui.com

Ugh.... FML ubiquiti.... im not going to like my CC bill this month. lol.

PFsense was pissing me off last night with port forwarding and some dedicated game servers and port.
It was not playing nice.
I threw on a USG i have as a spare and it worked fine.

I guess im retiring out the C2750, and i'll be using the UDM Pro.
The only thing i don't like about ubiquiti is DHCP reservation.
Its a hassle trying to find what you want to reserve on a list and then going through options.

@EXCellR8 Your the last man standing now without a UDM-Pro.. lol...

Congrats on the upgrade😉

Two things I can say. The DHCP reservation is a bit different on the unifi gw's, but I don't mind too much. And second....I cant believe for $180 that the PoE injector isn't included with that WAP. I guess they are assuming you either have one or have a PoE port free.

 

[aigomorla]

Congrats on the upgrade😉

Two things I can say. The DHCP reservation is a bit different on the unifi gw's, but I don't mind too much. And second....I cant believe for $180 that the PoE injector isn't included with that WAP. I guess they are assuming you either have one or have a PoE port free.

lol.... they know if you already bought a UDM-PRO chances are you have at least a US-8-60W.

 

[Mir96TA]

I am running (24×7)6.0.48 on Raspberry Pi 4 2Gig version.
Somewhat less expensive then cloud key.
Without a problem , I did the migration from 5 version.
For your issue, after resting SSh the ap, manually adopt it. If you're running controller on window's machine turn off Firewall.

 

[bbhaag]

@ch33zw1z EYEHAYCHOO

$414 non black friday price with tax.. Sigh... bought.
Also preordered 2 of these badboys to replace my legacy LR's which are getting phased out and i am tired of seeing the warning message everytime i log into my controller :

UniFi6 Long-Range

High-performance, indoor/outdoor WiFi 6 access point with extended signal range. Features: 5 GHz WiFi 6 band (4x4), 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 band (4x4) 3.0 Gbps aggregate throughput rate Horizontal, downward-tilted antenna pattern to widen coverage area (1) GbE RJ45 port (PoE In) Powered with PoE+...

store.ui.com

Ugh.... FML ubiquiti.... im not going to like my CC bill this month. lol.

PFsense was pissing me off last night with port forwarding and some dedicated game servers and port.
It was not playing nice.
I threw on a USG i have as a spare and it worked fine.

I guess im retiring out the C2750, and i'll be using the UDM Pro.
The only thing i don't like about ubiquiti is DHCP reservation.
Its a hassle trying to find what you want to reserve on a list and then going through options.

@EXCellR8 Your the last man standing now without a UDM-Pro.. lol...

Damn dude that's really awesome and is a sweet upgrade. Congrats!....now that you and Ch33zw1z have both upgraded it makes me want to find room in my annual tech budget to upgrade my soho.
Anyway, once you get your new gear up and running let us know how you feel about it especially after a few months of use. Initial reviews are always nice but I find that long term reviews are even better.

 

[DaaQ]

Well damn, I'm about to get into a mess, a year late due to procrastination and virus excuses.

So I have Edgerouter x sfp and AC pro LR IIRC. This is currently running fine in my home.

Issue is that the plan from the beginning was to add the parents in law home to the mix. I have 2 NanoBeam AC gen2. They are now mounted, wires run but no rj45 fittings put on yet. Have not mounted the second AC pro LR to their ceiling, although I have the wire sticking through, which I am sure drives them nuts LoL.

So I have figured out I need to factory default my AP due to running in stand alone mode. I want to run 2 VLANs to keep our data separate (not sure how to configure this yet) and bandwidth limit them to 100M which is what they currently pay for and use without issue.

Do I need to run the controller software on a machine that never sleeps? or is the USG or the cloudkey device described above a better solution?

I have time because I am waiting for a 10G SPF to RJ45 adapter incoming which will offer me an extra port this way. I do have 1G service provisioned to my home, modem is in bridge mode, or baselined as we call it around here.


Edit should I just make a new thread?

 

[aigomorla]

Do I need to run the controller software on a machine that never sleeps? or is the USG or the cloudkey device described above a better solution?

You need a Layer 3 switch, or you can do it with a USG + cloudkey + Layer 2 managed switch like a US-8-PoE would be ideal as its POE and a single wire would run to your AP.
The AP's need to be connected to the managed switch along with the cloudkey + USG, and everything has to be ubiquiti for ease unless you really know how to setup VLAN's.

Honestly at this point if you do not have a cloud key or a USG, the better solution maybe just a Dream Machine regular, as its a switch + cloudkey + AP in 1 package. (Ch33zw1z initial comment) unless you want to go all bells and whistles and go UDM Pro.

A Cheaper solution would be just to throw a second router and set it on a different subnet on your parents end and not mess with VLAN if its only 2.
Put the WAN in your main network, and the LAN on your parents side, as most routers should isolate traffic on the WAN anyhow.

I realized VLAN can get kinda headache like with tagging and untagging and trunking on switches, so if its just 2 different LAN's most definitely, just giving them a router themselves and a different subnet would be more economical, as well as easier.
If your in laws are all on wifi, a wifi mesh router solution like google wifi or Orbi's is most likely the best, and will probably keep them happy.

 

[ch33zw1z]

@DaaQ probably a good idea to start your own thread. My initial thoughts

- which model nanobeam. I will have to look at it more, but I thought those were not AP's, more like a wireless layer 1 link.

- if the nanobeams don't require the the controller futime, then you probably dont need to run it full-time.

- if you don't have XP with VLANs, then theres a learning curve while you kinda figured out what's doing what.

- configuring two clans and isolating them isn't too hard. Remember that when you create the vlans, they will be able to talk to each other. You block traffic between them at the firewall level with the ER-x

edit:

according to these data sheets, the nanobeam is not managed with the Unifi controller

NBE-2AC-13 Quick Start Guide

dl.ubnt.com

NBE-5AC-Gen2 Quick Start Guide

dl.ubnt.com

So you probably won't need a fulltime controller running. Also, here's a config page to help you out

airMAX - How to Configure a Point-to-Point Link (Layer 2, Transparent Bridge)

Overview This article provides the configuration needed to create a L2 point-to-point link. Find the steps on how to make this configuration for both AC and M devices below. The settings are very s...

help.ui.com

You will want to plan what IP's will be static, DHCP, or static-DHCP. Typically, I start my network devices at the beginning of the subnet, 192.168.1.1 == router, 192.168.1.2 == AP1, 192.168.1.3 == AP2, etc.....and I make my DHCP client pool at the end of the subnet 1.200-1.254.

It also looks like the nanobeams will consume some IP's, so plan accordingly.

I strongly recommend you get everything working on the native VLAN 192.168.1.1. Start with the next link and turn on the VLAN aware switch, and go from there. In the end, you'll have a VLAN for your in-laws configured, and the links out to the AP's will be "trunk" ports (just multiple vlan's configured). You don't have to use the CLI, it can all be done from the GUI

EdgeRouter - VLAN-Aware Switch

Overview Readers will learn how to configure certain EdgeRouter models as a VLAN-Aware switch. NOTES & REQUIREMENTS: This article is applicable to the latest EdgeOS firmware on the follow...

help.ubnt.com

In UI world, the untagged (native) VLAN is the PID, and the tagged VLAN's are VID's.

I never factory reset my ER-X, I may try to turn it on and grab some screen snips for ya if you think it will help. I have two isolated VLAN's, one for IoT, and the other for "guest".