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frayed time
Oct 20, 2008

KillHour posted:

Honestly, though, why the hell are you using omni antennas for point to point bridges?


Someone asked me if this setup would work. I told them it might and if it did the quality would be terrible.

Now I'm trying to get them to put in MikroTik SXTs since the hawking devices didn't make their wildest dreams come true.

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stevewm
May 10, 2005
Just wanted to post a small update... I had got some UniFi APs for testing purposes and discovered that our older Symbol MC50 PDA units where unable to associate with them using WPA encryption. After I made a post about this on their message boards, Ubiquiti purchased one off eBay for testing. They where able to replicate the issue and figured out a fix.

Well today they made a beta firmware release with the fix included. After testing today I can report it did in fact fix all the problems I was having with the units. And I can no go ahead and move forward with my UniFi deployment.

This fix applies to several older Symbol/Motorola Windows Mobile/CE based units as many of them share the same radio hardware and software.

Ubnt is also going to roll this fix over into their AirOS software line so it fixes the issue with all of their other hardware as well.

ptier
Jul 2, 2007

Back off man, I'm a scientist.
Pillbug

stevewm posted:

Just wanted to post a small update... I had got some UniFi APs for testing purposes and discovered that our older Symbol MC50 PDA units where unable to associate with them using WPA encryption. After I made a post about this on their message boards, Ubiquiti purchased one off eBay for testing. They where able to replicate the issue and figured out a fix.

Well today they made a beta firmware release with the fix included. After testing today I can report it did in fact fix all the problems I was having with the units. And I can no go ahead and move forward with my UniFi deployment.

This fix applies to several older Symbol/Motorola Windows Mobile/CE based units as many of them share the same radio hardware and software.

Ubnt is also going to roll this fix over into their AirOS software line so it fixes the issue with all of their other hardware as well.

So it was your thread I read over in their forums! I was following that because there was an issue with an MC9090G handset and I was following for updates. However, once I kicked mine down to WPA1 Only, stuff seemed to work. They seem to be really responsive and helpful to questions. I gotta say I love these things. May the OpenMesh APs burn in hell.

stevewm
May 10, 2005

ptier posted:

So it was your thread I read over in their forums! I was following that because there was an issue with an MC9090G handset and I was following for updates. However, once I kicked mine down to WPA1 Only, stuff seemed to work. They seem to be really responsive and helpful to questions. I gotta say I love these things. May the OpenMesh APs burn in hell.

Yes, that was my thread :)

To think I was actually looking at OpenMesh APs! Glad I didn't bother, have seen nothing but negative talk about them.

Our MC50s would only operate with Open or WEP. When set to WPA1 they would not associate at all. With the fix they do associate now, but the SSID still needs to be set to WPA/TKIP only. Had to do the same to get them working on our old AP.

Oddly enough, it also fixed the performance issues I was having with them. Even on open or WEP, they had awful throughput. They operate at full speed now. I have come to the conclusion the 802.11 implimentation in Symbol's older devices is just awful.

It felt great to finally rip out the old POS APs at my test location today. Also ordered 10 more UniFi LR APs to put up at the rest of our locations.

stevewm fucked around with this message at 03:03 on May 10, 2012

ptier
Jul 2, 2007

Back off man, I'm a scientist.
Pillbug

stevewm posted:

Yes, that was my thread :)

To think I was actually looking at OpenMesh APs! Glad I didn't bother, have seen nothing but negative talk about them.

Our MC50s would only operate with Open or WEP. When set to WPA1 they would not associate at all. With the fix they do associate now, but the SSID still needs to be set to WPA/TKIP only. Had to do the same to get them working on our old AP.

Oddly enough, it also fixed the performance issues I was having with them. Even on open or WEP, they had awful throughput. They operate at full speed now. I have come to the conclusion the 802.11 implimentation in Symbol's older devices is just awful.

It felt great to finally rip out the old POS APs at my test location today. Also ordered 10 more UniFi LR APs to put up at the rest of our locations.

I feel this way every time I get to rip out old poo poo at a location and put some UniFi's in. Especially because they were all OpenMesh APs.

Internet Explorer
Jun 1, 2005





You guys are really making me want to find an excuse to install a couple of these.

Wonder_Bread
Dec 21, 2006
Fresh Baked Goodness!
Last night I powered down our old wireless network, 2x Cisco 1131AGs with a third acting as a guest. Stupid, horribly config. gently caress my predecessor.

Now we have 3x UniFi access points, for roughly 50 devices. Everything is better in every way... and I rolled out WPA2-Enterprise. Never looking back.

On that note, I have three 1131AGs up for sale now. PM me if interested.

Inspector_666
Oct 7, 2003

benny with the good hair

Internet Explorer posted:

You guys are really making me want to find an excuse to install a couple of these.

Same here. I may be taking part in setting up some AeroHive units this summer, but I really want to play around with UniFi stuff at some point.

ptier
Jul 2, 2007

Back off man, I'm a scientist.
Pillbug

Inspector_71 posted:

Same here. I may be taking part in setting up some AeroHive units this summer, but I really want to play around with UniFi stuff at some point.


$70 buys a ticket. I am seriously considering replacing my home wireless with these guys.

Inspector_666
Oct 7, 2003

benny with the good hair

ptier posted:

$70 buys a ticket. I am seriously considering replacing my home wireless with these guys.

I can't really justify any spending on home stuff since it all works, but yeah, I have given it a lot of thought.

Dick Trauma
Nov 30, 2007

God damn it, you've got to be kind.
How does their management software compare with Meraki's? I only have one Meraki AP so far but I have a dozen more locations to upgrade and I want to make it as painless as possible to manage them all. No more than two APs per site.

ptier
Jul 2, 2007

Back off man, I'm a scientist.
Pillbug

Dick Trauma posted:

How does their management software compare with Meraki's? I only have one Meraki AP so far but I have a dozen more locations to upgrade and I want to make it as painless as possible to manage them all. No more than two APs per site.

I haven't ever used meraki's software. But, I will say that the Ubiquiti Software it is super simple to use and doesn't need to be on all the time. The only thing you might need to be aware of is that when you turn the server on that the APs will look for http://ubnt:port on the local subnet and start talking to it. You can add a DHCP entry to tell the APs where to look, but if you are deploying over multiple subnets/routers you will need to make the change.

http://wiki.ubnt.com/UniFi_FAQ#L3_.28Layer_3.29_Management

Thanks Ants
May 21, 2004

#essereFerrari


Dick, the key thing for me is that you're deploying over multiple locations. Meraki was pretty much built for that, and if you've got the budget for them (they cost a gently caress ton here in the UK unfortunately) I'd be inclined to stick with. I demoed some of their kit and was really impressed. UniFi doesn't have as complete a feature set, and stuff like the layer 7 firewall built into the Meraki's is something that you don't think you'd need but end up using anyway.

Edit: Also the VPN features of the Meraki APs are a godsend for remote locations, no more dicking around with software clients.

Partycat
Oct 25, 2004

ptier posted:

I haven't ever used meraki's software. But, I will say that the Ubiquiti Software it is super simple to use and doesn't need to be on all the time. The only thing you might need to be aware of is that when you turn the server on that the APs will look for http://ubnt:port on the local subnet and start talking to it. You can add a DHCP entry to tell the APs where to look, but if you are deploying over multiple subnets/routers you will need to make the change.

http://wiki.ubnt.com/UniFi_FAQ#L3_.28Layer_3.29_Management
Cisco's LWAPP does that as well. The idea is that for management, it is going to be on the same subnet around a given campus. You don't staple the APs to your various access VLANs and then extend them via security with that model (usually), it's tunneled back to the controller. This is obviously extremely stupid if you're trying to drop to the same subnet across campus, since you end up hair-pinning traffic.

The units can be told which controller to talk to via console (which is about all you can do with it via console generally) and then setup for H-REAP to drop local traffic to a tagged VLAN (usually something local, and your guest portal goes back to the controller, phones, etc). I don't think you can do that without H-REAP, and the H-REAP clients cannot roam to the same SSID on the other APs since they are in a different mobility group (yes? not sure).

Anyways, when "enterprise" comes up, that's the sort of operation I'm thinking of. Deploying them as a dumbbell access point on one subnet (where the clients and AP management are on the same subnet) is certainly possible, how we used to do it, in fact, but, configuring each autonomous AP is a pain in the rear and not needed.

Depending on your traffic volumes, maybe you want to do that to avoid the controller (especially since the 3750G w/ controller is EoL, dunno what replaces it) but it's lame.

As far as firewalling and that, most infra has these sorts of appliances already deployed, and you don't end up trying to duplicate your features with every appliance and item you buy, just leads to being a pain to manage.

What I'm at right now is trying to evaluate a deployment that makes heavy use of 2.4/5.8 combined APs that are in close line-of-sight proximity to each other. The cells overlap, and the RRM functions have dialed down the power quite a bit because of this, causing tiny cells sizes to contribute to coverage holes in places where we can't install APs. What I'm looking at is basically telling the design engineers, "Look, this doesn't work. Shut down some of the 2.4 radios, and allow the power to come up to cover the areas while minimizing (as best as possible) interference, and deal with the increased client capacity." I don't see any way around that. I'd like to think we can deploy 5.8GHz only radios in a higher density, at higher power, but, we only really see 25-35% of clients at that frequency on our system. It's hard to tell if that's because they don't support that, or that the 5.8GHz coverage is shite being deployed in tandem with the widely-spaced 2.4GHz radios. I'd like to think it is some of both.

What sort of client types are you guys seeing out there?

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Dick Trauma posted:

How does their management software compare with Meraki's? I only have one Meraki AP so far but I have a dozen more locations to upgrade and I want to make it as painless as possible to manage them all. No more than two APs per site.

Meraki is about as simple as it gets, but man - they make you pay for the privilege.

Dick Trauma
Nov 30, 2007

God damn it, you've got to be kind.

KillHour posted:

Meraki is about as simple as it gets, but man - they make you pay for the privilege.

Indeed. But The Man will be paying for it, just like he paid for my excellent lunchtime hickory burger. :coal:

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Cheers to companies with an actual budget.

I have a customer that wants 200 cameras for a school with a budget of 16-18k (ugh).

adorai
Nov 2, 2002

10/27/04 Never forget
Grimey Drawer

KillHour posted:

I have a customer that wants 200 cameras for a school with a budget of 16-18k (ugh).
You can do it with ubiquity.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


My company doesn't carry Ubiquiti.

adorai
Nov 2, 2002

10/27/04 Never forget
Grimey Drawer

KillHour posted:

My company doesn't carry Ubiquiti.
Maybe you should.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


I work for a distributor. It's not exactly as easy as applying for authorization. Also, I have no input into what we carry as far as companies go. Generally, if we don't have a company, it's because they don't want to do business with us, not the other way around.

the spyder
Feb 18, 2011

adorai posted:

You can do it with ubiquity.

How? Your looking at $100 per camera. He is pretty much screwed. Even using "cheap" cameras, unless that price doesn't include a DVR or wiring/install, there is just no way. They need to nearly triple their budget just to cover the wiring/install.

Weird Uncle Dave
Sep 2, 2003

I could do this all day.

Buglord
$100 per camera is single-unit retail pricing. If you order 200 at a go, you'll surely get a better price. It's still an impossible budget because of needing to do 200 Ethernet runs and build a pretty big server to handle recording 200 cameras' video, but it's slightly less impossible.

frayed time
Oct 20, 2008

Weird Uncle Dave posted:

$100 per camera is single-unit retail pricing. If you order 200 at a go, you'll surely get a better price. It's still an impossible budget because of needing to do 200 Ethernet runs and build a pretty big server to handle recording 200 cameras' video, but it's slightly less impossible.

There's no way. In December I bid a $200,000 job for 65 IP cameras in an industrial environment for a rice mill.

Two months later they come back and say they only have $70K to work with.

No wireless cameras, just IP cameras made by axis.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


That one's actually probably doable with P1343 cameras and a deal reg. Depends on how much you charge for install, I guess.

Edit: Unless that budget includes PoE switches, a server, and a VMS, in which case, hell no.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 17:22 on May 15, 2012

ptier
Jul 2, 2007

Back off man, I'm a scientist.
Pillbug
Anyone have any leads on distributors that have UniFi's in stock? We keep trying to order them and get responses that they don't have any, even though their websites clearly indicate they have some in stock.

feld
Feb 11, 2008

Out of nowhere its.....

Feldman

Coworker was just at Interop and Xirrus was demoing their state of the art wireless gear. They had ONE device that was feeding a wall of iPads -- 100+ -- which were all streaming video simultaneously.

:psyduck:

feld fucked around with this message at 20:38 on May 21, 2012

psydude
Apr 1, 2008

Heartache is powerful, but democracy is *subtle*.
How good are the UnifiAPs at roaming? We're trying to replace our lovely AirPorts right now and the price is definitely right for the size of the deployment, but we have users going from one end of the building to the other constantly and I want to make sure that they don't have problems with switching APs.

diehlr
Apr 17, 2003
Remember not to use restricted post tags next time.
It is my understanding that it is up to the device to roam from one access point to the next. I don't think Unifi has the ability to force which access point a device is on.

Wonder_Bread
Dec 21, 2006
Fresh Baked Goodness!

diehlr posted:

It is my understanding that it is up to the device to roam from one access point to the next. I don't think Unifi has the ability to force which access point a device is on.

Correct. I haven't seen any major issues yet or had any devices not properly roam, however.

MrMoo
Sep 14, 2000

diehlr posted:

It is my understanding that it is up to the device to roam from one access point to the next.

i.e. IP address may change and connections will break: such as phone calls, remote desktop sessions, etc.

Outlook will reconnect and obviously most HTTP sessions will be unaffected.

psydude
Apr 1, 2008

Heartache is powerful, but democracy is *subtle*.

MrMoo posted:

i.e. IP address may change and connections will break: such as phone calls, remote desktop sessions, etc.

Outlook will reconnect and obviously most HTTP sessions will be unaffected.

Well, none of our employees are set up to run VoIP from their cell phones, nor would they need to run RDP. I could understand how in a lot of environments this would pose an issue, but this is a pretty small scale deployment for a user base that doesn't have diverse needs.

adorai
Nov 2, 2002

10/27/04 Never forget
Grimey Drawer

psydude posted:

How good are the UnifiAPs at roaming? We're trying to replace our lovely AirPorts right now and the price is definitely right for the size of the deployment, but we have users going from one end of the building to the other constantly and I want to make sure that they don't have problems with switching APs.
Unifi does not support 802.11r, which is the technology that APs use to assist client roaming.

Partycat
Oct 25, 2004

Uh, ideally your session should roam because it's the same network, but, whatever.

Anyways the big deal for me at the moment is Cisco lightweight, and Android devices, running 802.1x, EAP-PEAP, and WPA2 Enterprise.

I had a Motorola i1, Android 1.5 worked like a charm. Upgrade to a device running ICS, drat thing will not roam, will not stay connected, and if it sleeps, it will not reconnect promptly. Plenty of people having this problem with other Android devices.

I don't even know where to begin with it. I set up "Internet Calling" on my phone, and people have asked about the Cisco Jabber client or similar but there's no way to use it when you can't walk 50 feet without dropping WiFi.

I use WPA2 at home and have no issues with it, I believe it is 802.1x related but I've not found any useful info so far :/

ior
Nov 21, 2003

What's a fuckass?

Partycat posted:

Uh, ideally your session should roam because it's the same network, but, whatever.

Anyways the big deal for me at the moment is Cisco lightweight, and Android devices, running 802.1x, EAP-PEAP, and WPA2 Enterprise.

I had a Motorola i1, Android 1.5 worked like a charm. Upgrade to a device running ICS, drat thing will not roam, will not stay connected, and if it sleeps, it will not reconnect promptly. Plenty of people having this problem with other Android devices.

I don't even know where to begin with it. I set up "Internet Calling" on my phone, and people have asked about the Cisco Jabber client or similar but there's no way to use it when you can't walk 50 feet without dropping WiFi.

I use WPA2 at home and have no issues with it, I believe it is 802.1x related but I've not found any useful info so far :/

Cant say I have experienced the same myself - what code are you running on the controller?

Aquila
Jan 24, 2003

Now that I've finished having an Aruba setup installed and configured I am so happy I got my company to spend the money on it. Performance has been amazing and there haven't been any complaints about performance.

edit: this is coming from absolutely horrible performance with consumer grade gear (running dd-wrt) in a super dense environment:

Aquila fucked around with this message at 17:30 on Jun 11, 2012

movax
Aug 30, 2008

Are the companies listed in the OP where I should be looking for a 3-floor apartment building with ~25 users, and a max install of probably 3 or 4 APs? I'd just like to blanket the building in WiFi and have the clients be smart enough to connect to the nearest/strongest AP.

I've setup a basic attempt like that back at my parents place, but with two separate DD-WRT APs that just happen to have the same SSID. I was told that was the best way to get a "seamless" network, but sometimes clients will latch onto the weaker signal on the opposite side of the house.

Nitr0
Aug 17, 2005

IT'S FREE REAL ESTATE


I want!

:smithicide:

poxin
Nov 16, 2003

Why yes... I am full of stars!
Just ordered a Ubiquiti Unifi Long Range for my home. Even with an Asus RT-16n maxed at 60mw, I would get intermittent signal in my bedroom which isn't even that far away. The brick wall behind the router probably doesn't help.

Looking forward to setting this up, also loving how inexpensive it was. Wish I would've known about these sooner!

Overkill for a home? Maybe.

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My Rhythmic Crotch
Jan 13, 2011

I just opened a ticket at my company to consider installing 6 Unifi APs at each of our facilities... or I guess, each facility that gets built in the future. This came after I tried deploying a clusterfuck of like 8 Netgear 3500s acting as APs. So hopefully I will get to play with some of these devices at some point in the future.

The only thing I don't get is... why no Linux version of the controller?

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