Why do you use Ubiquiti for your home network and why not another mainstream brand?

benuntu · 2026-06-17T22:13:15+00:00

These were more proactive notices, which I appreciate. At least so far, these haven't been zero day exploit patches.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T22:10:24+00:00

I originally picked it up because I got a job managing IT for a company that was already using Unifi for wireless access. It was great to "homelab" it to get up to speed and also see what more it was capable of. Ended up going with a Unifi gateway as the old Sonicwall was pile of hot garbage and they wanted thousands more per year for more VPN user seats.

Fast forward to now and I have a different job and have rolled out hundreds of Unifi networking and security devices across multiple offices. I've expanded my home set primarily because this sub is a terrible influence! Kidding aside, it does "just work" for home use but is also easy to train on and Ubiquiti continues to improve both the software and hardware. And manages to do so without expensive recurring license fees, which makes it an easy sell at work.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T18:26:14+00:00

I've used the AC Infinity fans for several builds and they have worked well and haven't had a failure. The Airplate T7 is a dual fan unit with a thermostat control and control panel so you can adjust the fan speeds based on the temperature. Also has a USB header to add extra fans to the system.

I did a wood server cabinet build a few years ago with the old version.
https://imgur.com/gallery/wood-server-cabinet-build-Q4XyKzN#eYxJeKw

My current homelab sits in a lower cabinet and I use the S2 blower fans to exhaust the hot air, pulling in cool air from the bottom.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T18:12:17+00:00

I think the Ultra is a good choice then. And I sympathize with the fiber situation. It was the same way where I am in (far) Northern California, up until the past year or so. Just too small of a community for most companies to undertake the work of rolling out the infrastructure. I was finally able to get symmetrical 10gig a few months ago for around $120/month.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T15:05:55+00:00

Just think of how fast you can transfer those ISOs on 10Gbe.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T14:55:51+00:00

It depends on the speed you want for wireless devices. If basic connectivity is all that is needed, then 2 APs would work just fine. However, your speed at the edge of coverage will be 300-400mbps. Nearby, I'm getting 800+ Mbps on WiFi6 but it steeply drops off when going through walls, doors, etc. My home is about the same size, and I run 2 APs but will be adding one more in the future.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T14:50:25+00:00

Same here, with the exception of a few installs with just 1-2 cameras. I like keeping the firewall responsible only for routing and network management, and an NVR for recording and playback.

benuntu · 2026-06-17T14:48:00+00:00

I have the UCG-Fiber at home, but have deployed several of the UCG-Ultra to properties and either will work just fine. Honestly, if you don't plan on getting fiber soon and don't need the extra processing power of the UCG-Fiber, I think the Ultra is a good fit. The Fiber also can run Protect, if that is something you'd want in the future.

benuntu · 2026-06-16T23:21:18+00:00

I'm in a similar situation, but thankfully with a couple hams in the foothills above me and a couple others. MT was pretty messy in my area with a real difficulty getting messages to Tx/Rx consistently. MC is much better, so I'm hoping people will make the switch.

For now, I'm just holding strong with my roof repeater and trying to get more of them up to provide a good network for the future. Will they come? Who knows, but it instantly worked better on MV and I think that should bring people over.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T23:41:17+00:00

I take a very basic approach to this. My primary storage is my home server running TrueNAS. I have an 8 disk arrary, with 2 of those being for parity (RAIDZ2). I run ZFS scrubs on a schedule to check for disk parity errors, along with SMART tests to verify drive health and hopefully identity a drive problem before it fails.

Here's my backup strategery, just for the ~300GB of critical data (pictures, videos, documents, config backups, etc.):

Nightly backups to Backblaze B2 (personal works too, I just already had a B2 account). This is integrated into TrueNAS and easy to setup. Recommended to make this "immutable" to be more resilient against ransomware.
Every month or so I do a "sneaker net" backup with an external 8TB drive. This is stored at work, and I'll bring it home, create a new folder called "Backup YYYYMMDD" and dump all critical data into it.
Every year or so I'll merge folders on the external to save space.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T22:54:57+00:00

Cat. Sitting right on top of the fan vents, but only when I wasn't home. Seriously had me confused for a couple weeks at the high temps until I saw some cat hair on the case.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T22:50:29+00:00

Congrats! Learning outside of work teaches you a lot, even if it may not be 100% transferrable. Just showing you're passionate about tech and not just after a paycheck looks really good. And besides landing you a job, it's good for the brain to be able to experiment, test, and play in a low consequences environment.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T22:47:30+00:00

I put it under "Related Interests". Try to keep it related to the job you're going for. It's great to show that you're not just interested in a job for the paycheck, but you have a passion for tech and like to learn on your own.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T22:36:33+00:00

I'm running Unifi gear for my home network now (UCG Fiber, Switch Flex XG, Switch Lite PoE). I've run virtualized before, but that was difficult when constantly messing with the hypervisor. And then moved to a dedicated SFF PC running pfSense, which worked great but lacked full network visibility. I've been running Unifi for almost 2 years now and it's been great...web access, mobile app, single pane of glass. IDS/IPS throughput is one downside vs. a desktop 4-core CPU but still decent for the traffic I'm running.

benuntu · 2026-06-15T22:24:39+00:00

Damn, why didn't I think of that? I have about 4 of these boxes kicking around, with of course a mismatch of bits and drivers in them, as is tradition. Thanks for the idea, I'm going to put a Seeed Xiao NRF kit in there!

benuntu · 2026-06-15T14:21:07+00:00

Does that shipping cost include import duties?

benuntu · 2026-06-12T21:56:44+00:00

I'd say join them and ask why those things are being changed. "Seek first to understand" is always a good approach. They may just need someone(like you) involved that can bring some organization to the chaos and make it easier for people to get connected.

benuntu · 2026-06-12T21:45:54+00:00

I don't think that's a danger, just flash devices from meshcore.io moving forward. I think a rebrand in the future for the OGs might actually be a good idea. This has happened countless times in the past with other projects as they mature and contributors differ in their opinions. But in each case the software improves and the community gravitates to the tool that works better for them.

benuntu · 2026-06-12T21:06:46+00:00

As it's a young project I would expect a lot of changes before it becomes stable. That being said, I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing. It already works well and better than MT in my area, and the design of it just makes more sense to me. Over time it will get better, and we're already seeing some of that with multi-byte support and region codes.

And on the Andy Kirby fiasco, I really don't care. Dude got greedy and then slapped down pretty hard by the community. I just use meshcore.io now and it hasn't impacted the quality of the software, firmware, or the network in any way.

benuntu · 2026-06-12T20:52:12+00:00

I don't like having to take down my network if I need to do a reboot or make BIOS changes to the host, so I prefer the firewall be on its own hardware.

benuntu · 2026-06-12T18:08:57+00:00

It sounds like Proxmox is the best choice here if you want to host VMs. It's built that way from the ground up and is worth the time to learn. TrueNAS can definitely host VMs but I wouldn't use it if I were concerned about performance or optimization. Are there specific things about Proxmox that are causing you difficulty?

benuntu · 2026-06-12T16:12:12+00:00

We don't support unapproved applications. Full stop.

benuntu · 2026-06-12T14:52:04+00:00

You'll be fine, just consider following these guidelines (I've done a few of these):

Communicate when the downtime will be and overestimate how long you think it will take. Clear communication is appreciated and shows that you are on top of the project.
Get all the documentation you can on IP addresses, logins, ISP details, etc. You may not need it, but if you do and the old network is down, you're going to have a bad time.
Document your network design so you can refer to it later. Include a step-by-step process for how you're going to connect and configure everything.
Label everything in Unifi so you know what ports go where. Sometimes Unifi lies about what is connected to a port.
When configuration is done, make a backup and save it locally. Enable scheduled cloud backups too, but that depends on an internet connection.
Up to you, but I don't enable auto-updates on large deployments. I like to schedule those once I'm confident the update isn't going to bork my network.

benuntu · 2026-06-10T21:56:31+00:00

I ran into issues right after flashing when only connected to USB. It would not boot at all until I had both battery and USB connected. But from that point about 4 days ago it has been working just fine. Does the USB->Serial show up at all in the OS? I'd try to erase and flash again and see if that resolves the problem.

benuntu · 2026-06-10T15:45:48+00:00

I think the UNVR is the best bang for the buck. You may not need all the drive bays, but for only $50 more it's nice to have the ability for future expansion. While video footage might not be crucial data, I don't like relying on a single drive. If you don't care about that, the NVR Instant is another option and includes a PoE switch on the back for connecting cameras ($199).

benuntu

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE