Configuring Unifi equipment
Important Terminology and Concepts
Routers vs Gateways
For our purposes, these terms are interchangeable. Routers and gateways are technically different types of devices that serve their own distinct purposes, but in the realm of home and SMB networks they are given no meaningful distinction. The functionality of routers and gateways are typically combined into one device.
Managed vs unmanaged network equipment
All Unifi network equipment is managed. Managed equipment can be configured and monitored from a central "control plane" (i.e. one singular interface to manage all equipment from a given product line). This is in contrast to unmanaged network equipment, which cannot be configured and monitored from a central control plane.
A typical 5 port TP-Link, Netgear, or D-Link switch, for example, will be unmanaged. It's a simple "dumb" switch that requires no configuration to work and, consequently, can't be made to do advanced things such as VLAN tagging or traffic control.
Likewise a standard off-the-shelf router of the likes you would get from Best Buy or Walmart or Staples can be configured, but typically would not have a central control plane for managing it and connected devices.
Managed equipment, on the other hand, is designed to be configured and monitored from a central control plane, oftentimes accessible in a secure cloud portal from the web. These devices report their status and health to the control plane, which can then send notifications to administrators based on this information.
The Controller, or Network Application
The Controller is the "control plane" where Unifi network devices are managed. We commonly refer to it as the Controller, as this is what it used to be called prior to its name being changed to "Network Application". The terms are interchangeable.
For the sake of documentation and consistency, we will refer to it as The Controller.
The Controller, at its core, is software with a database which will be installed on some kind of host machine.
The Controller can exist in one of two ways:
- As a standalone application on one of a few installation hosts (see "The Standalone Controller" section below)
- As an application installed on a Unifi "Cloud Gateway" such as a Dream Machine, Dream Router, or one of the routers in the Unifi Cloud Gateway lineup (UCG)
Note the following: The previous two options are mutually exclusive. The type of router in use determines the Controller installation method. For example:
- A Unifi Cloud Gateway can never be adopted to a standalone Controller, because the Cloud Gateway has its own Controller built-in
- Likewise, something like a UXG does not have its own Controller built-in and must be adopted to a standalone Controller - it can never be adopted to a Cloud Gateway setup because:
- A given Unifi site can only have one gateway
- The Controller managing the Unifi site for a Cloud Gateway is hosted on the Cloud Gateway device itself - the Cloud Gateway is automatically adopted and cannot be removed
You can switch one setup to the other but you need a new gateway of the opposite type and you'll have to either migrate the site or set it up from scratch.
The Standalone Controller
Will be installed on one of the following:
- A computer, by installing the Unifi Network Application
- A Cloud Key
- Some form of cloud hosting. UPCC's NetCare controller counts as cloud hosting, and this is where most of our customers using standalone controllers reside. Other sources are the official Unifi hosting, Hostifi, etc (at the time of writing, we have no clients configured this way)
The router and all other devices are adopted into one of potentially many sites into this Controller.
The Cloud Gateway Controller
This Controller is always installed on the Cloud Gateway device, which is also the gateway/router.
The router is automatically adopted into the single site of the Controller it's hosting, and all other devices are adopted afterwards. The router cannot be removed from the single site on this Controller, and no other router can be adopted to it. Likewise, no additional sites can be added to this controller.
Adoption and Sites
The Controller hosts one or more sites, depending on the type of Controller. Standalone Controllers can host any number of sites, where as Self-managed Controllers on a Cloud Gateway can only host a single site.
A site, in the world of Unifi, is a representation of a single physical network typically consisting of a router, switch(es) and wireless access point(s). The site in the Unifi Controller contains all of the configuration information for a given physical network, including LANs and VLANs, WAN information, WiFi information, and VPN configuration.
Sites can be transferred between Controllers as needed through a manual migration process.
Unifi devices can be "adopted" to a site, meaning they are added into the site for management and monitoring. New Unifi devices come out of the box ready to adopt - they need only to be connected to a network that is already part of a Unifi site and adopted into the site.
Adoptable vs Self-Managed gateways/routers
Adoptable gateways/routers are devices that can be adopted to a standalone controller. At the time of writing, the exhaustive list of adoptable gateways contains:
- USG (USG-3P)
- USG-Pro (USG-4P)
- UXG-Lite
- UXG-Max
- UXG-Pro
- UXG-Enterprise
Self-managed gateways/routers host the Controller themselves. At the time of writing, the exhaustive list of self-managed gateways contains:
- UCG
- UCG-Ultra
- Unifi Express (UX)
- Dream Router
- Dream Machine
- Dream Machine Pro
Non-Unifi routers (EdgeRouter, Amplifi)
Unifi is a product line from Ubiquiti.
Ubiquiti also makes other product lines - notably the EdgeOS line of routers and switches but also the Amplifi lineup and airCubes. These non-Unifi routers can be used in conjunction with Unifi devices, but they cannot be adopted into the Unifi Controller. These devices are managed in UISP separately.
A handy diagram
The diagram represents all the information detailed up to this point in the article. Note that the self-managed section on the right is "self-referential" - The Controller is on the Cloud Gateway, and the Cloud Gateway is adopted to the single site on the Controller. This is represented by the double-line connecting the two boxes on the right.
What are you doing?
Identify the type of device you're setting up, and go to the relevant section.
Unifi network devices
- New USG, UXG, or other "adoptable" routers
- New UCG, Dream Router, Dream Machine, or other "self-managed" routers
- Replacement USG, UXG, or other "adoptable" routers
- Replacement UCG, Dream Router, Dream Machine, or other "self-managed" routers
- New or replacement switches or APs for an adopted site
- New or replacement switches or APs for a self-managed controller
- Migrating an adopted site to a self-managed controller
- Migrating a self-managed site to an adopted site
Unifi cameras
- New UNVR
- New or replacement cameras on an existing UNVR
- Migrating from Unifi Protect on a self-managed router (Dream Machine, etc) to UNVR