I have run a Unifi Security Gateway (USG) for a while now. In conjunction with three wireless access points, the setup has been pretty robust. The only area I have had some trouble in is the controller software.
I run the controller software on one of my K8 clusters. The deployment is fairly simple, but if the pod dies unexpectedly, it can cause the MongoDB to become corrupted. It’s happened enough that I religiously back up the controller, and restoring isn’t too terribly painful.
Additionally, the server and cluster are part of my home lab. If they die, well, I will be inconvenienced, but not down and out. Except, of course, for the Unifi controller software
Enter the Unifi Cloud Gateways
Unifi has had a number of different entries into the cloud gateways, including the Dream Machine. The price point was a barrier to entry, especially since I do not really need everything that the Dream Machine line has to offer.
Recently, they released gateways in a compact form factor. The Cloud Gateway Ultra and Cloud Gateway Max are more reasonably priced, and the Gateway Max allows for the full Unifi application suite in that package. I have been stashing away some cash for network upgrades, and the Cloud Gateway Max seemed like a good first step.
Network Downtime
It has become a disturbing fact that I have to schedule network downtime in my own home. With about 85 network connected devices, if someone is home, they are probably on the network. Luckily I found some time to squeeze it in while people were not home.
The process was longer than expected: the short version is, I was not able to successfully restore a back of my old controller on the new gateway. My network configuration is not that complex, though, so I just recreated the necessary networks and WiFi SSIDs, and things we back up.
I did face the long and arduous process of making sure all of my static IP assignments were moved from the old system to the new one. I had all the information, it was just tedious copy and paste.
All in all, it took me about 90 minutes to get everything setup… Thankfully no one complained.
Unexpected Bonus
The UCG-Max has 4 ports plus a WAN Port, whereas the USG only had 2 ports plus a WAN port. I never utilized the extra port on the USG: everything went through my switch.
However, with 3 open ports on the UCG-Max, I can move my APs onto their own port, effectively splitting wireless traffic from wired traffic until it hits the gateway. I don’t know how much of a performance effect will have, but it will be nice to see the difference between wireless and wired internet traffic.
More To Come…. but not soon
I have longer term plans for upgrades to my switch and wireless APs, but I am back to zero when it comes to “money saved for network upgrades.” I’ll have to be deliberate in my next upgrades, but hopefully the time won’t be measure in years.