I can ssh into the APs, although I’m not sure about configuring them independent of a controller as I haven’t tried. I use a free google cloud tier to host the controller, which can be managed via web gui and phone app. It may use some Java elements in the controller but it wasn’t hard to set up.
Comment on Ubiquiti U7 Pro Max WiFi 7 Access Point Teardown: To fan or not to fan
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days agoI bought several before knowing what I was getting into. They work well but are designed by people worshiping Apple. Everything is locked into their ecosystem. You can’t even ask into the router to configure it. You need to run their Java controller app to configure them or worse buy another product (cloud key) just to configure the access points you purchased. Then they try really hard to get you to setup your network admin password on their cloud servers ( they have already had security breaches where the passwords leaked).
For a small businesses that pay someone off-site to manage their network they seem fantastic. But they are the opposite of homelab ethos.
But again, they work really well. The access points do channel strength negotiation automatically every night by talking to each other.
themachine@lemm.ee 5 days ago
TORFdot0@lemmy.world 5 days ago
You can configure them independently of a controller but the config will be lost on a reboot or when the device next polls the controller
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Requiring a phone app, java app or Cloud Key to configure an AP isn’t home lab ethos. That it looses config on reboot if you configure it by ssh is weird given you don’t need a controller running once they are setup. They can be rebooted without a controller and still work fine.
Where did you find the command line documentation? I was never able to find anything.
TORFdot0@lemmy.world 5 days ago
It’s not really documented anywhere officially. I’ve found the knowledge over the years from searching the ubnt forums. But I stopped using unifi equipment a few years ago for similar reasons.
This forum thread is probably the best starting point I can give you but configuring unifi APs via ssh for any reason other than maybe a botched IP configuration is a bad idea
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I’m not sure about configuring them independent of a controller as I haven’t tried.
That’s my point. With regular ap’s you can do everything via ssh. Ubiquity doesn’t seem to document the command line. The website doesn’t list any commands. It only says “only do it with a Ubquity engineer helping you”.
BeepTheJeep@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Don’t know why you were downvoted. Everything you said is true.
lemonuri@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
I’d say it’s best to only buy routing devices supporting openwrt. Some Ubiquity devices seem compatible, so maybe you are in luck. In my opinion it’s just best to stay away from preinstalled commercial software and just install Linux. You get away from the whole process of enshitification, gain long term support and an incredible set of features commercial software will never provide (at a reasonable price) imho.
OrderedChaos@lemmy.world 3 days ago
They bricked 2 of my pro APs with a bad update. Said fuck you after that and decided I’m done with them. I’m still looking for an alternative to the edge router x.
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
I was able to SSH into mine and I’m running their Docker container with a Unifi Controller instead of a cloud key.
mark3748@sh.itjust.works 5 days ago
You don’t even need the controller to set them up anymore. You can run them as standalone APs by configuring with the app.
You miss out on a lot of features that way, but they work fine. I
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Oh for sure. I ran them without a controller for years. I only set it up to do a wireless bridge.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days ago
If you were actually able to set it up via ssh, then you should be able to point me to the documentation for the Ubiquity AP cli.
I’m not sure if you are a fanboi or a shill but it is dishonest to claim that you say you could configure your Ubiquity AP when Ubiquity itself refuses to provide documentation of the cli interface.
Another poster said the same thing and linked to the same thread I found years ago which says in effect, “There is no official cli documentation for the APs. You might be able to sneak a few commands by digging through the forums.”
avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
I never said that. Have a nice day!
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Yes, the Java app dockerized.
farcaller@fstab.sh 3 days ago
FWIW that java app isn’t much memory hungry and it’s not cpu-intensive at all. There are no issues with running java apps at all if you spend 5 minutes figuring the basix flags on how to set the memory limits or run it in a memory-limited cgroup via some containers runtime.
Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world 3 days ago
I never claimed it was. But Java comes with its own baggage of Oracle shenanigans (they could start licensing drama with open source forks just like they did a few years ago) and java security patches means maintenance. All of which would be completely unnecessary if Ubiquity let you setup the AP with ssl.
The controller interface is amazing. But it, or a phone app should not be required to set up an AP.