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I bought 2 32 port fibre switches
I need to program the ports with tagged VLANS
We want to use them as our 2 aggregation switches.
Didnt know we needed a controller, Do I just setup a dummy computer as the gateway or buy a gateway controller
I installed Unify nework on my mac but I can only access the switch when plugged in directly to the network
no vpn access.

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You program the controller(unifi network application), which then provisions the switches. You can either install the controller software somewhere on the network with those switches and find/adopt/configure them, or you set up a controller elsewhere (your office, the cloud, etc), ssh in to the switches to set their “inform URL” which connects them to your controller located elsewhere, then adopt/configure them. Edit: Not sure if Ubiquiti still sells them, but they had these little cloud key devices that are basically the unifi network application on a stick and you could deploy that to the network the switches are on. They also have their gateway appliances if you want a router/firewall appliance with that network application built in. We’re an Ubiquiti AP and switch shop, and host our own network application/controller in our Azure environment, never touched their gateway or cloud key devices.

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You do need a controller, but it does not have to be the gateway for your network. Get something like a Ubiquiti Gateway Lite, plug it into your network and go for it. We have several setups like that and they work well.

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As the others said, you do need a controller. A dummy computer is fine, or you can buy hardware built for it. If you do just install the software on a computer, I recommend installing it on a linux PC. Updating the Unifi software on linux is so much easier than updating on a Windows machine.

Using laptops to host the software is usually heavily discouraged. Having the software not always present has contributed to too many issues.

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5

Super simple Debian/Etc vm as a controller.

VLANS very easy to define and manage from the app.
highly recommend using GlennR’s script to keep the controller updated

Would not use some dedicated PC / Other hardware especially if you already have a virtualized environment, with 2x 32 port Fiber Aggregator I’d Hope so!
No need for a vpn to program it

  • it can register with ui cloud to manage it and uses MFA for logins now so its decently secure from that side.

  • yes the initial inform as jonnydotexe mentioned
    ssh and set inform - basically set the vm to vlan1 initially to discover and make sure the vmhost has vlan1 trunked through…

about 100 ways to make it happen… do not go controllerless after setup… too many metrics that are nice to have in there.

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A UniFi Could Key Gen 2 would do what you want. Anything else would be intended as a gateway & contoller combo. Or install it as software on a Raspberry Pi or your own machine personally, I prefer a dedicated cloud key or combo too ensure i can always access it remotely via the cloud console.

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When I setup a Unifi wireless, I installed the controller on a VM.

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8

Unifi is a centrally managed system, like Meraki but without the license fees. So yes you need a controller. No way around it.

don’t by any of the gateway devices, that will lead to issues unless you actually plan to use it as the gateway device they way its intended.

either setup a Linux VM and install the Unifi software (free) or buy a cloud key

This device needs to be on the same network as the switches and needs to be on 24/7 for management to work properly.

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Agree with the above regarding Cloud Key is probably the best solution. Otherwise it is tied to that particular computer. It gets scary as to what happens should the Cloud Key die so make sure you also back up the configuration!

Not a huge fan of the setup myself, and how the gear is a brick without the Cloud Key, but I guess for the price, it is what it is.