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Ok, so I set up a Cisco wireless system at my church of used equipment and get software updates through my work account. Now, as of 8.6, none of the hardware will be supported as Cisco is moving towards a pay-to-use and the new 3504 controller is around 3K.

Now, I know I can run for a while as is, but wanted to look at options.

I was looking at the new Ubiquity Unify AP’s and they don’t require a controller link, just software you can set up on a laptop to configure? Just wondering as I had seen controller hardware before, but don’t see anything on there site now.

Can they play with different vlans on a cisco switch? workers on vlan 10, guest on 20?

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UniFi equipment has never REQUIRED controller software (at least not once setup). A controller had to be used to initially configure them but can be installed on a laptop and used temporarily to setup the devices. It is much easier with an installed controller (although a cloud key from Ubiquiti can do this also). The controller software can be installed on a Raspberry Pi or configured as a VM or even cloud hosted off site (my preferred method - I have a self hosted controller that keeps all the AP’s I’ve deployed under control and monitored).

Yes, they play with VLAN’s, no problem. You can specify 2 different SSID’s, one for one VLAN and another SSID for a different VLAN. VLAN’s (802.1q) is a standardized communication standard that is compatible with any devices that support it (like your switch - and UniFi AP’s, of course).

I highly recommend UniFi AP’s, especially on a budget. They’re very reliable and robust and have many pseudo-enterprise level options. Ask more questions if you got em. :grinning:

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I have been using the Ubiquitous Networks APs for a while now and like them. The only thing I will say is setup the controller software on a computer/server there on-site. I have come into networks where the APs were installed using a laptop (controller software resided on) and could not adopt the APs into the new controller software. I had to reconfigure the APs (which was not that difficult). They will play just fine with a host of VLANs.

@keenanlewis

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ok, so the only downside is 2 SSID’s, but workable. Right now there are 3. workers, guest, and a hidden one for devices with a PSK.

Either way, I may have to at least buy one to learn and play with.

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Don’t mistake it, while I’m sure there is a limitation, it is not 2. I’m quite sure you would be fine with 3 or even 4 SSID’s. However, multiple SSID’s from any given AP cuts more and more into bandwidth and frequency issues the more there are. Try to keep it as low as possible.

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It’s 4 per network. There is an asterisk there, but I can’t actually remember what the qualifier for that is. Unless I was setting SSIDs on specific APs, I can’t think of a reason to need more than 3-4 in a single site.

It’s insanely easy to set up an SSID on a VLAN. Note that while guest policies do not require anything special, a captive portal does mean you need the APs to have access to a controller which hosts the portal.

I’d recommend either a cloud key or installing the controller on a PC in the church unless you’re certain you will be the only one who ever touches or makes changes to the wireless network.

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Nah, Guest is just a PSK, I just have different filtering on the firewall depending on vlan. I don’t let guests stream netflix and bandwidth eating stuff.

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Yeah UniFi would be perfect for it and provide the same functionality.