ubiquiti unifi for small business - qns
Discussion
firstly, i am crap at IT. although i can crimp RJ45's, run cables and set things up, I don't know which bits of kit do what...
i have 3 x unifi uap pro's and the poe injectors for each. this is my home set up, the switch and router are owned by the phone company so stays put when i leave. 2 of the ap's are in wall type and i managed to install all of this myself without too much drama, so i'm not a complete IT numpty.
i'm involved with setting up a small business and so, as i am moving out of my place, thought i would use my uap's as part of a Unifi network for the business. i just have no clue what i need!
bandwith wont be huge, just good coverage is required which will be easy given the shape of the space. I would like to add 3 cameras and have storage for the same [do i need physical storage or does it go to cloud?]. all company devices to be logged online, guest password [changeable] to be used by non company devices.
So my question is, what bits of kit do i need? appreciated this is simple stuff, its just never been an area of interest, any and all help would be much appreciated.
i have 3 x unifi uap pro's and the poe injectors for each. this is my home set up, the switch and router are owned by the phone company so stays put when i leave. 2 of the ap's are in wall type and i managed to install all of this myself without too much drama, so i'm not a complete IT numpty.
i'm involved with setting up a small business and so, as i am moving out of my place, thought i would use my uap's as part of a Unifi network for the business. i just have no clue what i need!
bandwith wont be huge, just good coverage is required which will be easy given the shape of the space. I would like to add 3 cameras and have storage for the same [do i need physical storage or does it go to cloud?]. all company devices to be logged online, guest password [changeable] to be used by non company devices.
So my question is, what bits of kit do i need? appreciated this is simple stuff, its just never been an area of interest, any and all help would be much appreciated.
The dream machine pro will do everything you need but I have found that the firewall is rather limited and is in no way a replacement for a web proxy.
https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-rou... You should look at a PoE switch with APs and cameras. The 8 port is good but not rack mounted. The old gen1 16 port was, by all accounts, junk but the 24 port is good and all the gen2 stuff is great as far as I can tell.
Oh and unifi cameras are really good but more expensive than models from dedicated companies.
https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-rou... You should look at a PoE switch with APs and cameras. The 8 port is good but not rack mounted. The old gen1 16 port was, by all accounts, junk but the 24 port is good and all the gen2 stuff is great as far as I can tell.
Oh and unifi cameras are really good but more expensive than models from dedicated companies.
balls, that puts me 3x over budget.....
any recommendations for a budget option?
its for an automotive garage. need full coverage wifi [should be fine with the AP's i have], 3 x IP cameras, storage for the footage, full network management [device logs and guest acccount] plus the ability to remote view the cameras. not fancy, but i would like it to be seamless and reasonable quality.
any recommendations for a budget option?
its for an automotive garage. need full coverage wifi [should be fine with the AP's i have], 3 x IP cameras, storage for the footage, full network management [device logs and guest acccount] plus the ability to remote view the cameras. not fancy, but i would like it to be seamless and reasonable quality.
“Budget” option would involve something like a unifi usg and a cloud key 2+ to run their cameras and a Poe switch -eg the 16 port gen2 but that would still be fairly pricey. You could save by looking for second-hand parts or by running out her camera systems from eg a synology nas (a business would probably need a nas anyway). In which case you could run the controller software from the synology as well. Or a raspberry pi. Thus saving the cost of the cloud key and also being able to use cheaper cameras. Usg isn’t as powerful as the dream machine pro by a long way but is a perfectly decent little router.
If you want to do it on a budget.
Use the router supplied by your ISP. Turn the WiFi off on it.
Get a cheap 16/24 port un-managed switch, any thing will work, Netgear, HP, DLink etc. Spare ports can be used for hard-wiring PCs etc.
Use the Unifi APs and PoE injectors. Run Unifi controller on a PC or MAC or get a Raspberry Pi. Set up a guest network if you want access for your customers, this will 'isolate' them from your other networks and the wired LAN.
Note for better security you really need a proper router/switch set-up.
CCTV. Get a Hikvison DVR or similar and appropriate cameras. Will allow local storage and remote access. You should be able to get a complete 4 camera set-up for £400.
Use the router supplied by your ISP. Turn the WiFi off on it.
Get a cheap 16/24 port un-managed switch, any thing will work, Netgear, HP, DLink etc. Spare ports can be used for hard-wiring PCs etc.
Use the Unifi APs and PoE injectors. Run Unifi controller on a PC or MAC or get a Raspberry Pi. Set up a guest network if you want access for your customers, this will 'isolate' them from your other networks and the wired LAN.
Note for better security you really need a proper router/switch set-up.
CCTV. Get a Hikvison DVR or similar and appropriate cameras. Will allow local storage and remote access. You should be able to get a complete 4 camera set-up for £400.
Mattt said:
UniFi cameras aren’t badly priced, G3 Flex are £70ish each.
Yes you could cobble something together cheaper from Dragon Mart, but it would need a lot more tinkering.
yeah, i dont fancy having to make a load of cheap crap work. having everything on one system is what makes unifi for me. is there a local unifi dealer? i got my home kit from euroDK.Yes you could cobble something together cheaper from Dragon Mart, but it would need a lot more tinkering.
thanks for the tips megaphone. i might propose the base system and add to it as we go. the complex has security on the gate with night patrols and the security alarm is linked to the police, so its not a major concern to have full cctv coverage immediately.
megaphone said:
Mattt said:
UniFi cameras aren’t badly priced, G3 Flex are £70ish each.
Yes you could cobble something together cheaper from Dragon Mart, but it would need a lot more tinkering.
Yes but you need a Unifi Protect NVR device as well to run them. Yes you could cobble something together cheaper from Dragon Mart, but it would need a lot more tinkering.
UDMP, US-8-150W (or USW-16-POE) plus G3 Flex is the proper solution.
megaphone said:
What budget do you have in mind? That will help us recommend kit.
I’ve got £1800 for the internet and camera solution, 1 desktop, 2 laptops, a printer and 3 tablets. With the ubiquiti kit, I’m currently just shy of £2500.None of the IT needs to be fancy. For the receptionist/bookkeeper I’ve gone for a Basic mini tower but with a ‘design’ monitor and wireless accessories. 2 middle of the road spec laptops, basic as you like android tablets (for the techs to break frequently) and a laser printer/copier. Plus the ubiquiti dream machine pro, gen2 16port poe switch, 3x g3 cameras and ceiling mounts for them.
I think it’s a decent setup for the money, basic pc’s but robust kit. just we’ve over spent elsewhere and others’ approach is that cheap kit which Doesn't integrate is a better solution for being marginally cheaper.
Mattt said:
What’s your issue with the firewall?
More of a user assumption and probably lack of understanding. But if you want to control web traffic then I think a dedicated web proxy would be better. If you don't care what is surfed then unifi works. Although I gave now found documents to blacklist sites etc based on lists rather than manually entering each ip range into the firewall config.
Every time I tried to block subnets in the firewall the gateway would have a fit and never complete provisioning and ramp cpu and memory.
One other thing is don't look at the self hosted side of the camera solution. It is end of life and all support is being dropped next year. Stick with the unifi protect solution in the unifi hardware.
shirt said:
I’ve got £1800 for the internet and camera solution, 1 desktop, 2 laptops, a printer and 3 tablets. With the ubiquiti kit, I’m currently just shy of £2500.
None of the IT needs to be fancy. For the receptionist/bookkeeper I’ve gone for a Basic mini tower but with a ‘design’ monitor and wireless accessories. 2 middle of the road spec laptops, basic as you like android tablets (for the techs to break frequently) and a laser printer/copier. Plus the ubiquiti dream machine pro, gen2 16port poe switch, 3x g3 cameras and ceiling mounts for them.
I think it’s a decent setup for the money, basic pc’s but robust kit. just we’ve over spent elsewhere and others’ approach is that cheap kit which Doesn't integrate is a better solution for being marginally cheaper.
When you say for the internet, I assume you mean to get it put it, then the monthly price is on top?None of the IT needs to be fancy. For the receptionist/bookkeeper I’ve gone for a Basic mini tower but with a ‘design’ monitor and wireless accessories. 2 middle of the road spec laptops, basic as you like android tablets (for the techs to break frequently) and a laser printer/copier. Plus the ubiquiti dream machine pro, gen2 16port poe switch, 3x g3 cameras and ceiling mounts for them.
I think it’s a decent setup for the money, basic pc’s but robust kit. just we’ve over spent elsewhere and others’ approach is that cheap kit which Doesn't integrate is a better solution for being marginally cheaper.
If you are on a budget, and with that many staff I wouldn't piss about with Unifi, you're paying for the name and fancy marketing. Grab a Draytek or Zyxel all in one Router/Firewall device, a Netgear or similar POE switch, maybe a TP-Link access point, might be able to grab a Cisco small business one. Not sure what spec camera/s you need but Reolink or Hikvision, then you should have enough cash left for a Synology NAS that can act as the NVR and storage for the staff.
As it is for business use and I assume you will have some amount of confidential data stored. Check that whatever device you get is supported by the manufacturer with security patches etc.
https://www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/home-rout...
Unifi used to release patches and fixes almost constantly but it is much more structured now and I expect any known vulnerability to be fixed quickly.
https://www.zdnet.com/google-amp/article/home-rout...
Unifi used to release patches and fixes almost constantly but it is much more structured now and I expect any known vulnerability to be fixed quickly.
ollyprice87 said:
shirt said:
I’ve got £1800 for the internet and camera solution, 1 desktop, 2 laptops, a printer and 3 tablets. With the ubiquiti kit, I’m currently just shy of £2500.
None of the IT needs to be fancy. For the receptionist/bookkeeper I’ve gone for a Basic mini tower but with a ‘design’ monitor and wireless accessories. 2 middle of the road spec laptops, basic as you like android tablets (for the techs to break frequently) and a laser printer/copier. Plus the ubiquiti dream machine pro, gen2 16port poe switch, 3x g3 cameras and ceiling mounts for them.
I think it’s a decent setup for the money, basic pc’s but robust kit. just we’ve over spent elsewhere and others’ approach is that cheap kit which Doesn't integrate is a better solution for being marginally cheaper.
When you say for the internet, I assume you mean to get it put it, then the monthly price is on top?None of the IT needs to be fancy. For the receptionist/bookkeeper I’ve gone for a Basic mini tower but with a ‘design’ monitor and wireless accessories. 2 middle of the road spec laptops, basic as you like android tablets (for the techs to break frequently) and a laser printer/copier. Plus the ubiquiti dream machine pro, gen2 16port poe switch, 3x g3 cameras and ceiling mounts for them.
I think it’s a decent setup for the money, basic pc’s but robust kit. just we’ve over spent elsewhere and others’ approach is that cheap kit which Doesn't integrate is a better solution for being marginally cheaper.
If you are on a budget, and with that many staff I wouldn't piss about with Unifi, you're paying for the name and fancy marketing. Grab a Draytek or Zyxel all in one Router/Firewall device, a Netgear or similar POE switch, maybe a TP-Link access point, might be able to grab a Cisco small business one. Not sure what spec camera/s you need but Reolink or Hikvision, then you should have enough cash left for a Synology NAS that can act as the NVR and storage for the staff.
that was a very helpful post, thankyou. i guess i was just looking at ease of connectivity but the kit you name looks more capable at a lower cost. the synology nas is definitely happening, just need to have a google through the others mentioned to see what level/pricing i need.
How are these spec wise?
https://www.terrabyt.com/synology-diskstation-ds71...
https://www.amazon.ae/DrayTek-Router-Vigor2912n-Ba...
With these, a netgear POE switch and Reolink cameras I just sneak under budget! I already have the WAP's and the router is provided by the phone co.
https://www.terrabyt.com/synology-diskstation-ds71...
https://www.amazon.ae/DrayTek-Router-Vigor2912n-Ba...
With these, a netgear POE switch and Reolink cameras I just sneak under budget! I already have the WAP's and the router is provided by the phone co.
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