What do you use for your home networking needs these days?
A few years ago, I started using Ubiquiti networking equipment at home. For those of you that have not heard of Ubiquiti I highly suggest you check them out. Initially the company focused mainly on Wireless offerings (enterprise Wifi) but they have really developed product lines across the network stack.
A few things that stand out for me for their products:
- Feature improvement and expansion for all the Unifi components is constant without ever causing stability issues with the platform or software. Over the last few years the wireless components in the platform have been expanded to support capabilities such as mesh networking, airtime fairness and band steering.
- Centralized management UI that is intuitive, secure and remotely accessible
- Excellent telemetry for understanding client traffic and network utilization.
- Well-developed backup and restore capabilities, and effective update management process for multiple devices and firmware iterations.
Below is an example of my current network layout.
I have three access points connected via CAT-6 and then a single AP acting as a repeater at the far end of the house (meshed with the other APs).
Currently there are roughly 120 some odd devices connected throughout the house, for example Alexa, Wink, Philips, etc. In fact, my desire to do ‘fun’ home automation was kind of what drove me to check out Ubiquiti originally, your automation won’t work if the network is unreliable. ?? I haven't had problems in years and as my kids are getting older I appreciate the Unifi gear more and more everyday. Some examples of the management UI below.
