What is our primary use case?
My major use case for Ubiquiti UniFi is enterprise Wi-Fi.
What is most valuable?
The most beneficial aspects of Ubiquiti UniFi are pricing, because it is significantly cheaper compared to major enterprise vendors such as Cisco, Aruba, or Fortinet. However, this lower cost comes with tradeoffs, as the product lacks some functionality that competitors offer.
The centralized management platform helps to streamline control over my networking infrastructure, though it is functional only up to a certain point.
The remote access feature in Ubiquiti UniFi is about security gateways, and without a security gateway, it is impossible to use it.
What needs improvement?
The major issue I see is connected with troubleshooting, which is my main concern. Troubleshooting capabilities are limited, and some advanced features are missing. For example, enterprise Wi-Fi solutions include features that help administrators handle many sleeping devices that are connected but doing nothing while still utilizing airtime. As more of these devices connect, the harder it becomes for active devices using the Wi-Fi, which impacts their performance. More expensive solutions provide functionality to handle this, but Ubiquiti UniFi does not.
I do not use the real-time statistics feature, so it does not help with my network monitoring.
While the solution is scalable, I have about 30 sites in my enterprise, and it is difficult to quickly locate which site a particular device is connected to. Ubiquiti UniFi cannot answer this question efficiently, and I have to switch between network sites one by one to find the device.
I do use guest management and client isolation, though I do not use hotspot features because my enterprise does not need them.
The impact of Ubiquiti UniFi VLAN setup on my network traffic management is straightforward and simple. Access points work in bridge mode, not in tunnel mode, which the system does not support. I configure a trunk port for every port where the Wi-Fi access point is connected and that is all.
From a technical standpoint, Aruba, Fortinet, and Juniper are higher in capability because they operate at a different level that I cannot compare.
Some advanced features are missing, particularly handling sleeping devices. This is the most critical example because managing 50 connected devices where 45 are doing nothing and just utilizing airtime is complicated. I want to handle this in some way, and Ubiquiti UniFi does not support this feature or help in any manner.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Ubiquiti UniFi for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution sometimes misbehaves and takes some time to troubleshoot, but this does not occur very often. In my enterprise of 30 sites, in a year, maybe up to three access points out of 300 malfunction.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is quite scalable, but it becomes harder to switch between multiple sites to find a single device.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Ubiquiti UniFi is quite simple and straightforward. The network controller can be installed in various ways. It can be installed as a virtual machine, as an application on Windows, Linux, or Mac, or in a container. It also comes as a hardware appliance that can be connected with a single cable and supports PoE-in. It comes in many configurations and is very easy to set up.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In the beginning, I compared Ubiquiti UniFi with Aruba, Fortinet, and Juniper, and in terms of pricing, Ubiquiti UniFi is the cheapest among those options.
What other advice do I have?
I currently work with Fortinet products like FortiGate and FortiSwitch, though I do not have experience with FortiAP in the past two years. I am planning to buy the FortiSwitch Data Center in a few months. I work with both Ubiquiti Wireless and Ubiquiti UniFi products, as Ubiquiti UniFi is the broader platform. I am a client of Ubiquiti, not a partner, integrator, or service provider.
Ubiquiti UniFi is saving money, and I recommend it as a good solution for the beginning. However, if your enterprise grows really fast, be ready to replace it at some point.
On a scale from zero to ten points, where ten is the best, I would give Ubiquiti UniFi a rating of six points.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other