EdgeRouter POE Configuration.

[Synomenon]

I'm looking at using a Ubiquiti EdgeRouter POE in a new home. The EdgeRouter POE will have these connected to its ports:

0) Cox Cable Modem
1) Netgear GS105E 5-port Gigabit Switch
2) Netgear GS108E 8-port Gigabit Switch
3) AP #1
4) AP #2

I have all this hardware laying around already. All I would need to buy is the EdgeRouter POE.

The GS105E will be at the other end of the house (connected to an ethernet jack that's run all the way back to the EdgeRouter). The GS108E will be in an OnQ Structured Wiring Panel along with the EdgeRouter POE and Cox Cable Modem.

The GS105E will have various things connected to it (PCs, Smart TVs, Game Consoles). The GS108E will be connected to the ethernet ports in the rest of the rooms of the house (each room has at least one ethernet port).

The two access points for now are D-Link DIR-868Ls. I would have used one of these as the main router, but they do not fit in that wiring panel so I will use them as access points (one on the first floor and the other on the 3rd floor).

Will I need some special configuration file to get the EdgeRouter POE configured or can everything be setup through the EdgeOS UI?

Later on, I'm considering replacing the D-Link DIR-868Ls with UniFi access points just for the zero-handoff roaming capability.


If the EdgeRouter is overkill, can anyone recommend another wired / wireless router that's:
- thin and can be wall mounted like the EdgeRouter
- at least four gigabit LAN ports
- it doesn't have to be a wired only router as long as it has good wired performance and will work well with multiple access points connected to it

I really only need two POE ports so if there is another router you'd recommend I would use this POE injector:
http://www.l-com.com/power-over-eth...or-midspan-w-integral-power-supply-48vdc-335w

 

[thiggins]

This is not a consumer router. Configuration relies on command-line and can require a lot of work.

Wired-only routers these days tend to come with VPN, which pushes price up a bit. Low-profile options include the NETGEAR FVS318G, TP-Link TL-R600VPN and others.

 

[Synomenon]

I've seen posts on various forums that almost all options home users would need to configure can be done through the UI and don't require inputting them through a command line interface. Doesn't really matter now though, turns out these D-Link routers I have (DIR-868L) are pretty good:
http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/rankers/router/result/1184-dlink-dir868l

I may just use one of these as the main router instead of shelling out for the EdgeRouter POE since I already have two of them. Then all I need to buy are the two UAPs.

I wish the new AC UAP was based on a 2nd gen. AC chipset though.

 

[thiggins]

Then the firmware has evolved since we reviewed it. That is good if the GUI is more useful.

 

[Synomenon]

I've attached an image showing how my network is laid out.

Will the SOHO/basic config. floating around these forums work with my setup?

 

[thiggins]

What are you requiring beyond what your D-Link does?

 

[Synomenon]

The new home is a single-story / level home so it's spread out over half an acre. I also has some concrete walls and the signal from the D-Link isn't great through them.

I have a friend that can get me UniFi AP Pro. units at a really good price so I'm going to take advantage of that. The wiring panel / closet in the new house is small so most routers won't fit in it, much less a router, POE injector and switch.

 

[thiggins]

Doesn't sound like you are asking for much beyond basic routing. The config scripts here are for the EdgeRouter lite. The POE may be different.

I see you've posted the same question in the Ubiquiti forum and looks like you have a response from a UBNT employee.

 

[zentec]

The 1.2.0 firmware web UI is workable. From a web design angle, it's nifty. From a set up my router stand point, it's not going to allow you to do all the serious magic this router is capable of performing. It is a good place to start and learn it, but it is still daunting if you are not familiar with Vyatta.

If you want to buy one, be forewarned that you will spend a lot of time learning and configuring this box. If you can set up a good test environment where you can experiment with your changes, all the better. Trying to do this on a live network will drive you insane.

I am very happy with mine, the performance LAN to DMZ is killer, which is why I purchased it. Just know what you're getting yourself into with this device. This is not OpenWRT-land.

 

[Synomenon]

Thanks for the input zentec. I'm not an average Joe home user. I do work in the IT field, but haven't done much when it comes to networking.

I would have an EdgeRouter POE already, but as I understand (and have read elsewhere) Ubiquiti does periodically release updated hardware revisions of their products.

I don't actually need to have all of this hardware until late November. Just planning it out now. So to make sure I get the latest hardware revision of these Ubiquiti products, I'll wait until November to make the purchases.

 

[JWadle]

I'm trying to use the EdgeRouter POE as a simple 4 port Ethernet router with DHCP. I want my Internet cable modem on port eth0 and ports eth1-4 for devices all on the same subnet (PC, WiFi AP, MoCA network, etc.).

I've tried to use the wizards followed by some editing of the ports configs (via the "Desktop" UI) to have all four ports on the same DHCP server/subnet. So far, I've not been able to achieve the setup I need. Can anyone assist me with examples or a CLI script?

This shouldn't be so difficult. Thanks for any assistance.

 

[System Error Message]

The edgerouter POE has 3 ports switched and 2 ports CPU connected. So using 4 of the ports on the same network is going to be tricky but possible with problems. If you transferred data from a switched port to CPU connected port at full LAN speed than the other switched ports trying to access internet will slow down. For optimal configuration do not use the switched and CPU connected ports together. Only a few routers have more than 1Gb/s pipe between switch and CPU and none of what ubiquiti offers have it. mikrotik's RB3011 has 2 switch chips and 2Gb/s between each switch chip and CPU.

Honestly i think the edgerouter is terrible as a router but good as a mini linux server so you can install UTM features in it but dont expect it to work fast as a proper router as many things arent hardware accelerated like QoS.

If you really must use 4 ports than set port 3-5 to switched, bridge port 2 and switch (or the interface that links switch to CPU if that interface is switched too). In a mikrotik router you would select an interface as master port for the switch so you apply your configs on it so this means bridging ports 2 and 3 if port 3 is the master port. Then apply all other configurations on the bridge interface.

 

[sfx2000]

I've attached an image showing how my network is laid out.

Will the SOHO/basic config. floating around these forums work with my setup?

Not a bad solution - the ERL, like other pro-sumer/small biz devices has many more knobs/levers to turn, but once you get the hang of it - it's a better solution that many consumer grade devices.

POE comes a bit at a premium, both for devices, and cabling, and the current crop of 11ac Wave1/Wave2 devices may take more current than the POE standards allow, so that something to consider.

I like where you're going with this - and as this project unfolds, it would be good to share experiences with the collective hive-mind here.

 

[sfx2000]

Anyways - the ERL is a good choice - and if you're using UnifiAP's, it makes sense to keep things aligned here. There's a lot to be said about having a single vendor to support both the Router and the AP's as an integrated platform.

Microtik is another solution - pretty powerful platform, but one loses a bit of the vertical aspects if you have the Unifi's. It's a bit daunting at first to set up, but again, once things are running well, that aspect is done...

Another solution would be pfSense - Netgate's RCE-V2440 with pfSense 2.3 is another choice - again, lots of knobs/levers to choose from, and a strong support community behind it. pfSense sells the same device as the SG-2440, bit of a premium price, but you also get direct support rather that going to the community for help.

There's a couple of other platforms - SophosUTM, which is a nice turnkey solution for SW, shorewall - powerful, but assumes that one "knows" what they're doing, and VyOS - these are all "add your own HW" packages...

 

[System Error Message]

@sfx2000 does explain the choices well although as for a dedicated router im not too keen on edgerouters as i have one and it isnt doing well to the configs i gave it both on GUI and files. For example it is still tries everytime to query the DNS server that i removed from its configuration making internet communication take a lot longer. Once i adept my PSU replacement for my mikrotik router my network will work fine again as i have had to use some tricks to make it work smoothly. One thing that i like about the edgerouter is that i can run squid, clamav and other things on it though having to use a script to reinstall and reconfigure everything after a firmware update isnt pleasent. The edgerouter pro does squid at about 80Mb/s per core so just like any consumer router the edgerouter's hardware acceleration doesnt apply if you use its full potential. Nevertheless the maximum wattage rating of the edgerouter pro is 35W, so it works great for a mini linux server that uses less power.

My problem with ubiquiti is that they do not want to expand their performance, they rely too much on hardware acceleration. They dont bother using the other variants of the CPU that have lots more cores, you get a big no if you ask about clockspeeds (even underclocking is a big no to them), and when temperature is high the edgerouter pro is noisier than my modded silent CCR. Even their performance numbers are misleading and shouldnt be used as a measure of speed for home use as NAT is more taxing than layer 3 routing. Mikrotik provides performance numbers in various setups that is useful to find the realistic performance if you plan on using NAT with it (usually i just take routing +25 simple rules/queues).

In terms of how good it is as a dedicated router the edgerouter is better than consumer routers but loses out to mikrotik in performance, flexibility and stability when it comes to just being a router. The edgerouter is more like a swiss army knife, its not good at one particular thing but it can do a lot of things.

I forgot to mention that the RB3011 has a single POE out that can power a single unifi AP. So if you only need a router and 1 unifi AP the RB3011 would be better than the edgerouter POE if you need ports.

note: Edgerouters firmwares are based on VyOS.