What is UBIQUITI UNIFI WIRELESS NETWORK, how does it work

Ubiquiti UNIFI

Today WI-FI has become the staple diet for our internet network needs. It is being widely used because of it’s convenience in our daily lives, but sometimes it can be extremely slow and as most known solutions come with constant rebooting your network device in hope to increase speed. Nowadays consumer devices can offer unlimited functionality (broadband) to internet, be it at office, industrial and home use. The answer is Ubiquiti Unifi.

How does it work?

Ubiquiti  devices offer broadband connection with fast speeds. UniFi Controller is a wireless network management software solution from Ubiquiti Networks™. It allows you to manage multiple wireless networks using a web browser or a software application. Access Points can be connected from a centralized switch or in a Mesh network.

The Ubiquiti UniFi Controller is the core brains of the operation. Essentially it’s a piece of software that stores all the settings for your network. It can run on almost any operating system and it is completely free of charge. The controller can also be installed in the cloud. This makes it easy for network & I.T technicians  to maintain many different sites from a single interface.

Controller 

the Controller software manages the Access Points, only if the software is on the same network with the Unifi access points. The controller identifies the Access Points connected on the network then the settings are pushed onto the Access Points . This process is termed adoption.

The controller also has some added functionalities such as a map which lets you upload plans of your buildings. You can draw walls onto your plans and set things like scale and wall thickness. Now you will be able to place your UniFi devices, and the controller will calculate things like coverage and signal strength. Some people may not like this software running all the time so you can switch off the controller software unless you have one of these cases:

• Changes to network or device settings
• Using the guest portal
• Collecting Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) statistics
• Using Ubiquiti UniFi Mesh
• Upgrading device firmware

Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) statistics

Unlike any other offers, you need a form of a server integrated to your network in order to achieve Deep Packets Inspection (DPI) statistics. UniFI controller comes with that functionality. It examines data coming through your network on a packet level. This can help in the detection of spam, or viruses and collect a wealth of information.

Information can be displayed on a per app, per protocol or a per-user basis. Such information can be invaluable to someone like a network administrator in helping them shape their network to provide a much better overall experience to their users. For example, if people complain that there is a slow network, DPI statistics can show where most of the traffic is going.

UniFI Access Point

Ubiquiti UniFI uses UAP AC Range to achieve the above functions. These are round shaped access points. There are the physical part of the Unifi usually spotted in hotels, schools, Hospitals and business centers.

The best functionality you get is based on your setup. Any device connecting to your network has the least amount of hops to make before it gets to the internet. This means no bottlenecks and the lowest latency. The UAP ACs also have a variety of devices to cater to different needs. These could be factors such as range, throughput, and bandwidth.

Ubiquiti UniFi Mesh

Unifi devices can be implemented onto a mesh network which is very idle in places and buildings where is it difficult to run a cable. Access points are inter connected wirelessly to route traffic from connected clients.

The way that traffic is routed is based on the quality of the signal. When routing packets, the packets follow the path with least hop which means the access point with better signal strength will be the first to transmit the traffic, and if one Access Point is down this will not affect the network as packets will follow least hops.

This is the kind of logic that the controller will handle. Bear in mind that each hop will incur a performance hit. If you’re in a situation where running a cable is just not possible, UniFi Mesh can solve that issue.

Conclusion

Ubiquiti Devices are the best in the market but they come with price slightly higher than other brands. It’s mesh network and DPI features make them outstanding and easy management for administrators. Ubiquiti have all wireless devices at their best and their structure enables them to integrate with third party devices.