EdgeRouter-X

[Mike McCall]

Having landed a $100mo. client recently I celebrated by purchasing a Ubiquity EdgeRouter-X. This is my first exposure to Ubiquity products, and since I needed to replace my aging Netgear WNDR 3400v2, $48.95 is cheap entry.

My ISP is our local cable company (Wavecable) and my Motorola Surfboard SB6141 always had the orange flashing light indicating a 100Mbps connection which I never thought anything of. The Netgear router I knew was a choke-point in the network, and streaming really put a strain on it on a regular basis often requiring a reboot to resolve. Internal network traffic seemed slow at times often taking a few seconds to access network shares. My hope was that the EdgeRouter-X would be more stable and offer better performance both internally & externally.

I downloaded the most recent firmware update & installed it, ran the configuration wizard, set the DHCP scope, and replaced the Netgear router with the ER-X. After some fumbling around with it for awhile I discovered that the devices with static ip's aren't seen by the ER-X. They'll work fine internally/externally as long as the ER-X doesn't try to assign their static ip's to another device as mine did. The ER-X will only see a device without a static ip if it is set to be the DHCP server. Static ip's don't show up in the dashboard. I had to set each device without a static ip, then assign it an ip address via the EdgeOS for the dashboard to see the device. Not a huge deal, but would have been nice to know going in as I have some devices with static ip's that are a real pain to change. Nevertheless, all important devices are now seen in the dashboard and the ER-X has been running for about 4-days now.

What I've noticed regarding performance is how much quicker network shares are accessed and how much faster my internet is. I don't have test numbers for either, but both are considerably smoother and more stable. I have much to explore with this device - Traffic Analysis, Firewall, Routing, VPN, QoS, etc., but so far I'm really impressed with such an inexpensive device. Oh, and that orange flashing light on the SB6141? It's now flashing blue, and I like blue better than orange.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Yeah routers usually aren't aware of devices that don't register with them, so DHCP reservations are the way to do it.

Great performance and features, at disruptively low prices...that's what you'll find about Ubiquiti.

 

[BlackLabTechs]

I actually had my first problem with an Edge Router today. The ER-8 Pro. Has been up and running just fine for couple years now getting a reboot about once per year. Not the latest fw on it but running 1.8. Connections were dropping in and out randomly so a quick reboot and everything back in order. I've got that and 9 of the ER-3's at this one client and overall very happy with them. Today was the first sign of trouble in years. For 10 routers at that price, 1 problem in the time I've been running them, I'm not complaining.

 

[trevm999]

I'm always amazed when I come across a network where static IPs have been assigned left and right within the DHCP scope and they haven't had any problems.

I recently installed a EdgeRouter Lite, upgraded because their old router didn't do QoS on the upload. Preconfigured it offsite, swapped it out and everything is dandy.

 

[TAPtech]

Ugh, static IP's in the wrong places can be a nuisance. Most routers aren't going to add static IP devices to their list... they only store IP's that they themselves handed out in their table. That makes sense.

I set static IP's for servers, and often for printers. Other network devices such as PBX units, etc. Those I would call servers as well. The way I do that is via reservation in the DHCP server. I do not typically edit the device to claim its own static IP (exception of course for servers where they complain otherwise, ie Windows Servers, etc.) Still run into some software guys who install POS systems and printers with static IP's for whatever reason. Of course when the same guys see any IP subnet other than 192.168.1/24 or 10.0.0/24 they say it its "weird" and "I've never seen that before". I just sort of roll my eyes... oh well.

Anywho... I've heard good things about the EdgeRouters, and have had no issues with the small handful of ubnt AP's I've installed. I think I would need to make the move over to ubnt networking as a whole to fully embrace them though... and with no UTM devices, i'm not onboard yet!

 

[BlackLabTechs]

My trouble today wasn't a ding at Ubiquiti equipment. It was a compliment that after all this time that's the only trouble I've had. I actually configured 5 NanoBeams this morning to put in place tomorrow. 2 of them are replacing a pair of Ubiquiti PowerStation 2's that are still in service. Those came out before Ubiquiti really gained any popularity in the enterprise world. I believe they were mostly doing WISP stuff back then.

 

[Mike McCall]

I went through a good learning project here:

https://www.technibble.com/forums/threads/unable-to-join-domain.63430/
https://www.technibble.com/forums/threads/unable-to-join-domain.63430/
I also ended up with a DL380 G5 to torture myself with. However, using that thing for DNS/DHCP service in a home network/learning lab application is decidedly not cost-effective. So, I moved it back to the router knowing I would be replacing it with something more capable.

I have a preference for static ip groupings of similar devices. While I can still follow a grouping scheme with the ER-X, I have to use reservations to do so. Not a big deal, just didn't know that going in. Took me a bit to figure out why the dashboard couldn't see certain devices due to having static ip's set.

Next addition is likely to be one of their AP's for the office downstairs. Based on the ER-X, should be a great device.

 

[BlackLabTechs]

Yes, their ap's are solid. I'd also recommend picking up a pair of NanoBeam's or even nanostations if you find them much cheaper used. Play around with creating wireless bridges with those and possibilities will really open up. They can also be used as access points but can't be controlled by the unifi controller.

 

[Mike McCall]

Yes, their ap's are solid. I'd also recommend picking up a pair of NanoBeam's or even nanostations if you find them much cheaper used. Play around with creating wireless bridges with those and possibilities will really open up. They can also be used as access points but can't be controlled by the unifi controller.

Not doing anything right now that would make use of one, but I can see their usefulness.