ubiquiti

How To: Home Network 5.0 with Ubiquiti WiFi 6 Long Range & Protect G4 Review & Calibration

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Technology

Building a fully integrated smart home spans at least seven distinct technology categories, each with its own ecosystem and trade-offs. This installment recaps the full smart home series: managed UniFi networking, Lutron Caséta lighting, Synology NAS storage, UniFi Protect cameras, NextGen TV tuners, and a multi-room AV setup built around LG OLEDs, Sonos, and Apple TV 4K. Continue reading How To: Home Network 5.0 with Ubiquiti WiFi 6 Long Range & Protect G4 Review & Calibration

How To: Home Network 4.0 with Ubiquiti Unifi Dream Machine Pro, Switch Pro, Flex Mini, Smart Power Plug & UPS Review & Calibration

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

We are now on our fourth-generation home network build-out, including Ubiquiti’s UniFi Dream Machine Pro, a 48-port PoE switch, managed Flex Mini switches, and Protect camera system. Ubiquiti’s UDM Pro consolidates a network firewall, IDS/IPS, controller, and security camera NVR into a single rack-mounted appliance. Also covered are two smaller additions: the Flex Mini and Smart Power Plug, which handle edge cases like last-drop switching and WAN recovery. Continue reading How To: Home Network 4.0 with Ubiquiti Unifi Dream Machine Pro, Switch Pro, Flex Mini, Smart Power Plug & UPS Review & Calibration

How To: Ubiquiti Unifi Protect Video Security System Review

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

According to InterNACHI, 34 percent of residential burglars enter through the front door and 81 percent through the first floor. Planning, sizing, and deploying Ubiquiti’s Unifi Protect camera system for whole-home coverage including hardware selection, local versus cloud storage trade-offs, and network configuration are the focuses here. Continue reading How To: Ubiquiti Unifi Protect Video Security System Review

How To: Lutron Caséta Lighting Control System Review

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Lutron’s Caséta sits at the entry point of a residential lighting control lineup that segments by device count, coverage area, and whether installation is DIY or professional. Based on our home deployment, we explain switch selection, installation, and integration with Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant. We also present an honest look at where the system’s device and range limits matter in practice. Continue reading How To: Lutron Caséta Lighting Control System Review

How To: Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateway Pro 4 & Intrusion Prevention (IPS)

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Enabling IPS on the entry-level UniFi USG caps WAN throughput at 85 Mbps, making it impractical for gigabit internet connections. This article walks through upgrading to the USG Pro 4, configuring UniFi’s Suricata-based intrusion prevention system, and selecting threat categories beyond Ubiquiti’s defaults. We cover real-world throughput results, the USG Pro 4’s fan noise issue, and the migration process from the USG.
Continue reading How To: Ubiquiti UniFi Security Gateway Pro 4 & Intrusion Prevention (IPS)

How To: Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus Review & Migration

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

The Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Key Gen2 Plus consolidates two separate appliances into one: it runs the UniFi SDN controller and serves as a network video recorder for UniFi Protect. The hardware upgrade from our original Cloud Key, the migration process, and the internal hard drive swap are all documented. With only a $20 price gap between the standard Gen2 and the Plus model, we recommend buying the Plus model.
Continue reading How To: Ubiquiti Cloud Key Gen2 Plus Review & Migration

How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 2)

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Ubiquiti’s UniFi platform offers granular control over wireless settings that consumer routers never expose. This article walks through a tested configuration for a gigabit home network, covering channel planning, VLAN segmentation, IoT isolation, and per-AP radio tuning. We also cover getting Sonos and Belkin Wemo devices to coexist reliably with the rest of the network.
Continue reading How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 2)

How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 1)

Mike ConnellyConnected Home

Ubiquiti’s UniFi is a modular, software-defined networking platform designed for prosumer and small-business use, built from separate components for routing, switching, and wireless access. We walk through replacing a piecemeal consumer router setup with a full UniFi deployment across a home wired with Gigabit Ethernet and more than 100 connected devices. The installation required coordinating a Security Gateway, managed switches, multiple access points, and a Cloud Key controller. Continue reading How To: Deploying a Ubiquiti UniFi Home Network including Multiple WiFi Access Points (Part 1)

How To: Advanced Sonos Wireless Network Configuration Using Sonos BOOST

Mike ConnellyConnected Home, Music

SonosNet 2.0 operates on a dedicated 2.4 GHz mesh network, entirely separate from your home WiFi, and multicasts audio to every speaker simultaneously rather than streaming individual unicast signals to each one. This article explains how Boost mode works, when a dedicated BOOST hardware device makes sense over an Ethernet-connected speaker, and how to configure up to three BOOST devices for a large installation. Continue reading How To: Advanced Sonos Wireless Network Configuration Using Sonos BOOST