Its A Work In Progress

# “It’s a Work in Progress”: A Comprehensive Guide to Managing Home Infrastructure with Ubiquiti Devices

Welcome to this detailed guide designed for experienced sysadmins and DevOps engineers looking to optimize their homelab or self-hosted environments. Today, we’ll be focusing on setting up, configuring, and operating a system built around the Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-MAX), UniFi Switch 48 Pro Max (USW-48P-256), UniFi Network Attached Storage (UNAS Pro), and Lenovo m93p mini PCs.

Introduction

The title “It’s a Work in Progress” encapsulates the dynamic nature of managing home infrastructure. This guide aims to provide you with the practical insights needed to establish, configure, and maintain a robust, scalable setup using Ubiquiti hardware.

Understanding your network infrastructure is crucial for ensuring optimal performance, security, and reliability in your homelab or self-hosted environment. By the end of this guide, you’ll have learned how to install, set up, configure, and operate a powerful home networking solution tailored to your specific needs.

Prerequisites

• System Requirements:
  • Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or higher (64-bit)
  • Intel i5 processor or equivalent
  • Minimum 8GB RAM
  • Minimum 160GB SSD storage
• Software Requirements:
  • UniFi Controller version 6.4.39 or higher
  • Docker version 20.10.5 or higher
  • OpenSSH server installed on the Lenovo m93p mini PCs
• Network Requirements:
  • Stable internet connection with a minimum of 100Mbps download and upload speed
  • A static IP address for your UDM-MAX (recommended)
  • Ports 80, 443, and 8080 open on your router for UniFi Controller access
• User Permissions:
  • Root access on the Lenovo m93p mini PCs for service configuration
  • Sufficient privileges to modify network settings on your router

Installation & Setup

1. Follow the installation instructions provided by Ubiquiti for the UDM-MAX, USW-48P-256, and UNAS Pro devices (https://help.ui.com/).

2. Set up the Lenovo m93p mini PCs with the latest Ubuntu 20.04 LTS operating system.

3. Install Docker on both mini PCs:

   sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install docker.io
   

4. Install OpenSSH server on both mini PCs:

   sudo apt-get install openssh-server
   

5. Configure SSH to allow passwordless login using SSH keys between the Lenovo m93p mini PCs and your local machine (optional but recommended).

6. Install the UniFi Controller software on both mini PCs by following the official Ubiquiti guide: https://help.ui.com/unifi/v6/en/configuring-unifi-controller/installing-unifi-controller-software

Configuration

1. Configure the UniFi Controller software to connect to your UDM-MAX and manage your network devices.

2. Set up VLANs, SSIDs, and access control policies according to your requirements.

3. Optimize performance by enabling features such as bandwidth limiting, QoS, and WPA3 security.

4. Implement security best practices like strong passwords, two-factor authentication, and guest networks.

5. Customize the UniFi Controller web interface to suit your needs (optional).

Usage & Operations

1. Common operations include adding new devices, updating firmware, and monitoring network performance using tools like ping, traceroute, and top.

2. Regularly back up your UniFi Controller configuration to avoid data loss.

3. Perform routine maintenance tasks such as disk defragmentation, software updates, and hardware checks on the Lenovo m93p mini PCs.

4. Consider implementing monitoring solutions like Nagios or Prometheus for proactive network management.

Troubleshooting

1. Common issues include connectivity problems, slow performance, and firmware-related bugs.

2. Use debug commands such as docker logs and systemctl status to diagnose issues.

3. Analyze log files for insights into the root causes of problems.

Conclusion

This guide provided a comprehensive overview of setting up, configuring, and operating a powerful home networking solution using Ubiquiti hardware. By implementing best practices for performance optimization, security, and maintenance, you can build a robust foundation for your homelab or self-hosted environment.

Remember that this is “a work in progress,” meaning there will always be new features, updates, and challenges to tackle. Keep learning and exploring advanced topics such as Docker containers, virtualization, and automation to further enhance your home infrastructure.

For additional resources on Ubiquiti products, visit their official documentation: https://help.ui.com/