Raspberry Pi Home Server - UniFi Controller Tutorial

I've suggested doing it, but never shown it done. Today, we're installing a Ubiquiti UniFi controller onto a Raspberry Pi 4. And we've got power left over for the next project too.
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Coffee. Too early for anything else.
Follow these written instructions to get your UniFi controller installed onto a Raspberry Pi: pimylifeup.com/rasberry-pi-un...
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Raspberry 3B+/4 PoE HAT: amzn.to/3d58lgl
Ubiquiti UniFi USG: amzn.to/2X4lbWx
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[@CraftComputing]

Time Stamps 1:21 - Hardware Used 6:58 - Raspberry Pi Configuration 11:37 - UniFi Install 14:11 - UniFi Quickstart

[@andreavergani7414]

If there is an option to put more than one like I certainly do it. Nice job

[@benricok]

Did you consider installing docker and running the unifi controller in a docker container? You can easily add more containers to monitor and manage your network such as grafana.

[@andrewf1283]

Was MongoDB required?

[@MysticWhiteDragon.]

FYI, KZbin has implemented a feature called "Video Chapters" to videos replacing the need to add time stamps in the description. The descriptions of the time stamps will then be shown by the time in the video progress bar.

[@TitoTimTravels]

@@MysticWhiteDragon. I was just coming to mention that 😎 To make it work, you put the timestamps in the description and the first stamp has to be 0:00 If it is any other number, the time stamps will work but the chapter markers will not. I love it!

[@GGVicV]

set password, to "notraspberry" got it, thanks for this video :)

[@Felix-ve9hs]

15:42 don't forget to set "aVerySimplePassword" for your UniFi Controller

[@esra_erimez]

You beat me to it! :-)

[@jamesmcmahonii8433]

"I'll be showing you how to auto update your package."

[@dirtybrokkoli]

Tip while setting up, create a basic file called ssh on the boot partition and ssh will be active on first boot, saves you the headaches of getting hdmi to work

[@CrypticConsole]

Works after first boot too

[@BrianThomas]

I've seen a few videos on how to do this and this is by the best. It's not the information that makes the best. It's how it presented. Very well done mate.

[@petethomson]

Took approx 30 mins to build and configure, did a backup of my config from my Windows PC and restored it and, after the 15 mins it took APs decided to adopt, it just worked. Thanks for making it easy.

[@petethomson]

The 30 mins included getting the SSL cert working from my public CA

[@anthonyriojas8267]

"Not everybody wants a full server rack in their house" - saddest statement ever

[@kenneth_jensen]

Buy their Dream Machine...yes that is the name 🙂

[@williamp6800]

@@kenneth_jensen while the Dream Machine has the controller built in, it can't connect to a remote controller. That was one of his requirements.

[@AflacMan13]

I want a full rack... but I don't have money to buy the rack.

[@malbeth8700]

Great video! Clear & detailed introduction to Raspberry Pi, Linux & Networking for beginners!

[@frankwren8215]

Great video! I got one of these this week to install Redmine and an SQL database on. With WINE, these things are absolutely killer. Definitely consider doing a video on the possibilities with WINE.

[@cloudagnostic]

I don't know why it took me so long to subscribe, but just did! Gonna stay tuned for the second video in the series.

[@JeffJohnson]

The year is 2020 and we still have use for a 3.5 floppy. Great video

[@ShiggitayMediaProductions]

Great video Jeff! My friend is a Unifi user... I'll show him this video! Also I bet I know what the DNS filter is, but I'll post on that video if/when I'm right. ;)

[@real_andrii]

WOW. Very timely: just when I decided to do the same, I see a proven solution. (but will do it for my nanoHD)

[@freespirit4976]

The only one Who save my life. Tanks for your sharing and expertise that help me a lot to configure my unifi controller on raspi 3B bullseye.

[@SalahudeanTohmeh]

"A screw hole is a screw hole" - Craft Computing 2020

[@TechnoTim]

Nice work!

[@defdogg2951]

looking forward to watching the next videos

[@alfaastrix]

I try to be a minimalist when it comes to software on my computer. That said, I thought I'd share that you can ssh into computers on your network via the Command Prompt built into windows.

[@JGAB1618]

great. looking forward to the next videos!

[@TechTraction]

Very helpful video. Love the comment "a screw hole is a screw hole." Using the links to buy and then build mine. Thanks.

[@drftkng.]

That is awesome, I never thought about using a Pi as a Unifi Server. Never been a fan of having access tied to my desktop or having to install Java

[@BeeWhere]

Love the video, more pi things please. I got my parents setup with their own pi hole, they are happy.

[@thomasromer6484]

Great video! Love your style. 👍

[@lapptech]

I'm going to upgrade my home network sometime. Currently running an old Fujitsu (Pentium G645, 4GB RAM, Intel Dualport Gigabit NIC) with pfsense, connected to my 1000/1000 internet, a Linksys 8-port switch and a Unifi AP Lite for my wireless units. I will in the future upgrade to 10Gbe in my home as I will be able to get 10Gbe Internet hopefully this year. I'm also thinking of moving my servers out of their tower cases and into rack mounted units to clean everything up. Great video as always =)

[@mrmotofy]

Hard to beat PF Sense, it's almost limitless. The UDMPro would likely be your upgrade...but it's well limited. May be better off keeping your PF Sense running.

[@GabbyTech]

i always wanted to make mirror with raspberry ;D this was really informative

[@niccite]

Thank You! Excellent Tutorial

[@4Da_Tech]

I have been using odroids for a few years. Looks like they finally fix the issues with running on raspi. Might give these a shot again...

[@JoaoSilva-gs5jb]

amazing! keep it coming!

[@garster]

You just saved me like $200. Thank you.

[@BenGillam]

Tried this a few months ago on a 3b and it just hammered the CPU constantly

[@larslessel4501]

Great video!

[@alanschiera]

thank a lot for your helpfull guide, work very well!

[@anwallace90]

just did this a couple of months ago. well worth it IMHO. more useful to use a raspi than their cloud key

[@Felix-ve9hs]

Also a lot cheaper

[@RobertHupertz]

You're an absolute legend mate, can't tell you how many sites and videos I went through to get my USG going. Followed your steps - FIRST TIME it all worked!!!! USG, Raspberry Pi (Zero), 3 Access points, Modem, etc, and one very happy family. I can stop cussing now ;-)

[@pupslace]

We just got done setting up our new Ubiquiti based home network, though we opted for a separate Edge Router X and an Unifi Switch-8 rather than the USG.

[@SirHackaL0t.]

Something I found out this week... put an empty file called ssh in the root of the sd card.

[@vicomi999]

Jup does help quite a bit when you have only a laptop on the location qlso safes time when you can configure everything using onpy ssh

[@ranjitbasnet]

please do a follow up video as well. I'm looking for similar thing for my new place.

[@mikechambers9129]

Hey, Jeff. Thanks for the videos! I like the depth of content and the concise speed of presentation. Question for you (or others). What do get out of this assembly of network components that you can't get from Ubiquiti's Dream Machine All-in-One?

[@williamp6800]

The Dream Machine can't be managed remotely. You can only use the built in controller to manage it. Not a problem is many cases, but Jeff said he wanted to be able to manage remotely so he didn't have to go to his in-laws house.

[@christiangalver350]

Very informative video :-) have you done any monitoring on how many watts the combined setup requires from the PoE Switch? (using the UCTRONICS PoE HAT)

[@ElektroPR]

I noticed there was an option for the RPi PoE HAT with a built-in cooling fan for $3.00 :D

[@Th3_Gael]

Gets what ya pay for. I much preferred the thermal performance with the fan armour case like this one thepihut.com/products/dual-fan-heatsink-case-for-raspberry-pi-4

[@williamp6800]

@@Th3_Gael you can't install a PoE hat with that case

[@GregoryWasserman]

Great video. Thank you. Could you tell me how to use my SSL certificate with this type of install? I had it up and running with no issues when I was running the controller software on Windows.

[@gipilot1]

Great video! Just setup my Ubiquiti gear recently and was considering moving the controller to an Rpi. Loving the mug, got a link for it?

[@CraftComputing]

Actually I do! amzn.to/36AwZTq

[@jasongray4270]

Love the video. I have Plex and pihole running on a pi 3b+. But I want to setup unifi controller and nxfilter, should I move plex to a pi4 and setup the controller and nxfilter on the pi 3?

[@madshadow85]

I pretty much did the same, but took advantage of the pi4 lasted update and have buster lite booting from a ssd. For added reliability for my unifi controller.

[@CraftComputing]

I considered going the SSD route here, but have yet to find a case I like that is both wall mountable AND has room for a PoE HAT.

[@EricLind77]

Did you set up automatic updates for the Pi? e.g. security updates? What are your thoughts on unattended (security) upgrades for a long-running server?

[@nvdwalt]

love it!!!!

[@RichardStrong86]

Power loss would corrupt the controller wouldn't it? I think that's why the newer cloud key controllers have a small battery and auto shutdown feature. To make it viable you'd have to put in a ups that's capable of shutting the pi down normally and restarting when it has a power input. I was looking at something like the WittyPi3 which I think can accept power input from batteries.

[@christapia9495]

Hi there, I have a question. When you set a static ip I saw you placed it as 192.168.x.x but my gateway ip is a 10.0.0.1 should I set it in 10.x.x.x format or 192.x.x.x format? Sorry if it's a dumb question but I just want to be sure.

[@cattigereyes1]

The new pi 4 8 gb has lots of memory for server applications, I would power the pi separately use a case with air cooling and a ssd drive set up from Etsy case builder.. over clock 2.0 speed wise but nice!

[@CraftComputing]

The 8GB literally came out 12 hours after posting this video 😂

[@keco185]

Per your advice I made sure to change the default “raspberry” password. It is now “password” thanks for the tip

[@paulstubbs2778]

Oh, I thought he said to set it to 'notraspberry'.

[@PayamJianTV]

Thanks for the video, Do you have what modem-router or modem can be replaced with ATT modem-router. I'm using an ATT fiber-optic connection. Thanks in advance

[@loizosloizias8622]

actually that config usg and rasberry its 3.5 years old that usg in a few month will stop producing, and the new series come out, so 3 years ago was top edge, didn't need a poe for power, in our days the gen2 has one. these video will be good 3 years ago not in our days but as always i will put you my thumbs up for the video.

[@weslindsey]

Love this tutorial. Just hoping I can get it to work eventually. Currently, I remain unable to SSH into my Pi. Also, when I plug my gateway into my network, my router (also a UniFi/AmpliFi) fails to start. So weird. :-/

[@lucas.tadeu021]

hey there, i am a brazillian so the money rate due the covid isnt that great to buy eletronics, instead of buying a raspberry for like home assistant, unifi...(these ubiquit things are unnecessary expensive) so i plan to build a home server(virtualization) with a dual x99 and only one 12/24 xeon and 1x32 ecc for now, is a good setup/idea?

[@immortalsofar5314]

Re: Screwdriver you need to open it inside the case. It's funny, the video I just finished watching was a wild cockatoo solving a puzzle to get at the goodies inside. Check for hidden cameras!

[@angrynerd2103]

Hello, what made you choose a usg over say an edge router, a pfsense box, or really any other option. I am looking into different options for my own network and am curious what your thought process was.

[@patrickjoseph3412]

you can just add "ssh" textfile to the SDcard to enable ssh out of the box . so you don't have to do the setup with a monitor and keyboard , just right into ssh :)

[@lars-goranlindstrom7467]

Great video. Will you add WiFi to your network?

[@flyyxmke]

I did this when the USG first came out. The only thing I didn't like about it was you couldn't update the software easy on the pi like you could on the cloud key at remote locations. I don't install USG anymore either had about five of them crash at first I thought it was a bad update had to factory default them and restore the backup. After that they were good for a few months then the same exact units did the same thing ripped those out and installed something different at the customers site. I must have just gotten a bad batch because I think I purchased those about all the same time. Don't know if anyone else has had this problem or not? I still loves their ap.

[@buidelrat132]

Useful, thanks. Please consider using larger fonts for videos, many folks are limited to 480p or watch from 10 feet away on a TV.

[@syriangamer89]

Agreed. Watching on mobile and this was impossible to read

[@sure193]

Hi, when you do this raspberry unifi, do you still need to buy the unify box?

[@dctaken]

Since the Raspberry pi 4 8gb version just came out, would it be better to upgrade the pi?

[@Trevor_Green]

I install this for all my friends/family: Cheap quad nic fanless pc, install pfSense on it. This is the firewall and router, kicks the shit out of the Ubiqity guy. I roll with unify ap pros and have them managd from my remote controller (no local controller). I often leave a rPi with Raspbian and pi-hole one it. Nice thing here is I have a local desktop I can access for support. pfBlockerNG is significantly better than pi-hole, but way more complex and the pi-hole captures most needs. A pi as a local unifi controller is a good idea though. I would suggest setting up a OpenVPN link from the rPi back your home for easy remote access.

[@bey0nddc]

I almost felt that with the money you spent on the pi, the hat and the case, you could of buy the cloud key gen1 unless you plan to do more on the pi other than just using it as the cloud controller but if so, you would of get a version of pi 4 with more RAM, right?

[@Gronis6666]

hello, love your videos! i going to instal uisp on my raspberry, but i cant find eny tutorial for that, can you do one :)??? i run edgerouter x and i have uisp clound now and whant to run it on my rasp instead.

[@constantelev8tion1]

Can you make a video adding on the pi hole?

[@adrianTNT]

Can someone advise ? ... This unify gateway's features like firewall, is this something that is included in the edge routers ? E.g edge router x or edge router 12 ? Thank you.

[@Martin-pb7ts]

Great video. Thanks. Does it matter what router is used? Can I use my ISP issued router? I am quite keen to do this, I have the R-Pi and I am keen but I am not sure if I need to buy more hardware or not. (I would rather not as our budget is very tight at the moment)

[@mrmotofy]

The controller is on the Pi, it controls the Unifi equipment. Really has nothing to do with your router unless you replace the router.

[@SkyCharter]

Great Vid... Thanks! Guess I'll ask the obvious question... why does Unify desire to have a controller hosted not on its own hardware?

[@williamp6800]

Some installations, like in a home, needs very little computing power to run the controller. Other larger installations, like when you're running the WiFi for an entire sports stadium or a a multi-floor office building, needs much more computing power. Or if you're a Managed Service Provider (MSP) you may need to manage dozens or hundreds of separate Unifi installations. The controller software can handle all those situations. By allowing the controller to run on hardware of your choosing, Ubiquiti don't need too offer hardware to cover all the possibilities.

[@StephenBradley2317]

"A screw hole is a screw hole." Well said.

[@MiekSr]

Great tutorial! One comment: The console screen are very hard to read on a 13 inch laptop.

[@chrislaucn]

what is the max version for legacy unify product (e.g. UAP) ? Can we still get it from UBNT?

[@SwissPGO]

Regarding the rasberry's name:To help newly installed basestations to automatically find their controller (even in complex networks) it is good practice to call the controller "unifi" (computer name and dns name).

[@CraftComputing]

That really only matters if you have setup multiple VLANs, and your APs are already in a separate broadcast domain as your Pi. Very rare in home networks, and not common for even small and large business networks to configure APs for deployment. Unifi is the DNS A-NAME the APs will look for on a network. The method I would recommend is still naming the Raspberry Pi a name that makes sense for the physical device, and creating a new A-NAME record "Unifi" that points to the IP of the Pi.

[@techrja]

In raspi-config, there is an option for memory split. Allowing less memory for the GPU and more ram for the system

[@CraftComputing]

The default is only 64MB. No reason to change it on the 2GB model.

[@Supercon57]

I had a pi4 running my unifi controller for about a year, it wasn't perfect, some features were kind of buggy like the speed test or trying to speed test for QoS I eventually just bit the bullet and got an actual controller, obviously that isn't buggy at all

[@TheBurgundyBear]

Any compatibility issues with using the USG with non-Unifi APs?

[@socalducky]

Cant find Raspbian buster lite, would Debian Buster w/Raspberry Pi Desktop work?

[@jaykelly2490]

Jeff it ain’t “day drinkin’’ if you do not start early!!

[@jareddonovan9319]

I don't care for the time, there must be beer in the video and a beer review!!

[@lordstevewilson1331]

I assume you will use pi-hole and set it as your dns in unifi. That's what I did.

[@guitarchitectural]

I ran a homeseer server on a similar raspberry pi / sd card setup and the SD card ended up corrupting on me (the software writes to a log file which eventually got corrupted). my question is - is it possible to image a backup once you have everything set up and configured? I would hate to have the wifi taken down if the controller went down, which seems like it would be the case. Or am i misinterpreting?

[@Eskoxo]

i had to go with pfsense box with good cpu as gigabit fiber over vpn most routers etc cpu cant handle it and slows down too much.

[@williamrodriguez7126]

Do you need a microSD card for this Raspberry Pi setup? It's not included in the hardware used.

[@rrsttt7505]

I got everything up and running, but then I had to move my pin to its final location, and the controller isn’t coming back online without me doing a sudo service UniFi start

[@notoryous2]

Would this still be worth it? In the middle of the installation I just read that 32bit support was going to be deprecated. Does this mean a Rpi4 is no longerr suitable candidate for a controller after this happens?

[@uratsu2]

I'm want to install the Unify controller on a Raspberry Pi 3b+ with a 32GB ram card, that is already on network running PiHole and Unbound. Is that possible or should I use a new Raspberry Pi?

[@vijayteja7]

Hi, I have 50 UAPs to manage, currently, i am using cloud key gen2 plus - can raspberry pi4 manage the 50 UAPs? I have issues with could key gen2 plus

[@redeye117]

Just want to ask if i already have another Router and i just want setup some Ubiquiti AP. Can the Unifi controller still work?

[@what8586]

what is the case behind you on the self thanks lol

[@thomasjones-kg5zi842]

Hey Jeff... Was that cream in your beer? Looked like tasty coffee to me. Hazelnut? After all it was 8 a.m.! ;-> Thanks for the video. Great Idea hosting on a Pi, and much more secure hosting the Unifi controller in-house... I LIKE IT! Question: the POE Hat - it's IEEE 802.3af Compliant and I'm confused about that. Can I directly connect passive POE (24v) to that thing, or should I just use port 4 of the Edgerouter X up to the Nano M5?

[@yourpcmd]

Whats the advantage of spending $110 for this OR $99 for a plain ole Unifi cloud key?

[@XpertCS]

Hi Jeff, Just setup UniFi controller on a raspberry pi but now need to ssh into the controller to do pruning.... how do I ssh into the controller, if I ssh in I get the pi and not UniFi. Thanks.

[@maximusg88]

would this work if I use my ISP router and two unifi APs?

[@AleHernandez]

can we run Unifi controller and pihole on the same Raspberry without docker?

[@austinromo8625]

I’ve tried making a UniFi controller via Docker on Synology Nas but I get to the last step of verifying and it cuts me out and won’t start the initializing process. What’s gone wrong

[@vamshigupta7971]

Have you configured SSID on unified controller to use raspberry pi as AP, or is it to setup different AP that you will be covering in next video. I was very much interested and hoping to see how Raspberry pi would perform as AP

[@williamp6800]

The Raspberry Pi isn't used as an access point. It is only used to run the Unifi controller software.

[@pauldomfree]

Great video followed everything and it works or at least I think so. In htop I see more than 15 instances of : OnOutOfMemoryError -XX:+CrashOnOutOfMemoryError -XX:ErrorFile=/usr/lib/unifi/logs/hs_OnOutOfMemoryError -XX: But the controller is working and accessible through the web interface. Is that normal ? Memory total used is 380mb out of 2 GB in a raspberry pi 4 with pihole and vpn on it. And advice much appreciated !

[@Markobu4u]

Hey awesome Video! I have a question. I was wondering if this would help me in my current Situation. I am living in a house in our backyard approximately 20 Meters away from the "Main house". As you could guess there are some Walls in the way (at least 3). So, my Internet connection isn't very good. I have added an accespoint and incoperated it into out Networks via mesh but still the connection from my Devices arent awesome. I thought about setting up a home Networks like you did to take of all smart home Devices off the access Point and connect them to my own home Network. Would this help? I really appreciate if you could help me :)

[@mrmotofy]

20m, trench a wire in conduit. Your speeds and upgradability will greatly increase

[@flexxway7778]

How do I stop DPI Counter from Reset on Restart

[@RemScanProducts]

Is there a command that starts the program after a reboot?? Thx !!

[@stephenedgington5446]

Very nice video. I was about ready to do this project and then I added up the costs on your Amazon links. I came up with around $92 plus tax and then I prced the Unifi cloud key at $106 plus tax. Shipping is free on both. Other than pride of building it, are there significant advantages to the pi route that justify the $14 savings vs. lack of unifi support for the hardware? I'm sure someone of your talents looked into this and would like to know your opinion. Thanks.

[@CraftComputing]

You can run additional services on the Raspberry Pi besides UniFi. The video immediately after this, I install a DNS Ad and Adult Content filter to run along side the UniFi controller.