{"id":167393,"date":"2025-02-19T10:34:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T09:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/kb\/unifi-controller-device-management\/"},"modified":"2025-02-19T11:44:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T10:44:29","slug":"unifi-controller-device-management","status":"publish","type":"kb","link":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/kb\/unifi-controller-device-management\/","title":{"rendered":"UniFi Controller &#8211; Management of Access Points &amp; Switches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>To efficiently manage UniFi devices such as Access Points or switches, a UniFi Controller is required. This article shows the different methods of operating the controller and briefly explains the advantages and costs of each method. The UniFi Controller software itself is free of charge. We offer our customers with a Sophos Firewall subscription a cloud controller free of charge for up to 5 devices.   <\/p>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-rank-math-toc-block\" id=\"rank-math-toc\"><h2>Topics<\/h2><nav><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#hardware-controller\">Hardware controller<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#hardware-controller-1\">Software Controller<\/a><ul><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#self-hosting\">Self-hosting<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#cloud-anbieter\">Cloud services<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#direkte-einrichtung-uber-die-i-os-app\">Direct setup via the iOS app<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-image stk-block-image stk-block stk-cf627a7\" data-block-id=\"cf627a7\"><style>.stk-cf627a7 .stk-img-figcaption{text-align:center !important;color:#abb7c2 !important;}<\/style><figure><span class=\"stk-img-wrapper stk-image--shape-stretch stk--has-lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"stk-img wp-image-166664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-scaled.jpg\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" alt=\"UniFi Controller - Dashboard\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-600x450.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/assets\/unifi-controller-dashboard-64x48.jpg 64w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/span><figcaption class=\"has-text-color stk-img-figcaption\">UniFi Controller &#8211; Dashboard<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hardware-controller\">Hardware controller<\/h2>\n\n<p>The hardware controller is based on dedicated devices that have been specially developed for the management of UniFi devices. Typical examples are the <a href=\"https:\/\/techspecs.ui.com\/unifi\/cloud-keys-gateways\/uck-g2-ssd?s=eu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UniFi CloudKey+<\/a> for environments with up to approx. 50 devices or the <a href=\"https:\/\/techspecs.ui.com\/unifi\/cloud-keys-gateways\/cloud-key-enterprise?s=eu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CloudKey Enterprise<\/a> for larger installations with up to 1000 devices. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Advantages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Optimized for continuous operation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Intuitive operation and simple commissioning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stability and performance thanks to dedicated hardware<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Software updates for the controller at the touch of a button<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><strong>Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>One-off purchase costs of between approx. 200 and 500 CHF\/\u20ac, depending on the model.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hardware-controller-1\">Software Controller<\/h2>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"self-hosting\">Self-hosting<\/h3>\n\n<p>With the software controller, you can operate the UniFi Network Server on your own hardware. This is possible on operating systems such as Windows, macOS or Linux. The installation is done by downloading the <a href=\"https:\/\/ui.com\/download\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/ui.com\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UniFi Network Server<\/a> software.  <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Advantages<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>High flexibility and full control over the system environment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Software updates are carried out by updating the software<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><strong>Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No additional license fees &#8211; ideal for individual adaptations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operating costs for your own hardware and any maintenance costs; the software itself is free of charge.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"cloud-anbieter\">Cloud services<\/h3>\n\n<p>The UniFi Controller can also be operated as a hosted solution with a cloud provider. This option saves you the hardware costs and software updates. Subscription-based costs that vary depending on the provider and number of devices  <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>UniFi Official Hosting<\/strong>: UniFi offers <a href=\"https:\/\/ui.com\/eu\/en\/accessory-tech\/cloud-keys-gateways\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Official UniFi Hosting<\/a> from \u20ac29 per month, with prices increasing accordingly for higher numbers of devices (e.g. from 100 or 1000 devices). <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>HostiFi<\/strong>: Long-established provider with flexible packages for growing networks. Prices from $9 per month for 25 devices. <\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Avanet<\/strong>: We also have a controller that we offer our customers:  <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For all customers who have a Sophos Firewall subscription with us, we provide a cloud controller &#8211; <strong>free of charge<\/strong> for up to 5 devices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For customers without a firewall subscription or who have more than 5 devices, we also have an offer depending on the number of devices (from 1 CHF\/\u20ac per month).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"direkte-einrichtung-uber-die-i-os-app\">Direct setup via the iOS app<\/h2>\n\n<p>For smaller installations where only a single Access Points needs to be managed, direct setup via the UniFi <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/ch\/app\/unifi\/id1057750338\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/ch\/app\/unifi\/id1057750338\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">iOS app<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.ubnt.easyunifi&amp;hl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Anroid app<\/a> offers a simple alternative.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Quick and easy setup without additional hardware<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ideal for individual solutions or test environments<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><strong>Costs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Free of charge, as no additional hardware or paid software is required.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","format":"standard","kb_kategorie":[782],"class_list":["post-167393","kb","type-kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","kb_kategorie-unifi-en"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb\/167393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kb_kategorie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.avanet.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kb_kategorie?post=167393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}