For some time, I’ve been planning to upgrade my home network. I had four Ubiquiti APs: an AC Lite on the first floor, another AC Lite on the ground floor, an AP LR on the terrace, and a UAP in the basement.
The first step was replacing both AC Lite units with an AP6 Pro and an AP6. I have to admit that after the upgrade, I might not even need the AP LR anymore. I now have coverage everywhere I previously had, but with the AP LR currently turned off. That’s a huge plus.
I also installed an S8 switch to power these APs, so my US-150W will likely be disconnected. The next step will be replacing the USW24 Gen2 with something from Alta.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to successfully replace my main router, which is an RB5009. For some reason, the Route10 refuses to connect to the Controller. I’ll be making another attempt soon, as I created a new configuration while it was already in the Controller but on a backup link. I’ll update soon on whether it worked.
The AP6 units were installed in the same locations as the AC Lite, and you can barely tell anything was there before.
The change was mainly for network management unification. I test a lot of different interesting solutions so that I can implement the best ones for clients when needed.
I decided to move away from Ubiquiti because, to be honest, I was disappointed when they dropped support for some of their devices. I had quite a few of them installed for clients, and it was frustrating to see them abandoned.
Besides that, even their latest devices weren’t very promising. After my first experience with the UISP Console, I felt like something was off. As for the APs, well, they worked, but I just wanted something different. Apart from the Route10 issue (which I hope will be resolved soon), I haven’t been disappointed. And of course, WireGuard support was a big factor.
Regarding MikroTik, the device is great—tons of configuration possibilities. I mainly got it to learn something new, and it’s also very energy-efficient.
The rack mount frame design is mine. Today, I was actually modifying it for a 10" rack and shared the link on the forum. I didn’t upload the 19" version because very few people have a printer large enough to print it in one piece. I might consider modifying it into two smaller parts for easier assembly.
Oh yeah I can’t imagine how frustrating that would be as an installer.
MikroTik was my first choice, specifically the 5009 like yours. Ultimately chose the Route10 when I seen the hardware capabilities and sleek looking management. I’m still learning/struggling with this platform, but making progress. Reaching out to support via phone has been a great interaction each time.
I had seen the similarities for retention we used, so I thought you may have referenced it. Your design looks good. Any issues with the plastic flexing from the weight/heat of the devices? I think I will remove my design, as yours looks sufficient and I don’t want the community confused as to separate models.
I printed the bracket with ABS+, and I think temperature won’t be an issue here. I tried to reduce the amount of plastic while maintaining the best possible rigidity.
Route10 is running version 1.3v, and the controller is on 1.0t, so I assume this is the latest firmware. The issue arises after replacing the RB5009— for some reason, WiFi loses internet access, even though the configuration is static for both the AP and the switch. When connecting via cable, the internet works (yes, I restarted both the switch and the AP, but that didn’t help). The switch and AP connect to the local controller, but the router itself remains disconnected. That’s a brief summary.
My last attempt to connect Route10 to the controller:
What I have:
• WAN1 - PPPoE (main connection with configured port forwarding and proxy manager)
• WAN2 - DHCP (backup connection only for internet access)
• LAN3 - VLAN 10, 100
• LAN4 - VLAN 1 (default) and 150 (this is where the server with the controller is located)
Route10 is connected on an additional VLAN 172, configured with all port forwarding. It should communicate with the controller using my address xxxxxx.xxxxx.xx (via Nginx), and that part works—Route10 is visible in the controller, whether it’s on VLAN 172 or using an LTE modem.
In the domain.txt file, the correct address is set, and the rcapi.txt file also contains the same address. However, when switching to PPPoE (WAN1), the device appears as “Connected” in the controller for a moment, then quickly switches to “Disconnected.”
At that point:
• The rcapi.txt file is missing on the router.
• The domain.txt file still has the correct address.
• Internet works, and I can access the controller externally, so both Nginx and the VM with the controller are operational.
Small update: I reconfigured all devices to connect to the controller using my address to eliminate any port forwarding issues. After the change, both APs and the S8 connect to the controller without any problems. Unfortunately, Route10 still refuses to connect. Oh well, I’ll wait for a firmware update.
Upon review, it seems this particular detail is quite unclear. What is this VLAN 172 for, what is it doing? If you don’t use this extra VLAN, can you reproduce the issue?
Ok, Vlan172 is just a secondary internet source using DHCP for the WAN2 port, similar to connecting LTE to WAN2. I wanted to check whether, if I set DHCP on WAN2, it would connect to the controller regardless of the internet source or if it somehow stores the gateway it passes through.
Additionally, this setup allows me to log into the router when I need to change something in the configuration or perform an update without having to go down to the basement where the rack is located. But it seems that this doesn’t matter.
Internet (LTE) → ROUT10_WAN2 (DHCP) → Controller: connects.
Here, of course, PPPoE remains active on the Mikrotik because my address for the controller is routed through it.
However, in the following setup: Internet (PPPoE) → ROUT10_WAN1 (PPPoE) → Controller: does not connect.
And it’s only Route10 that fails to connect—the other devices connect to the controller just fine.
All port forwarding settings are the same as on the Mikrotik, and I even set static IP addresses for NGINXPM and the controller…
I am using Mikrotik as the main router, which I wanted to replace with Route10. I am not using it to solve the connection issue with the controller.
Right now, Route10 only has WAN2 connected to have access to it, from the controller. I can open the console in the controller using SHIFT + Name.
If you meant inspection after replacing Mikrotik with Route10, of course I can do that, I already have ssh added. But it would be good to know where to look specifically.
