Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

blog.ui.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

141–150 of 196 posts

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#141

Post by oakwhiz »

dheera wrote: post #127
headwayoldest wrote: post #7

For those outside the IT/networking realms, SFP use uniform connectors for both the networking device and the fiber cable, but the major vendors (Cisco and friends) have used firmware flags and settings to provide vendor lock-in for at least the last 15 years. It used to be that in the event of a major outage or hardware failure you would need to issue additional debug commands to the effect of "I know this isn't you…

Is there anything here from Ubiquiti that can allow me to plug an AT&T Fiber directly into my Unifi switch and get rid of the BGW620 crap? One would think AT&T Fiber is so common in Ubiquiti's target market that they should make an official SFP module for this already. I know there are these XPS-GROUPON with "8311 firmware" SFP modules or something to bypass it but they cost $130+ and just wondering if there's someth…

If it's a PON then it's not Ethernet media. You would then be looking for an ONT SFP but those are far from ordinary SFPs. They are not just dumb devices, there is a lot going on inside them since they crammed a whole ONT into the SFP, and it communicates SFI back to the host equipment as if it would have been Ethernet.

https://hack-gpon.org/ont-wo-mac/

You would need the ISP to "adopt" your ONT into their network similar to what is observed with cable modems.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#142

Post by simoncion »

Sesse__ wrote: post #128
wmf wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of their switches have Etherlighting™.

Yes, if you have special Ubnt-brand cables. And still, I want this to be standard everywhere, not a niche thing from one manufacturer :-) (I know Facebook has some on their 100G switches, too.)

I'm pretty sure that the only thing special about the cables is the boot that transmits the light from the port's LED array fairly well.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#143

Post by simoncion »

xyst wrote: post #15

Anybody go through the trouble of outfitting their entire home/condo with fiber? Probably overkill for residential but I am also thinking it might need to be shrouded in EMT conduit

I've run fiber in my apartment, but it's running along baseboards in no-traffic areas and draped high up along wall and window moldings in nonzero-traffic ones.

> I am also thinking it might need to be shrouded in EMT conduit

Why would you need to run your fiber in metal pipe? EMI isn't a problem with fiber.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#144

Post by cmckn »

donatj wrote: post #28

Early this year I started redoing the backbone of my home network with 10 gb. Some of it's fiber, some of it's 10 gb copper Ethernet. It's been genuinely frustrating the weird incompatibilities between switches and SFP+ modules. All my switches are MikroTik. My SFP+ modules are MikroTik, Ubiquiti, and some 3rd party ones from before I knew better. I've had modules that will only run at gigabit in one switch but will…

Have you had any issues with cooling? I have a 10GbE SFP+ module (made by Ubiquiti) that seems to have issues with overheating, I had to remove it to keep my network up consistently.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#145

Post by aksss »

c-hendricks wrote: post #49
carlgreene wrote: post #3

This is not for me as I'm not a professional network engineer, but I do want to say that Ubiquiti has made home networking SO fun for me. Everything truly "Just Works." My setup is definitely more on the prosumer side, but it's been so build out and inspect my network with their tools.

Can someone explain what "just works" when compared to other networking gear? IE I use ASUS and their mesh, and it all "just works". Have a mix of routers over 10 years and they all mesh together.

I think the idea is that the Ubiquiti equipment is far more capable than normal consumer-grade equipment like ASUS, and still manages to "just work". So your ASUS may also "just work" but is has a fraction of the capabilities as the unifi system in terms of feature load-out and scope of native device integrations.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#146

Post by aksss »

weinzierl wrote: post #130

"The SFP Wizard is a pocket-sized powerhouse that checks the health of any SFP or QSFP module and programs them in just seconds." I never knew you could program them. How smart are they? Are there ones capable of running Linux?

Can you play Doom on an SFP?

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#147

Post by cyberax »

simoncion wrote: post #138
cyberax wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using Mikrotik in various capacities since 2008, I even made IoT devices using RB450 boards before the word "IoT" was coined. I also love supporting a small company that is successfully competing with the giants. Their long-distance wireless and outdoor wireless are great, but their regular WiFI access points and software are at most adequate. They are not keeping up with the state of the art.

> They are not keeping up with the state of the art. Does that mean that the performance is middling (making them -IME- equal to UBNT's APs), that they never have APs that use the very latest and greatest WiFi version, or both?

Both. They don't have access points supporting 6 GHz wireless or 2.5G Ethernet.

I think they've just given up on that sector, and they're focusing on more specialized outdoors/long-distance wireless.

I don't want to get into the Ubiquity ecosystem because it's typically all-or-nothing plunge. And I distrust complicated managed systems out of general principles.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#148

Post by esseph »

dheera wrote: post #127
headwayoldest wrote: post #7

For those outside the IT/networking realms, SFP use uniform connectors for both the networking device and the fiber cable, but the major vendors (Cisco and friends) have used firmware flags and settings to provide vendor lock-in for at least the last 15 years. It used to be that in the event of a major outage or hardware failure you would need to issue additional debug commands to the effect of "I know this isn't you…

Is there anything here from Ubiquiti that can allow me to plug an AT&T Fiber directly into my Unifi switch and get rid of the BGW620 crap? One would think AT&T Fiber is so common in Ubiquiti's target market that they should make an official SFP module for this already. I know there are these XPS-GROUPON with "8311 firmware" SFP modules or something to bypass it but they cost $130+ and just wondering if there's someth…

Consider that AT&T fiber device to be a literal component of their network in a way that is: adopted into the network management system, configured with appropriate settings for the particular network and network segment, maybe the device is named in a particular way for their billing/CRM solution, there may need to be e911 info configured in the device if they often do VoIP service, etc.

In short, a gpon network is not quite the same as rolling to Walmart or whatever and just grabbing a replacement cable/dsl modem.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#149

Post by jiveturkey »

Seems to have only basic usefulness as a diagnostic tool.

> Instantly tests SFP and QSFP module health, including Rx/Tx power.

Most SFP modules will fail due to heat, like LED bulbs. So an instant test is of course instantly useful, but not indicative of production-use SFP health.

As a programming tool, of course it's awesome.

Of course, in typical ubiquiti fashion, it's out of stock with no way to backorder.

Re: Ubiquiti SFP Wizard

#150

Post by SkyPuncher »

efitz wrote: post #10

Ubiquiti is awesome, but their IPv6 support leaves something to be desired. I have two ISPs, one with IPv6 (Starlink) and one without (Frontier). I want to use Frontier for all IPv4, with IPv4 failover to Starlink, and I want to use Starlink only for IPv6. UniFi networking won’t let you configure this, and I’m not going to SSH in to my UDM to manually set routes, that will be lost at next boot.

What’s the reasoning behind this? IP type seems like a weird segment since it’s essentially random what supports it right now.
Post reply on HN