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[Solved] why there is support of unify AP

Posted: Sat Nov 28, 2020 10:11 am
by tomislav91
I cant really find a meaning of backup an access point when he got all information from controller, or can someone explain maybe :)

Re: [Solved] why there is support of unify AP

Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2022 7:12 pm
by Tomas
Support for UniFi (not just the APs, but all other devices) was actually requested multiple times by our users before we added it.

As for why this is useful, each user/network usually has their own requirements and reasons, but here are a few common use-cases I personally have seen.

Change management and related processes:
For example, we have quite a few users who use the Unimus API to pull config changes detected by Unimus into their ticketing or change management software, so when a change is detected, it triggers a warning and a review. It makes sense to have this tied into a single system (Unimus) rather than tying it to many systems for each vendor of gear you have.

Automation:
We even have an example for UBNT automation here on our forums which was requested by a user. You could do this through UISP or UniFi, but you would have to learn their API, make sure your own solution handles scheduling, all the failure modes and errors, etc. It is much easier and faster to do this in Unimus (no API knowledge required, just use your usual networking skills you already have), and everything is handed for you. And centralization is again an advantage - rather than having to automate around many systems, you can have all your network automation in a single place.

Config visibility:
This again comes to centralization. Let's say you want to find all APs running on a specific frequency. But in some places you run UniFi, in others Ruckus, and perhaps you have a few standalone MikroTik APs in yet other places. Networks grow organically, or get acquired often. So looking for things in Unimus (Config Search) again allows you to not have to search across many disparate per-vendor systems.

To sum up:
If you have a completely homogeneous network consisting of only UniFi gear, I don't think there is much usefulness in adding your UniFi stuff into Unimus. But in reality (especially in networks of any significant size, in MSP use-cases and many other cases) that is hardly the case and there can be quite a few benefits of using Unimus in tandem with things like UniFi.