HCHTech
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USP-Plug - for under $20 it seems like an easy way to add remote rebooting for modems & such... Just wondering about folks experience with it. TIA!
Anyone using the Unifi Smart Power Plug?
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Sky-Knight
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I'm not... but I'm going to have to start!
The thing about Unifi I DESPISE... sometimes a soft reboot isn't enough, and especially the switches need power cycled. I'm not too sure about using Unifi gear for this specific need, but the price point is really attractive.
The thing about Unifi I DESPISE... sometimes a soft reboot isn't enough, and especially the switches need power cycled. I'm not too sure about using Unifi gear for this specific need, but the price point is really attractive.
britechguy
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So even the man who seems to despise IoT devices with a burning passion can find exceptions to love, or at least potentially to love.
YeOldeStonecat
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Yup I have a few of them out there...here's one
They work fine. Their newer surge strips to do...and we have the old old first gen strips too.
And...some of their gateways have this feature built into the back of them...to "reboot modem"
Read the limitations, while it's not as customizable as WattBoxes...it's price isn't as insane as WattBoxes either....which, despite their crazy prices...are very antiquated in how you manage them. But for just bouncing a modem..it's fine.
I find UI's network equipment to have tremendously matured...become very stable. We have a LOT of their product out in the field, I'm not finding any need to "reboot them" or power cycle them. They're "set and forget" like good old HP ProCurves these days.
The only "pain point" I have with Unifi...is the LLDP timer cannot be custom set in the GUI. Which sucks for deploying converged voice/data vlans with certain Polycom VoIP phones. Wasn't too bad until lately...now that Comcast in our area is using these new phones that don't like the default value UI has.
They work fine. Their newer surge strips to do...and we have the old old first gen strips too.
And...some of their gateways have this feature built into the back of them...to "reboot modem"
Read the limitations, while it's not as customizable as WattBoxes...it's price isn't as insane as WattBoxes either....which, despite their crazy prices...are very antiquated in how you manage them. But for just bouncing a modem..it's fine.
I find UI's network equipment to have tremendously matured...become very stable. We have a LOT of their product out in the field, I'm not finding any need to "reboot them" or power cycle them. They're "set and forget" like good old HP ProCurves these days.
The only "pain point" I have with Unifi...is the LLDP timer cannot be custom set in the GUI. Which sucks for deploying converged voice/data vlans with certain Polycom VoIP phones. Wasn't too bad until lately...now that Comcast in our area is using these new phones that don't like the default value UI has.
Markverhyden
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Haven't been buying much equipment lately so haven't noticed them. Plenty of people I know use Wattbox and Web power switch. Though expensive you can use their functions after hours and no long have to virtually hand hold an onsite PoC to power cycle something. I'll have to order some to check them out.
phaZed
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I use these Kasa Smart Plugs, pack of 4 for $27.60 (now with a $4 off coupon). Works a treat.
YeOldeStonecat
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Looked on their website, as I haven't seen that Kasa brand in network equipment offerings. Does it have the ability to power cycle the outlet...if it fails to get replies from a heartbeat sent to public (or any customizable) IP address?
The Unifi power outlet, and bigger name products like Wattbox, will run a heartbeat to say...8.8.8.8, and when it doesn't get a reply for X (settable) amounts of tries...it will power cycle the outlet (assumed a broadband modem/gateway will be plugged into that).
Or say, for wireless point to point setups with long distance radios, if no reply from the "other side"...bounce the radio.
The Unifi power outlet, and bigger name products like Wattbox, will run a heartbeat to say...8.8.8.8, and when it doesn't get a reply for X (settable) amounts of tries...it will power cycle the outlet (assumed a broadband modem/gateway will be plugged into that).
Or say, for wireless point to point setups with long distance radios, if no reply from the "other side"...bounce the radio.
phaZed
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@YeOldeStonecat - No, directly, it's not for those things. Coupled with a NodeRed State Machine or HomeAssistant on a micro, it can be exactly that.
My use case for them is usually for restarting a hung machine or turning on an, "off machine", that is sitting at a client after hours - that needs contract MSP.
I have over 150 custom made "computer booters" I call "NODEboot"s that are installed in 3 separate crypto mining operations. They are ESP8266 devices that interface directly with the MOBO power button FP header (in the case of a PC-style machine). In the case of something like an Antminer that has no physical power button, the ESP8266 alerts NodeRed which then flips a Kasa switch or similar(Kasa switches only good for 15A), and sends an email alert to the operators and turns on a bright Red-Orange-Green stack light to identify the machine in the datacenter.
HomeAssistant directly interfaces with UniFi equipment and can do some fun things. I could block a single machine from network access - or turn off a single port... or monitor uptime, etc. It can also interface with their Video app, so I can automate via camera detections and other things like presence detection (When a device is seen on the network, like a phone). POE port control, DPI on/off, bandwidth sensing, client network uptime, etc.
www.home-assistant.io
https://nodered.org/ (IBM)
I was using RaspberryPi's when they were still $35, but have switched to ODROID-C4 4GB or cloud VPS, depending the situation.
My use case for them is usually for restarting a hung machine or turning on an, "off machine", that is sitting at a client after hours - that needs contract MSP.
I have over 150 custom made "computer booters" I call "NODEboot"s that are installed in 3 separate crypto mining operations. They are ESP8266 devices that interface directly with the MOBO power button FP header (in the case of a PC-style machine). In the case of something like an Antminer that has no physical power button, the ESP8266 alerts NodeRed which then flips a Kasa switch or similar(Kasa switches only good for 15A), and sends an email alert to the operators and turns on a bright Red-Orange-Green stack light to identify the machine in the datacenter.
HomeAssistant directly interfaces with UniFi equipment and can do some fun things. I could block a single machine from network access - or turn off a single port... or monitor uptime, etc. It can also interface with their Video app, so I can automate via camera detections and other things like presence detection (When a device is seen on the network, like a phone). POE port control, DPI on/off, bandwidth sensing, client network uptime, etc.
UniFi Network
Instructions on how to configure UniFi Network integration with UniFi Network application by Ubiquiti.
www.home-assistant.io
I was using RaspberryPi's when they were still $35, but have switched to ODROID-C4 4GB or cloud VPS, depending the situation.
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