UniFi Static IP Addresses

Infrastructure devices should always have static IPs. Here's a bit about how I organize static IPs and some basic documentation to go with it.

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[Czecher]

Great content. I’m a simple home user and decided to organize my things with static IPs this morning. I sorta guessed at the process and then came here later to find out I actually got it right. I feel better and more organized now.

[safemodeit]

I usually set the USG as the DHCP server. Just wish it had more options and ability to view leases in the controller.

[bentljo]

Yes! Exactly! If you’ve ever had a DHCP server go out then you KNOW how important this is. Besides static IP’s on infrastructure devices I’ve even setup redundant DHCP servers with non-overlapping scopes on the same networks. We actually had three and each one had several hundred reservations for second-tier infrastructure items like printers, phones, Apple TVs (this was a school), etc. It takes some pretty good planning but it can all be scripted so even with a couple thousand devices and nearly a dozen VLANs it’s very doable and results in an incredibly resilient and flexible network.

[jdkdomain]

Great idea for spreadsheet. Only other recommendation when building is to design expansion into the plan. When I plan my networks I always take either the first 25-40 ip addresses and keep them for static availability. Leaves at least 200 in addresses available for dhcp devices. Great job!

[sixtdb]

Reaching out from the UK, I find your videos very help - thank you. One subject (Unifi) that I still find confusing and that is VLANS. I have watched many other videos on the subject but none that really cover the subject in a comprehensive but simple way. You may have covered this subject and I have not found it yet - but if not, it would be a very useful video to make for many I'm sure. Thanks

[nhl]

Would love a similar primer on subnetting! Keep up the great work, thank you.

[jasonwalter]

I've had more than a few instances where things connected more quickly and seemed to run more reliably using static IP's. I'm in a Windows Server environment and always questioned how much overhead is used, both on the server and on the network, with DHCP handling the IP assignment and tracking. We also do quite a bit of remote connecting to workstations and it is always nice to know you can count on the IP of the device staying consistent.

[rockyo]

I have static addresses to most the devices on my Unifi USG Pro 4. What I can not figure out is how to output a list of the devices and their ip address. Having them in a form that is printed, text, pdf or anything other than looking at the screen would be very helpful. I am a novice at this . I realize this video is 2 years old.

[trick]

I setup my network with some gaps for addition. Example, router and switches 1-9, aps 10-19, servers 20-29, etc. That way if I add a switch or ap I can keep all the ips close.

[issacohasi]

I really appreciate your new introduction!!! Thanks for your support with Unifi Equipaments... I just bought my setup because I saw your videos.

[TheDouklias]

Willie, what is the right network configuration? Management, corporate, public, IoT vlans. Which VLAN can access other VLANS, should management VLAN access Internet, should network equipment be on it's own VLAN (management)? too many question. It will be nice to give a brief Willie Howe network architecture lesson learn.

[miketarbox]

Thanks for the video. I'm glad that I'm not alone with giving everything a static IP.

[jeffsstuff]

Tangentially related question: on a home network with Synology and truenas servers and clients running windows, macOS, and iOS, what’s the best way to set everything up so you can reach the servers by name rather than IP address? The servers already have static IPs

[RC-bvyz]

A subnetting primer would be awesome! Thanks for all the great info...

[paulpringle]

I tend to agree with everything you do but I never put static IP's on the AP's. If my DHCP servers (I have more than 1) go down then I have much bigger problems than the wifi being down. It's just another thing to look after when the controller is already there for that exact job.

[dodgeable]

How did you come up with your primary DNS IP?

[Woody]

Thanks for the heads up. Too bad your picture was overtop of the entries you were making, but I think I can figure it out.

[eduardorivas]

Great video. I agree and have been doing this slowly on a network I have just taken over. I would love to see port checking including the STUN port which has been giving me hell.

[erikkimes]

Willie- Awesome video! Random question, what is the preferred setup for default gateway and preferred DNS? Should they be different? I know what the difference is in what they actually are, but I don't think I've ever learned what a good "default" setting should be for preferred DNS. I know on my actual router/settings within windows I use the two google DNS, but for unifi devices, what should I use?

[PatrickBonsi]

I had a situation where my cloud key broke and resetting the whole unt network. Because everything was on static the AP and switches could not get back on the network because the networks I had created through with static routing was gone. Leaving the APs with static IPs that could not talk to the controller even after I recreated the Static IP address. Had to drive 4hrs to the client to resolve this issue by resetting all 28 devices on the network. For for now I run DHCP for just this one client.