Unify dream machine pro with option 61

[Olithetech]

Hi there,

I have recieved my udm pro today and cant wait to get it up and running in its new rack 🙂 I know that the sky system is a bit different and requires DHCP option 61. The udm now includes option 61 and i have seen a few other posts on this issue but the issue is people seem to be saying different passwords everytime and I am not sure which one to use. iIwould be sooo greatful if someone could walk me through the config to get my setup going 🙂

The details:

• I have FTTP
• Dream machine pro
• Latest update of unifi network
• I want it to run straight from the ONT into the wan of the udm to use it as the main router. 
• some of the passwords i have seen are like: abcdef@skydsl|abc123 abcdefg@skydsl|abc123

Any help would be amazing!!!!!!

[Chrisee]

@Olithetech Sky do not require a unique password to authenticate DHCPv4 Option 61 used in the UK (Ireland is different) but you have to fill the username field.with a random string in the form anything@skydsl and the password with a random string. On systems where the two fields are combined separate them with a pipe symbol which is | on most keyboards.

You may need other setting such as VLAN etc but I have no experience of your unit so cannot advise..

[TimmyBGood]

---

@Chrisee wrote:

You may need other setting such as VLAN etc but I have no experience of your unit so cannot advise..

---

We've acquired a UDMP at work to host Unifi Protect camera data.  It's one of those bits of kit which has huge potential that is in no way matched by ease of configuration: Ubiquiti appear to be using ex-Cisco designers...

[jamesn123]

@Olithetech 

If the UDM has a single DHCP Option 61 field then type abc123@skydsl|abc123

If it has seperate fields for username and password then type;

Username: abc123@skydsl

Password: abcdef12345

WAN VLAN ID should be 101

[Mr+Slant]

@TimmyBGood 

"We've acquired a UDMP at work to host Unifi Protect camera data."

Ummm why in the name of god would you do that? Unifi Protect cameras are vastly overpriced, unreliable (the IR filter WILL fail inside a couple of years) underspecced piles of junk. The ONLY reason they have become popular is the USA's ban on Hikvision products - which unlike UI's garbage do EXACTLY what they say on the tin.

NB - I've been there and got that "T-shirt" 😉

Also anyone who had a clue and worked for UI left YEARS ago. Nothing is going to improve so exit their "ecosystem" as fast as you possibly can.

[TimmyBGood]

---

@Mr+Slant wrote:

@TimmyBGood 

"We've acquired a UDMP at work to host Unifi Protect camera data."

Ummm why in the name of god would you do that?

---

Because at the start of the first lockdown when everyone (but me) went home it dawned on management that they might want some eyes on site: sometimes you do what you can with what you can get.  We've had one IR cut failure from 18 cameras since then: the unit still works, but in greyscale.

The Unifi switches and APs (something like 80 in total) run very nicely off their CloudKey: the cameras aren't bad, although a little temperamental on the reboot after a firmware updates.

[Mr+Slant]

Do they still ship the UDM/Cloudkey with SMR drives?

Last I saw they STILL didn't understand why a SMR drive is totally inappropriate for 24/7/365 recording 😉

[TimmyBGood]

@Mr+Slant 

The CloudKey Gen 2 Plus ships with a 1TB of some description: the UDM is unpopulated unless a VAR bundles a drive.  There's also now the 'Dream Machine Special Edition' with some onboard storage.

Fortunately our needs aren't exactly critical: I've needed to review captured data twice in three years.

[Mr+Slant]

They used to sell the UCKG2+ with a 4TB drive which was SMR - unfortunately for UI there simply aren't any 2.5" non SMR drives over 1TB (or it might even be 500GB) these days. Bad design decisions again.

Interesting that they ship the UDM unpopulated now - again that used to come with a SMR drive, mainly (IIRC) because the interface circuitry they chose (the phrase cheap as chips is appropriate here 😄 ) wasn't compatible with any of the decent drives certified for CCTV - well not in a reliable way.

YMMV of course but given they still can't build a L3 switch which works I doubt much has changed.

[TimmyBGood]

---

@Mr+Slant wrote:

YMMV of course but given they still can't build a L3 switch which works I doubt much has changed.

---

We don't need Layer 3 internally: the LAN isn't big enough to justify it.  Ubiquiti 24 and 8 port PoE switches give us what we need for functionality and visibility without paying a recurring subscription fee which something like Meraki kit would require (although I do have the inevitable MS220-8P and MX64 which everyone in the IT business ended up with 'free' for sitting through their sales pitch ; ) 

[Olithetech]

Hi there,

Thanks everyone who has replied so. far!!! However i still dont seem to be able to go straight from the ONT i configured VLAN ID 101 and DHCP 61 with the password and username that was mentioned and still no internet connection. The udm shows a no ip adress error if that helps.

Hope someone can help!! 🙂

Thanks a million,

Oliver

[jamesn123 · Accepted solution]

@Olithetech 

Can you send some screenshots of your configuration?

Also did you try leaving everything unplugged for 30mins? Often people find that 3rd party routers dont connect if you immediately swap the Sky hub for the 3rd party router, likely an authentication/caching issue on Skys end.

One other thing you can try is enabling IPv6 PD to see if the router will authenticate automatically if you are in an area with an IPv6 PD enabled exchange.

[TomThumb5ive]

@Olithetech  WAN VLAN ID should be 101

Afaik the 101 vlan tag Is not needed on a fttp connection,  

but is a must for fttc.

Tom...

[Mr+Slant]

@TimmyBGood 

I quite agree about Meraki etc.

There are other games in town these days if you're not a USAian.

However the fact that UI still haven't fixed some fairly major L3 issues on their switching plant after 6 YEARS indicates that their userbase isn't professional, its just a bunch of home users paying well over the odds and businesses who don't really have much of a clue what they bought. No offence intended to your colleagues 🙂

Its a shame as they really looked like they might change the market 10 years ago.....

We digress, apologies to OP.

[Olithetech]

Hi there,

It is all sorted!!!! I unplugged everything for 35 mins and replugged and it worked 🙂 The vlan was not needed..

Thank you sooo much to everyone that has helped :))