So I was asked to install the new UniFi OS on a new brand Linux server. UniFi OS is the new platform from UniFi that lets you control all your UniFi devices, such as routers, switches, and access points. From what I have seen while installing it, the Linux deployment runs a container with podman, making it distribution-agnostic. In this case, I had no control over what Linux distribution to use; as many know, I always prefer a Red Hat-based Linux, but this time I got a Debian.
Installation
The installation process is very straightforward.
- Make sure you have these packages installed before anything: podman, uidmap, and dbus-user-session.
- Download the installer from https://ui.com/download
- Execute: chmod +x dowloaded_file
- Call the downloader: sudo downloaded_file
The installer will do absolutely everything for you. Make sure it has Internet access, as it will download some images.
To access your installation point, use your browser to connect to port 11443/tcp over HTTPS.
When you first access, you will have to answer this question:
This question is asking you for the name of this server. If you are planning to use something other than self-signed certificates, it is wise to use a full FQDN.
After that, the second question is whether you already have a UNIFI account. If you don't have one, you can get one from https://account.ui.com/. Please note that the account you use to do the first login will take ownership of the deployment; so far, I haven't found a way to transfer ownership (I bet there is one, but I couldn't find it).
Once you do the first login, you are done! Server working!
Managing Tasks
You will find that executing podman from the CLI using root won't work. You will have to use sudo with some parameters. For example: sudo -i -u uosserver podman ps. Please note the -i parameter with sudo.
To start or stop the UI server, you can use the systemctl command as follows: systemctl {start|stop} uosserver.
To start a shell session: sudo -i -u uosserver podman exec -it --user root uosserver /bin/bash
