RA2 and Unifi Networks...any definitive answers?

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07-21-2021, 02:59 PM
PAR-Designer

RA2 and Unifi Networks...any definitive answers?

This topic keeps popping up in various forums from time to time. I imagine it's because people keep having the same issues I do. As much as I love my Lutron RA2 system, sometimes I want to take the main repeater out and shoot the **** thing!

I've used an all-Unifi network for years now. Running lots of clients, mostly wired and a handful of wireless, I seldom have any problems with the network. EXCEPT...connecting with the Lutron Main Repeater is always an adventure. I'll do some programming and transfer one day, make no network changes whatsoever, and not be able to connect at all the next. Or it can suddenly get funky with one laptop, but work fine with a different one. It's so unpredictable, and SO time-consuming....it drives me nuts.

I know there are a couple guys here who install Unifi networks. Since you also, presumably, work with Lutron systems....can anybody explain why they tend to have these issues? And more importantly, can anyone offer any specific advice on resolving them?
07-22-2021, 10:14 AM
gt3mike

Hi @PAR-Designer,

This probably won't be much help with your issues, but I thought it was worth posting as a data point at least. I'm a DIY homeowner with RR2 and a Unifi network, and I have had zero problems with it. I have a USG, several switches and several APs. Controller is running on a Cloud Key. The RR2 Main Repeater is set up with a static IP, which I understand to be best practice. I have always been able to access it from the RR2 software with zero issues when the laptop is connected via ethernet, and I'm pretty sure it has always worked when I'm walking around with the laptop connected via WiFi.

I don't recall needing to modify any of the default network settings in the Controller software in order to get things working. Sorry I can't be more help, but I thought it was worth posting.

Mike
07-22-2021, 11:55 AM
matt@dublinholdings.com

@PAR-Designer I like @gt3mike and a pro-sumer of both network and RR2 kit. Ive got an UDM-Pro running 1-10.0-13 image, several switches and 7 access points (as well as a dozen cameras). From the RA2 perspective, 21 shades, and another 68 devices.Ive setup the main to have a static IP and for the most part, it seems to work well, albeit Ill probably roll this back to DHCP and assign it static through DHCP in the future. What has been giving me fits lately is continual telnet lockouts (why Lutron still uses such an insecure access method is beyond me - the reason stated in my training was "well, it should be behind a firewall"... like nobody has ever heard of an INTERNAL threat)!My take is the Main repeater is pretty immature firmware so far as we are concerned (from an IT perspective), and there is little incentive for Lutron to actually clean it up. Ive had some issues in the past but once your done it seems to do what its supposed to (control shades and lights). Overall connectivity from an integration standpoint is archaic as compared to modern IT standards (Im not going to beat that dead horse any longer), however Id also be careful what we ask for... when they EOL this for the next generation you can bet the whole system will EOL and there will be zero backwards compatibility, hence a full retrofit (and I just installed all this kit in the last 4 months)What I have done is segment the whole thing off into its own VLAN along with the bridge and management VM that I use for programming - and it seems okay for the most part. Give that a shot and see how things work out.
07-23-2021, 08:56 AM
BillD

I don't currently have Ubiquiti equipment, but I'm planning to install some. I'm also not a networking pro. In preparation I was researching this question and didn't find definitive answers. One thing I did find was that there is/was a similar issue for Sonos speakers crossing VLANs on the UDM-Pro. Someone developed a fix for this issue called "multicast-relay". It appears that newer UDM-Pro firmware may have corrected this issue if UPnP is enabled.

https://nerdygeek.uk/2020/06/09/a-ti...udm-pro-users/
07-24-2021, 11:19 AM
randyc

Lutron is trying to do away with telnet. They are fighting almost every dealer they have every step of the way.
07-26-2021, 10:24 AM
matt@dublinholdings.com

@randyc - so there really IS a God!Seriously, someone DOES recognize that Telnet has gone the way of CP/M and Thick Ethernet :-)If its the dealers that are fighting it... well they should wake up and get with the times, All the IoT crap didn't exist back then, nor was security even a thought when this thing came out. A simple password was "good enough", however in today's environment when the watch on your wrist has more computational power than the Apollo capsule, well its time to re-think this a tad. Yeah, it takes a little work to re-write your stuff to interface through ssh, however even that has evolved over time to be the "best option" for a CLI into whats surely an insecure system (at least they close all the ports on the thing that matter).
07-26-2021, 11:41 PM
C SPARKS FLY

Same Problem as PAR - I'm not able to see the main repeater

I came here to ask pretty much the same question with almost the same problems. I can get 1 laptop to see it for about 10 seconds until I do a transfer and then it disappears, and that's using wifi. I have trouble but it eventually works if hardwired to the network with a different laptop. I'm on 6 jobs now with the same network installer who is using Araknis Equipment and EERO access points. I cannot use wifi at all for programming and, again, even hardwired to the network is a miracle if it works. By the end of basic programming, I never want to touch the system again. With constant trouble, Lutron tech support just says, "Yeah, just try to stay off the Araknis network and use an ethernet link to program." Hopefully, there is a fix soon. Any advice from anyone else?
08-19-2021, 01:18 PM
evankirkhart

EERO is garbage. Their firmware has not implemented multicast correctly even after many Years. You will be plagued with problems with any device that uses local network discovery. Ubiquiti has worked great for me.
08-22-2021, 09:34 PM
randyc

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt@dublinholdings.com

@randyc - so there really IS a God!Seriously, someone DOES recognize that Telnet has gone the way of CP/M and Thick Ethernet :-)If its the dealers that are fighting it... well they should wake up and get with the times, All the IoT crap didn't exist back then, nor was security even a thought when this thing came out. A simple password was "good enough", however in today's environment when the watch on your wrist has more computational power than the Apollo capsule, well its time to re-think this a tad. Yeah, it takes a little work to re-write your stuff to interface through ssh, however even that has evolved over time to be the "best option" for a CLI into whats surely an insecure system (at least they close all the ports on the thing that matter).

When they say they are going to move away from Telnet, dealers with lots of installed systems get nervous. If they were to say, "From this point forward we are going to use SSH (or whatever)," that would be fine. We are still a little nervous that Lutron will break Telnet on existing systems.

If we have an existing Lutron system that uses Telnet, and we want/need to replace the processor, integrated systems will require additional programming. You will have to adjust Crestron programming to accommodate the new protocol. Other systems may require changes as well.

Dealers are generally onboard with improved security. Although, Lutrons password requirements are ridiculous. We are still gun shy when Lutron says they are making a major change.
12-04-2021, 08:08 PM
aogilvie

UPnP Enabling Seemed to fix one of my issues - thanks!

Enabling UPnP on my Ubiquity network seemed to fix an issue where I couldn't connect to the connect bridge through my phone on or off the network (even though I could connect through my computer while hard wired to the network using the Radio RA2 Essentials programming software). So now I at least have that working for me - thanks for the tip!!! Now....if only I could figure out why my computer won't connect to the main repeater over wireless and can only do it when hard wired. Seems there are others out there with this issue, but I haven't come across a definitive solution yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BillD

I don't currently have Ubiquiti equipment, but I'm planning to install some. I'm also not a networking pro. In preparation I was researching this question and didn't find definitive answers. One thing I did find was that there is/was a similar issue for Sonos speakers crossing VLANs on the UDM-Pro. Someone developed a fix for this issue called "multicast-relay". It appears that newer UDM-Pro firmware may have corrected this issue if UPnP is enabled.

https://nerdygeek.uk/2020/06/09/a-ti...udm-pro-users/
12-10-2021, 01:03 AM
ErikU

Sorry to reply so late. I had similar issues with my RA2 system and UBNT. Here are the settings that resolved the issue:

Settings/Wifi/Advanced
Optimize IoT connectivity: enable
Multicast enhancement: enable

Settings/Network/Lan/Advanced
IGMP Snooping: enable

Settings/Advanced Features/Advanced Gateway Settings
UPnP: Enable
01-19-2022, 11:39 AM
hoist

Hey ErikU - I can't find the "Optimize IoT connectivity" option in Unifi controller version 6.1.71. Any suggestions?

I am looking in WIFI/Advanced and I see Multicast enhancement, but no IoT option.

Everything else is set as you suggest other than IoT. Lutron not currently working for me.

TIA

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErikU

Sorry to reply so late. I had similar issues with my RA2 system and UBNT. Here are the settings that resolved the issue:

Settings/Wifi/Advanced
Optimize IoT connectivity: enable
Multicast enhancement: enable

Settings/Network/Lan/Advanced
IGMP Snooping: enable

Settings/Advanced Features/Advanced Gateway Settings
UPnP: Enable
01-19-2022, 02:36 PM
evankirkhart

Make sure LAN to WLAN block traffic is disabled.

Upgrade from 6.1, its not a good release. 6.5.55 or higher will also patch the log4j vulnerability.
01-20-2022, 02:38 PM
hoist

In the end, I made all your changes PLUS Lutron support noticed my laptop was on a 192.168.100.xxx network while the Caseta was on a 192.168.1.xxx network. I had to go onto my hidden wifi network with access to the .1. network in order to communicate with the Caseta. Once I did that and input the Caseta's ip address, then it was off to the races.
01-21-2022, 02:18 PM
Treason101

1 Attachment(s)

I thought I'd post this incase there are other Unifi deployments out there that have similar settings applied.

I've long struggled with updating RA2 main repeaters using Ubiquiti equipment. The only way to update the programming or firmware was to hardwire into the system. If trying to update the system over Wifi and the RA2 software isn't able to find the repeater, it's possible the Unifi deployment is blocking LAN to WLAN multicast traffic. Check the following settings:

Settings > Wireless Settings > (Your Wireless Network)
Under advanced options > Check to see if "Multicast and Broadcast filtering" is checked. If so, the system would block any multicast traffic being sent from LAN devices to the RA2 software via Wifi.

If the option has been enabled, you can add the main repeater as an exception by clicking the "Add client" button. See the image below.

Attachment 918
09-03-2022, 01:03 PM
chrisdrackett

the only way I was able to connect a main repeater to my unifi network was adding an unmanaged switch between the repeater and my managed unifi switch. Otherwise I get no status lights or connection.
10-07-2022, 08:41 PM
amattas

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisdrackett

the only way I was able to connect a main repeater to my unifi network was adding an unmanaged switch between the repeater and my managed unifi switch. Otherwise I get no status lights or connection.

So I just encountered this tonight after upgrading my UniFi switch to the enterprise model. I stumbled across this thread trying to fix it, but figured it out with some trial and error.

It turns out the 2.5Gbps ports don't support 10Mbps which is the only ethernet mode the Ra2 main repeaters support. I worked around this by plugging the main repeater into my Dream Machine switch directly as a temporary workaround. It's not ideal, but it'll work for now. I'm anxiously waiting Ra3 to support dual repeaters so I can upgrade.