See below some common questions (and answers) relating to the UniFi Controller:
Q) Do I have to pay for the UnFi Controller software?
No! The UniFi Controller software is free of subscription, licensing or maintenance fees and can be downloaded for free from the Ubiquiti website at https://ui.com/download/unifi
Q) What platforms can the UniFi Controller be installed on?
The UniFi Controller software can be installed onto a Linux, Windows or Mac based system
Q) Is the UniFi Controller platform supported in a Hyper V2 environment?
Most manufacturers support the physical environment. Software is installed on the operating system. VM's support the operating system. Careful VM testing is always advised, before deployment.
Q) I don’t want to use UniFi Controller to manage my access point. What can I do?
UniFi AC access points can be managed and configured in standalone mode using the UniFi App, available on Android and IOS.
Q) How easy is it to create a basic wireless network for the first time on UniFi Controller?
Once installed, you can create a basic wireless network / guest network and have your access point provide it directly from the 5 Step Setup Wizard, which takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
Q) How easy is it to recover from a hardware failure where the UniFi Controller was installed?
If you have a recent backup file, you can restore the controller directly from the first step of the setup wizard, once installed onto a new host server.
Q) How many devices can I manage using the UniFi Cloud Key?
See the article here for a rough guide to the limitations of the different Cloud Key variants.
Q) The UniFi Controller uses the same network ports as my servers. Can I change them?
Yes! You can set the different network ports UniFi Controller uses in the config.properties file, located in the installation folder.
Q) Do all my network devices need to be UniFi devices if I use the UniFi Controller?
No, You can mix and match between the access points, switches and routers, or have devices from other manufacturers. Bare in mind that managed devices from other manufacturers would not be centrally managed through UniFi Controller, however.
Q) Can I restore a UniFi Controller backup to a newer version of the UniFi Controller that created it?
For most recent UniFi Controller versions, at the time of writing, you can restore backups from previous version of the controller to newer versions.
Q) Can my UniFi devices work without the UniFi Controller being online?
For the most part, yes. Certain features, like meshing and Guest Portal may rely on the UniFi Controller being available on the network in order to function.
Q) Does there have to be an internet connection in order to update firmware on my UniFi devices?
No - UniFi access points and switches upload new available firmware directly from the UniFi Controller. The exception is the Security Gateway, that must have an internet connection to retrieve firmware updates.