# UniFi Binding

This binding integrates with Ubiquiti UniFi Networks (opens new window) allowing for presence detection of network clients.

# Supported Things

  • controller - An instance of the UniFi controller software
  • site - A site thing with connection statistics
  • wlan - A wireless network thing. Control Wi-Fi network and easy access to access.
  • wirelessClient - Any wireless client connected to a UniFi wireless network
  • wiredClient - A wired client connected to the UniFi network
  • poePort - A PoE (Power over Ethernet) port on a UniFi switch
  • accessPoint - An access point managed by the UniFi controller software

# Discovery

The binding supports discovery of things connected to a UniFi controller (Bridge). To discover things start the discovery process manually.

# Binding Configuration

The binding has no configuration options, all configuration is done at the Bridge and Thing levels.

# Bridge Configuration

You need at least one UniFi Controller (Bridge) for this binding to work. It requires a network accessible instance of the Ubiquiti Networks Controller Software (opens new window).

The following table describes the Bridge configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config Default
host Hostname of IP address of the UniFi Controller Required -
port Port of the UniFi Controller. For UniFi OS, the default port is usually 443 Required -
unifios If the UniFi Controller is running on UniFi OS Required false
username The username to access the UniFi Controller Required -
password The password to access the UniFi Controller Required -
refresh Refresh interval in seconds Optional 10

# Thing Configuration

You must define a UniFi Controller (Bridge) before defining UniFi Things for this binding to work.

# site

The following table describes the site configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config Default
sid The name, description or id of the site Required -

# wlan

The following table describes the wlan configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config Default
wid The name or id of the WLAN Required -

# wirelessClient & wiredClient

The following table describes the wirelessClient & wiredClient configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config Default
cid The MAC address, IP address, hostname or alias of the client Required -
site The site where the client should be found Optional -
considerHome The interval in seconds to consider the client as home Optional 180

Here's some additional notes regarding the thing configuration parameters:

# cid

The cid parameter is a universal "client identifier". It accepts the following values:

  1. MAC address [highest priority]
  2. IP address
  3. Hostname (as show by the controller)
  4. Alias (as defined by you in the controller UI) [lowest priority]

The priority essentially means the binding attempts to lookup by MAC address, then by IP address, then by hostname and finally by alias. Once it finds a matching client, it short circuits and stops searching. Most of the time, you will simply use the MAC address.

# site

The site parameter is optional. If you leave it blank, the client will appear ONLINE if found in any site defined on the controller.

You may use the site parameter as a filter if you only want the client to appear home if it is found in the site defined in the site parameter.

Additionally, you may use friendly site names as they appear in the controller UI.

# considerHome

The considerHome parameter allows you to control how quickly the binding marks a client as away. For example, using the default of 180 (seconds), the binding will report a client away as soon as lastSeen + 180 (seconds) < now.

# poePort

The following table describes the poePort configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config
portNumber The port number as reported by the switch (starts with 1) Required
macAddress The MAC address of the switch device the port is part of Required

# accessPoint

The following table describes the accessPoint configuration parameters:

Parameter Description Config Default
mac The MAC address of the access point Required -
site The site where the access point should be found Optional -

# Channels

# site

The site information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
totalClients Number Total number of clients connected Read
wirelessClients Number Number of wireless clients connected Read
wiredClients Number Number of wired clients connected Read
guestClients Number Number of guest clients connected Read
guestVoucher String Guest voucher for access through the guest portal Read
guestVouchersGenerate String Generate additional guest vouchers for access through the guest portal Write

The guestVouchersGenerate string channel is a command only channel that will trigger voucher creation. It has configuration parameters to tailor the vouchers created:

Parameter Description Config Default
voucherCount Number of vouchers to create Optional 1
voucherExpiration Minutes a voucher is valid after activation (default is 1 day) Optional 1440
voucherUsers Number of users for voucher, 0 for no limit Optional 1
voucherUpLimit Upload speed limit in kbps, no limit if not set Optional
voucherDownLimit Download speed limit in kbps, no limit if not set Optional
voucherDataQuota Data transfer quota in MB per user, no limit if not set Optional

# wlan

The wlan information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
enable Switch Enable status of the WLAN Read, Write
wirelessClients Number Number of wireless clients connected Read
guestClients Number Number of guest clients connected Read
essid String Wireless Network (ESSID) Read
site String UniFi Site the client is associated with Read
security String Security protocol of the Wi-Fi network Read
wlanBand String Wireless LAN band of the Wi-Fi network Read
wpaEnc String WPA Encoding of the Wi-Fi network Read
wpaMode String WPA Mode of the Wi-Fi network Read
passphrase String Passphrase of the Wi-Fi network Read
qrcodeEncoding String MECARD like encoding to generate a QR Code for easy access to the Wi-Fi network Read

Attention

If you link an item to the passphrase or qrcodeEncoding channel your Wi-Fi password will be exposed in openHAB. The password will also be visible in openHAB event log.

The qrcodeEncoding channel can be used to easily create a QR Code to access, for example, a guest network. It contains a MECARD like representation of the access. This is the notation used in QR Codes that can be scanned by mobile phones.

# wirelessClient

The wirelessClient information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
online Switch Online status of the client Read
name String Name of device (from the controller web UI) Read
hostname String Hostname of device (from the controller web UI) Read
site String Site name (from the controller web UI) the client is associated with Read
macAddress String MAC address of the client Read
ipAddress String IP address of the client Read
guest Switch On if this is a guest client Read
ap String Access point (AP) the client is connected to Read
essid String Network name (ESSID) the client is connected to Read
rssi Number:Power Received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the client Read
uptime Number:Time Uptime of the client (in seconds) Read
lastSeen DateTime Date and Time the client was last seen Read
experience Number:Dimensionless Overall health indication of the client (in percentage) Read
blocked Switch Blocked status of the client Read, Write
cmd String Command channel: reconnect to force the client to reconnect Write
reconnect Switch Force the client to reconnect Write

Note: All channels with the Write permission require administrator credentials as defined in the controller.

# wiredClient

The wiredClient information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
online Switch Online status of the client Read
name String Name of device (from the controller web UI) Read
hostname String Hostname of device (from the controller web UI) Read
site String Site name (from the controller web UI) the client is associated with Read
macAddress String MAC address of the client Read
ipAddress String IP address of the client Read
uptime Number:Time Uptime of the client (in seconds) Read
lastSeen DateTime Date and Time the client was last seen Read
experience Number:Dimensionless Overall health indication of the client (in percentage) Read
blocked Switch Blocked status of the client Read, Write

# blocked

The blocked channel allows you to block / unblock a client via the controller.

# reconnect

The reconnect channel allows you to force a client to reconnect. Sending ON to this channel will trigger a reconnect via the controller.

# poePort

The poePort information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
online Switch Online status of the port Read
mode Selection Select the PoE mode: off, auto, pasv24 or passthrough Read, Write
enable Switch Enable Power over Ethernet Read, Write
cmd String Command channel: power-cycle: Power Cycle port Write
power Number:Power Power consumption of the port in Watt Read
voltage Number:ElectricPotential Voltage of the port in Volt Read
current Number:ElectricCurrent Current used by the port in mA Read

The enable switch channel has a configuration parameter mode which is the value used to switch PoE on when the channel is switched to ON. The default mode value is auto.

# accessPoint

The accessPoint information that is retrieved is available as these channels:

Channel ID Item Type Description Permissions
online Switch Online status of the device Read
enable Switch Enable or disable the access point Read, Write
name String Name of device (from the controller web UI) Read
site String Site name (from the controller web UI) the device is associated with Read
ipAddress String IP address of the device Read
uptime Number:Time Uptime of the device (in seconds) Read
lastSeen DateTime Date and Time the device was last seen Read
experience Number:Dimensionless The average health indication of the connected clients Read

# Rule Actions

As an alternative to using the guestVoucher and guestVouchersGenerate channels on the site thing, it is possible to use rule actions on the thing to generate, revoke and list guest vouchers. The following actions are available:

  • boolean success = generateVoucher(Integer expire, Integer users, Integer upLimit, Integer downLimit, Integer dataQuota)
  • boolean success = generateVouchers(Integer count, Integer expire, Integer users, Integer upLimit, Integer downLimit, Integer dataQuota)
  • boolean success = revokeVoucher(String voucherCode)
  • boolean success = revokeVouchers(List<String> voucherCodes)
  • boolean success = revokeAllVouchers()
  • String vouchers = listVouchers()

Since there is a separate rule action instance for each site thing, this needs to be retrieved through getActions(scope, thingUID). The first parameter always has to be unifi and the second is the full Thing UID of the site that should be used. Once this action instance is retrieved, you can invoke the action method on it.

Boolean return values for the actions indicate success or failure.

The generateVoucher(s) actions parameters match the configuration parameters for the guestVouchersGenerate channel. With the actions, these parameters can be controlled in a rule or script. null values for the parameters are allowed, and will set the parameter to the default value.

Parameter Description Default
count Number of vouchers to create 1
expire Minutes a voucher is valid after activation (default is 1 day) 1440
users Number of users for voucher, 0 for no limit 1
upLimit Upload speed limit in kbps, no limit if not set
downLimit Download speed limit in kbps, no limit if not set
dataQuota Data transfer quota in MB per user, no limit if not set

The revoke... actions allow you to revoke previously created vouchers. The parameter is the voucher code or a list of voucher codes to be revoked.

The listVouchers action will return a json string representing the currently available vouchers for the site. The json contains all parameters for the voucher, therefore it is possible to filter on these in a rule or script. For example, one could retrieve all vouchers created before a certain time and use the revokeVouchers action to delete these. The structure of the returned json is (depending on content, some fields may be missing):

[
    {
        "code": "3867791284",
        "createTime": "2023-01-31T14:40:47Z",
        "duration": 1440,
        "quota": 2,
        "used": 0,
        "qosUsageQuota": 300,
        "qosRateMaxUp": 200,
        "qosRateMaxDown": 100,
        "qosOverwrite": true,
        "note": "I added a note when creating vouchers in the UniFi hotspot UI",
        "status": "VALID_MULTI"
    },
    {
        "code": "0021952641",
        "createTime": "2023-01-31T14:38:47Z",
        "duration": 1440,
        "quota": 1,
        "used": 0,
        "qosOverwrite": false,
        "status": "VALID_ONE"
    },
    { ... }
]

# Full Example

# things/unifi.things

Bridge unifi:controller:home "UniFi Controller" [ host="unifi", port=8443, unifios=false, username="$username", password="$password", refresh=10 ] {
    Thing wirelessClient matthewsPhone "Matthew's iPhone" [ cid="$cid", site="default", considerHome=180 ]
    Thing site mysite "My Site" [ sid="$sid" ]
}

Note

Usually on Unifi OS, the default port is 443

Replace $user, $password, $cid and $sid accordingly.

# items/unifi.items

Switch       MatthewsPhone           "Matthew's iPhone [MAP(unifi.map):%s]"             { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:online" }
String       MatthewsPhoneSite       "Matthew's iPhone: Site [%s]"                      { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:site" }
String       MatthewsPhoneMAC        "Matthew's iPhone: MAC [%s]"                       { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:macAddress" }
String       MatthewsPhoneIP         "Matthew's iPhone: IP [%s]"                        { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:ipAddress" }
String       MatthewsPhoneAP         "Matthew's iPhone: AP [%s]"                        { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:ap" }
String       MatthewsPhoneESSID      "Matthew's iPhone: ESSID [%s]"                     { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:essid" }
Number:Power MatthewsPhoneRSSI       "Matthew's iPhone: RSSI [%d dBm]"                  { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:rssi" }
Number:Time  MatthewsPhoneUptime     "Matthew's iPhone: Uptime [%1$tR]"                 { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:uptime" }
DateTime     MatthewsPhoneLastSeen   "Matthew's iPhone: Last Seen [%1$tH:%1$tM:%1$tS]"  { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:lastSeen" }
Switch       MatthewsPhoneBlocked    "Matthew's iPhone: Blocked"                        { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:blocked" }
Switch       MatthewsPhoneReconnect  "Matthew's iPhone: Reconnect"                      { channel="unifi:wirelessClient:home:matthewsPhone:reconnect" }

# transform/unifi.map

ON=Home
OFF=Away

# sitemaps/unifi.sitemap

sitemap unifi label="UniFi Binding"
{
    Frame {
        Text item=MatthewsPhone
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneSite
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneMAC
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneIP
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneAP
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneESSID
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneRSSI
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneUptime
        Text item=MatthewsPhoneLastSeen
        Switch item=MatthewsPhoneBlocked
        Switch item=MatthewsPhoneReconnect
    }
}

# rule actions for site thing

val uniFiActions = getActions("unifi","unifi:site:home:mysite")
val success = uniFiActions.generateVoucher(null, null, null, 100, 500, 250)
val uniFiActions = getActions("unifi","unifi:site:home:mysite")
val vouchersJson = uniFiActions.listVouchers()
import java.util.List

val List<String> voucherList = newArrayList("38677-91284", "46415-36104")
val uniFiActions = getActions("unifi","unifi:site:home:mysite")
val success = uniFiActions.revokeVouchers(voucherList)