Settings for NetGear GS752TPv2 Switch and Ubiquiti USG with multiple subnets and VLANs

[DiMora]

I wanted to share my struggle and victory setting up multiple subnets/VLANs using a Ubiquiti USG / CloudKey and a NetGear Switch to help others.

I used "chat" with Ubiquiti...and they were somewhat helpful, but did not have the answer I needed...and I also contacted NetGear, who remoted in to my PC to assist, but they were also unable to get me set-up.

My Ubiquiti gear is:

Ubiquiti USG Router/Security Gateway

Ubiquiti CloudKey

(3) Ubiquiti WAP / hotspots (2xAP-AC Lite and 1 AP-AC Pro)

My NetGear managed switch is:

NetGear GS752TPv2

My goal:

Create a corporate LAN and WiFi network @ 192.168.5.1

Create a guest Network and WiFi network @ 192.168.10.1

Create an "InterNet of Things" Network and WiFi Network @ 192.168.15.1 (With separate 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi networks since my SmartPlugs and Smart Switches are only 2.4GHz capable)

Create a security cam network @ 192.168.20.1

Allow any device in my setup logged in to any of the above WiFi networks to access the internet

The Ubiquiti UAG part was easy...there is a nice YouTube video that helped here:

YouTube_Video

The NetGear switch setup was the challenge...nobody at Ubiquiti or NetGear I chatted with really knew how to do it or could articulate the steps.

Here is what I did to my NetGear managed switch after experimenting for about 6 hours:

I logged in to my NetGear Router by typing in its IP address that the USG assigned it.

I browsed to:

Switching/VLAN/VLAN configuration

There I created 3 new VLANs that match the VLAN numbers I had created in my USG with CloudKey:

10 Guest (Static)

15 InterNetOfThings (Static)

20 SecurityCams (Static)

Then I browsed to:

Switching/VLAN/VLAN configuration /Advanced/VLAN Membership

I left all of the VLAN id 1 ports on "U" (VLAN id1 is the default / managment VLAN on NetGear switches)

I then clicked through VLANs 10,15 and 20 that I had created and I clicked on all 5 ports that my Ubiquiti devices are plugged in to to change those ports to "T".

I saved those settings, and VOILA! All is well.

The mistake that was made by the NetGear help tech who remoted in to my PC that was messing things up before I figured it out was tagging the ports on VLAN 1 that the Ubiquiti items are plugged into and changing those ports from "U" to "T". Don't do that. You ONLY change the Ubiquiti ports to "T" in the VLANs you created OTHER THAN VLAN 1. In my use case that is tagging the correct ports where Ubiquiti items are plugged-in on the VLANs one at a time for VLANs 10,15 and 20.

From the NetGear manual: In the Ports table, click each port once, twice, or three times to configure one of the following modes or reset the port to the default settings: • T (Tagged). Select the ports on which all frames transmitted for this VLAN are tagged. The ports that are selected are included in the VLAN. • U (Untagged). Select the ports on which all frames transmitted for this VLAN are untagged. The ports that are selected are included in the VLAN. By default, the selection is blank, which means that the port is excluded from the VLAN but can be dynamically registered (autodetected) in the VLAN through GVRP.

I hope that helps someone who is inter-mixing Ubiquiti gear with managed NetGear switches.

[DiMora · Accepted solution]

Vlan 1 is the management Vlan by default on this NetGear switch. All ports can pass traffic through Vlan 1 as long as the Vlan 1 ports are marked as “U”. Only the ports where the 5 Ubiquiti items (Router/Cloud Key/3 WiFi AP’s) are marked as “T” - but only for the Vlans other than 1 (10,15,20).

You say my description is incomplete; what specific questions do you have concerning my setup? I would be glad to provide screenshots to help others if needed.

My issue is solved and I don’t need support; I simply posted this topic to help others who are struggling to make a NetGear managed switch work with Ubiquiti gear, as neither Netgear support or Ubiquiti knew the answer. I have provided the answer.

[schumaku]

The problem in your description is that it's unclear what for the VLAN 1 is still in use - one might guess that it does serve as the UniFi and the Netgear switch management network. Ubiquity has (or had) an oddity in thier products: While switches (and when I have it right also the Cloud Key and the USG) can of course handle VLAN 1 tagged e.g. on a trunk port, the wireless AP don't allow the VLAN 1 tagged.

Based on the limited and incomplete information it's certainly not the Netgear support person error to be blamed having tagged the VLAN 1 on a trunk port - for something that is perfectly common on commercial business networks.

Of course one has to know the configuration of the peer (the other switch port config). Yes, most UniFi environments run the management network untagged on VLAN 1. The point is that this information is missing somehow on your design, and it's not well visible in the UniFi management environment, too.

[DiMora · Accepted solution]

Vlan 1 is the management Vlan by default on this NetGear switch. All ports can pass traffic through Vlan 1 as long as the Vlan 1 ports are marked as “U”. Only the ports where the 5 Ubiquiti items (Router/Cloud Key/3 WiFi AP’s) are marked as “T” - but only for the Vlans other than 1 (10,15,20).

You say my description is incomplete; what specific questions do you have concerning my setup? I would be glad to provide screenshots to help others if needed.

My issue is solved and I don’t need support; I simply posted this topic to help others who are struggling to make a NetGear managed switch work with Ubiquiti gear, as neither Netgear support or Ubiquiti knew the answer. I have provided the answer.

[BretD]

@DiMora I wanted to personally thank you for taking to time to post in the NETGEAR Forums about your experience with NETGEAR Switches. Setting up VLAN's and other complex operations is not always easy. I'm curious if you ever tried using Insight management in this context insetad of the web-interface. 

[DiMora]

I'm not familiar with Insight managment.  The only support method I tried was phone support.   Please tell me more about it; I am always looking for the easiest ways to get support when needed.

The gentleman was very helpful and kind, he just was not aware of the nuances invloved in mating the Ubiquiti gear with the NetGear switch, which certainly is not his fault.   Perhaps Ubiquiti is somewhat non-standard vs. other enterprise-class solutions?

I get that it is impossible for manufactuers to have knowledge-base information on interfaces with all the available permutations of other vendor products.

That's why I posted this thread; I am sure there are many others with a use case similar to mine who are using Ubiquiti gear (which has become quite popular) with NetGear switches (which I think represent a tremendous value for a powerful switch).  I did find similar use cases while Googling, but nobody had a detailed explanation on how to set things up like I have provided.  Many others on the internet have helped me over the years, so I always try to pay it forwared when I find a solution myself by sharing what I learned - especially when I spent many hours finding a fix.