Install TP-Link Omada SDN Controller on Digital Ocean Ubuntu 20.04

In this tutorial I will show you how to Install the latest TP-Link Omada SDN Controller on Ubuntu 20.04 using a DigitalOcean VPS. Tp-Link Omada is very similar to the Unifi Controller so the transition between the two wouldn’t be that difficult. 

The current version of TP-Link Omada SDN Controller that we will be installing is 4.2.11. Of course new packages will be released and they can be found on there Omada Software Download Page. You can copy the new URL and append the commands with the new installation package URL.

 

Lets Get Started

Prerequisites

  • If you want to use a domain create an A record pointing to VPS server’s public IP address
  • Create a VPS server on DigitalOcean. The $5 package will be fine for 100 devices. You can even enable the option to create VPS backups witch is ideal.
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  1. Log into your Digital Ocean account. Create your VPS, mine will be called Omada.PatrickDomingues.com
  2. Once created they should email you the login information for your VPS.
  3. To SSH into the server we will be using Putty. Download and install Putty.
  4. Open up putty and type in the IPv4 address of your server and click open.
  5. Log into your server with the username and password provided.
  6. Now lets get started with making sure we have the latest updates installed.
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo reboot

7. One your server is back up and your logged in again lets install Mongo DB using the following command.

sudo apt-get install mongodb

8. Install Java Application with the following command.

sudo apt-get install jsvc

9. Now lets install JDK v8. This is important because TP-Link Omada currently only works with JDK v8.

sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk

10. In this step we will change the version of JDK we want Ubuntu 20.04 to use as default. 

sudo update-alternatives --config java

11. You should see mode 0, 1 and 2. Type in the selection 2.

12. Lets install gdebi which is better at executing .deb installations.

sudo apt install gdebi-core

13. Lets have some fun and get started with downloading TP-Link Omada 4.2.11 with the following command.

cd
sudo wget https://static.tp-link.com/2021/202102/20210209/Omada_SDN_Controller_v4.2.11_linux_x64.deb

14. Now we want to install the package by using the following command.

cd
sudo -i gdebi Omada_SDN_Controller_v4.2.11_linux_x64.deb

 

Yes! We are complete! You should now be able to access your controller using https://<IP Address or Domain>:8043

If you have any questions about the installation or run into any issues please feel free to contact me.


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Patrick Domingues

14 Comments

  1. Is there a continue tutorial on this?, On how we connect our eap(home) to our omada(hosted in digital ocean)?
    Thank tou

  2. Hello,
    Am having issues getting the setup page to load up. All installation worked fine but inputting the ip and port nothing shows.

  3. The same happen with me as well. Everythings fine, it’s running but connection timed out and its not accessible. The web gui is not accessible, by the way i did it in vultr and if you could provide a way to acces its gui, it would be helpful

    1. Hello Susan,

      To access the GUI you need will need to use the following url scheme https://:8043. Make sure ports are opened on the firewall by using https://www.portcheckers.com/. I am unfamiliar with vultr they may have a software-based firewall on the VPS.

      Check the status of the ubuntu services sudo systemctl status ufw you should check the status of all services service --status-all locate Omada.

  4. Hi Patrick.

    I have setup the controller successfully and i have opened all ports for omada. I set the inform address of the devices and they appear in the controller but when i try to adopt them to a site. It fails.

    I have tried this with firewall enable and disabled. Is there something im missing? I have confirmed the switch im using TL-SG2210P is omada compatible

    Any help would be great. Sorry for dredging up a old post.

    1. Hello Matt.

      No worries this article is used to this day for guidance. When you created the controller did you use the latest release? Does the switch have the latest firmware? You may want to check if the network firewall where the switch is be hide on is blocking communication. Are you having problems with any other Omada device adoption?

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