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.

Log into your Digital Ocean account. Create your VPS, mine will be called Omada.PatrickDomingues.com
Once created they should email you the login information for your VPS.
To SSH into the server we will be using Putty. Download and install Putty.
Open up putty and type in the IPv4 address of your server and click open.
Log into your server with the username and password provided.
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.

Tutorials

May 5, 2021 Patrick Domingues

14 Comments

Rene M. says:

February 19, 2022 at 6:37 am

Hello Patrick,

Is it possible to use letsencrypt with omada?

1. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  February 19, 2022 at 12:18 pm
  
  Yes, it is.
  
Jin Kaz says:

August 22, 2022 at 9:57 pm

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

1. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  August 25, 2022 at 5:10 am
  
  1. Download Discovery Utility from the website and then install it on your PC which should be located in the same LAN, subnet and VLAN as your devices.https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/download/omada-software-controller/#Omada_Discovery_Utility
  
  2. Open Discovery Utility and you can see a list of devices. Select the devices to be adopted and click manage and set the address of the controller.
  
Abdiasriver says:

October 17, 2022 at 1:34 pm

Omada wont start

1. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  October 19, 2022 at 5:29 am
  
  what error messages are you receiving when you try to start the Omada service?
  
Mark says:

December 2, 2022 at 9:27 am

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

1. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  December 3, 2022 at 6:50 am
  
  Hello,
  
  When in doubt reboot. Make sure the ports required are open on the firewall of the server.
  
Susan says:

December 5, 2022 at 1:35 am

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. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  December 5, 2022 at 5:52 am
  
  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.
  
Matt says:

December 6, 2022 at 2:29 am

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. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  December 6, 2022 at 7:11 pm
  
  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?
  
Patrick says:

September 23, 2023 at 9:49 pm

Good day, how can I update using the terminal in DigitalOcean site? The Omada Controller.

1. Patrick Domingues says:
  
  September 25, 2023 at 5:29 pm
  
  Hello, Follow step 13 and continue. Change the link to the latest release. Be sure to create a backup / snapshot of your vps before moving forward.

Patrick Domingues