TP-Link Omada Hardware Controller | SDN Integrated | PoE Powered | Manage Up to 100 Devices | Easy & Intelligent Network Monitor & Maintenance | Cloud Access & Omada App (OC200)

I'm new to the TP Link Omada products but for all around ease of use controlling a number of Omada products and allowing control away from home, this Controller is indispensable. It finds Omada devices quickly, allowing you to control multiple devices with one app. It was also easy to install but does take a few minutes to boot itself up. Well worth the investment

We had been running the Omada software controller for a few months but would get a lot of notifications one or more devices were offline. After switching to this hardware controller I don't get these notifications anymore.We use it on a Omada 2.5gb router and 4 access points. Only issue I've seen is now and then it changes a devices IP address even though it's set to always assign that specific devices mac address the same IP. That's a little annoying since a cheap home wifi router will do that with no problem but this entry level business controller has a hard time with DHCP reservations.

As much as I would love to give this product a detailed review, the fact of the matter is that there isn't much to say about it. If you need to remotely manage a TP-Link Omada network, then you need this, and there isn't really a great alternative to it. If the only Omada network you need to manage is your own, and you have no need to remotely manage it, then you can manage it just fine by setting up a software-based Omada Controller on a computer on your network, and the OC200 Omada Hardware Controller is simply nice to have. And if you aren't managing an Omada network, then the Omada Hardware Controller is of no use to you.The hardware controller is simple enough to set up using the instructions included in the box. It pretty much shares the user interface of the software-based Omada Controller, so it's familiar enough if you've been managing Omada networks for awhile. That user interface isn't the easiest or most intuitive to use, but it's still better than the web-based administration pages of most pro-sumer and enterprise network components, and certainly better than having to work with a bunch of disparate ones. It's not as if there's an alternative way to manage an Omada network. Well, I suppose you could manage one with a combination of direct web administrators for your routers and switches and SSH command line interfaces for the wireless access points, but while that might open up a handful of features and configuration options that you probably wouldn't miss, it certainly wouldn't make for easier network administration. The only real alternative you would have would be to choose a software-defined network system from another manufacturer, and as of today, 4/16/2024, the only real alternative is Ubiquiti UniFi, which is more refined than TP-Link Omada, but also more expensive, more complex and, in my experience, harder to procure due to Ubiquiti's apparent inability to keep up with demand. All other alternatives I know of are either much cheaper and simpler but also missing key components and features, or much more robust but also many times more expensive than either Omada or UniFi, as well as far more complicated to design, purchase and administer.

I was hoping this little device would solve all my problems. I bought into TP-Link Omada in a big way starting in 2023 with 4x access points and this OC200. Prior to that I had two wireless access points in my home and the signal was weak. I figured Omada has received a lot of good feedback, and it's used in hotels and businesses, so why not just take care of my wireless issues once-and-for-all. I was hoping this OC20O Controller could solve problems inherent to just having separate Omada Access Points -- either when roaming to different rooms or having them automatically be able to adjust channels, signal, etc. Not quite the night-and-day solution I expected..I've turned off more features than I've enabled on this system in an attempt to diagnose it. I don't need anything really fancy, a few SSIDs for 2.4ghz and 5ghz -- and a desire to either have the devices pick up the strongest access point as I move around the house, or at least be able to just manually turn wifi off on my device and turn it back on to have it pick up the nearest access point. I just wanted RELIABILITY and speed.Yet somehow that wasn't in the cards. Devices sometimes want to connect to a far away access point for no particular reason, even if they're 5ft from an access point with a full signal. Or a device gets dropped all of the sudden. It's just been a frustrating experience at times, feeling you're stuck trying to diagnose what's happening by turning things off or not enabling all the fancy bells-and-whistles that are features of the Omada system -- without much for debug logs that would help steer you in the right direction. It's more trial-and-error getting anywhere, whether it's enabling/disabling features, trying other wireless channels, enabling or disabling radios, running less access points, restarting access points, upgrading firmware, etc.The 5ghz is another annoyance. 5ghz wireless sounds great, and it is great -- as long as you have a clear line of sight or aren't trying to pass through too many walls from where the access point is located. That's because of wireless regulations limiting signal strength, a relatively limited number of channels to avoid noise from neighbor's 5ghz routers and that 5ghz frequency has a harder time "going the distance" through objects compared to 2.4ghz. So just know that if you want a solid 5ghz signal around your house, you're going to need multiple access points.After a lot of fiddling -- my wireless is now "fairly reliable" -- and I say that, while knocking on wood, because I know that there are still weird things happening like devices connecting to access points further away, then losing the connection.For the most part the system has been reliable-enough, but I have certainly not used some of the features I thought I might on the OC200 due to issues and also thought the OC200 might help the system have better stability and speed. Some of the OC200 features sound great, but have issues -- for instance a single SSID for both 2.4ghz and 5ghz. Sounds great, but in practice devices will then connect to a weak 2.4ghz signals instead of a strong 5ghz signal, or some older devices won't be able to connect if 5ghz is on the same SSID or they'll randomly connect and disconnect. That's not to say it's Omada's fault if devices are dumb (as many apparently are) and can't figure out they should connect to the strongest signal. It's a problem with some other wireless routers as well because it's "up to the device to decide" when a signal is weak to enough of a degree. In that regard I'm glad the Omada system allows you to separate the 2.4ghz and 5ghz signal, as I'm aware some wireless systems don't allow you to do that.FWIW I hard-wire all my access points. I'm not asking the system to deliver fast wireless over a mesh network. But when it should theoretically be able to deliver 600-800 Mbps and yet I'm getting 200 Mbps down in the same room UNLESS I have my device a few feet from the access point where I can get closer to 400 Mbps. That's disappointing.Considering just the OC200 device itself, yes it's nice having everything controlled under one roof and a decent amount of features are now supported (as they continue pushing firmware upgrades). I've used Access Control Lists that are essentially sent out and managed by the access points since I don't have an Omada Router and that works decent too. So there are things to really like about the OC200. Yet there are a lot of features that sound great, that I've just had to turn off or not use because older devices had issues. Also the fact that depending on devices (phones, tablets, laptops) to correctly pick a strong wireless signal or the nearest access point is apparently a foolish thought as some just seem to arbitrarily pick any access point regardless of distance. And sure, you can set a cut-off on the OC200 for when to drop a client with a weak signal, but that can cause some issues of its own.Despite all of this, looking at other wireless systems, it seems other systems can also have these issues, so I have yet to attempt spending another $500-1000 to end up in a similar place. Maybe when Wifi7 gets cheaper..I would rate the Omada system itself 3.5 stars at this point because it has been OKAY, but hasn't solved all my wireless problems or been as stable or fast as I'd like it, and has taken far longer than I expected to try to work some of the kinks out. The OC200 though, I'll rate 4 stars, simply because it makes it easier to manage all the access points under one roof and get some insight into what's happening on the system as a whole.