Network Controller Role

Network Controller Role #

Purpose #

The network controller role deploys centralized management software for switches and access points as Podman containers managed by systemd.


Controllers #

SiteControllerManaged Devices
dvntmTP-Link Omada SDNSG2218 switch, EAP650-Outdoor AP
dvntUbiquiti UniFi NetworkUSW-24-G2, US-8 switches, UAP-AC-M APs

Both controllers run on the bootstrap node because they must be available for initial network configuration before VLANs exist.


Deployment #

AttributeOmada (dvntm)UniFi (dvnt)
Container runtimePodmanPodman
Web UI port8043 (HTTPS)8443 (HTTPS)
DiscoveryL2 discoveryL2 discovery
systemd unitomada-controller.serviceunifi-controller.service

Air-Gapped Installation #

Container images are fetched as tarballs from the local artifacts server:

  1. Artifacts role downloads image from upstream, saves as tarball
  2. Controller role fetches tarball from http://artifacts.<site>.deevnet.net/
  3. podman load imports the image
  4. podman create sets up the container
  5. systemd manages the lifecycle

Relationship to Other Roles #

RoleRelationship
artifactsProvides container image tarballs
baseSystem prerequisites

Details #

For full configuration details, managed devices, and API automation, see Network Controllers.

Page last modified: March 9, 2026