Getting Started

Getting Started with UniFi OS Server on Azure

2026-07-30 · unifi-os-server docs · azure

The CloudSOE UniFi OS Server image gives you Ubiquiti’s self-hosted UniFi OS console on a hardened Ubuntu base. The software is installed from Ubiquiti’s official installer (sha256-verified against Ubiquiti’s firmware API) and runs as rootless containers under podman, managed by the uosserver systemd service. The image contains no baked-in passwords — you create the admin account in the first-time setup wizard.

What you’ll need

  • An Azure subscription
  • An SSH public key (password login is disabled in the image)
  • A Ubiquiti account for the setup wizard
  • About ten minutes

Step 1 — Create the VM

  1. Find the CloudSOE UniFi OS Server offer in the Azure Marketplace and click Create.
  2. Choose a resource group, region and VM name.
  3. Pick a size with at least 2 vCPU / 8 GB RAM — for example Standard_D2as_v4.
  4. Under Administrator account, select SSH public key, pick a username (e.g. azureuser) and paste your key.
  5. Attach a public IP — and make it Static. Your UniFi devices will send their inform traffic to this address, so it must not change across VM stop/start.
  6. Keep the OS disk at 40 GB or more — UniFi OS Server needs around 20 GB free on top of the OS.

Step 2 — Open the firewall ports

In the VM’s network security group, start with the essentials:

PortProtocolPurpose
22TCPSSH administration (restrict to your IP)
11443TCPUniFi OS management UI (restrict to your IP)
8080TCPDevice inform — UniFi devices phone home here
3478UDPSTUN

The console uses more ports for optional features (guest portal, speed test, remote syslog): the full list shown in the login banner is 3478, 5005, 5514, 6789, 8080, 8444, 8880-8882, 9543, 10003, 11443. Open only what your deployment needs, and restrict the management UI to trusted addresses.

Step 3 — Let first boot finish

On the very first boot a one-time service (uosserver-firstboot) fills your VM’s public IP into the login banner. The console itself starts automatically. Check it:

ssh <admin-user>@<public-ip>
systemctl status uosserver
sudo uosserver status

The login banner (MOTD) shows the exact URL for your console.

Step 4 — Complete the setup wizard

From your own machine (note: an Azure VM often cannot reach its own public IP from inside), browse to https://<public-ip>:11443. Your browser will warn about the self-signed certificate — expected on a fresh console. The UniFi first-time setup wizard appears: sign in with your Ubiquiti account to name the console and create your admin access. Those credentials are yours — nothing is stored in the image.

Step 5 — Adopt your devices

Cloud-hosted consoles can’t be discovered by L2 broadcast, so point devices at the console’s inform endpoint — see tips & tricks for adopting devices over the WAN.

Next steps