General questions about Omada's Cloud-Based Controller

TP-Link’s Omada SDN controller is available in 3 types: Software, Hardware, and Cloud-based. This FAQ will provide answers for general questions about the Cloud-based controller.

1. What is Omada SDN?

Omada’s Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform integrates network devices, including access points, switches, routers, and gateways to provide a 100% centralized management system. Omada creates a highly scalable network—all controlled from a single interface, the Omada SDN Controller.

2. What is a Cloud-Based Controller?

Omada Cloud-Based Controller (CBC), existing entirely in the cloud for the Omada SDN platform, which provides centralized cloud management of gateways, routers, switches, and access points from a single interface.

3. What are the advantages of Omada CBC over the local controller?

Compared to a hardware controller, like the OC200, CBC eliminates the need for additional hardware investments and installation at customer premises. It supports unlimited centralized management scale, supports efficient deployment with Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP), and reduces the overall cost of deployment, operation, and maintenance.

For more detailed information about Omada CBC, please visit the Overview webpage of Omada CBC.

4. How am I charged for using Omada CBC?

For management and configurations on the Omada Cloud-Based Controller, each device should be bound with an activated license.

You can visit the Omada Cloud website. You’ll log in with your TP-Link ID, and purchase licenses for your Omada devices. We also offer 10 free trial licenses, valid for 30 days, which you can apply for on the license subscription website.

5. Is there a free trial for Omada CBC?

Each TP-Link ID is eligible for a one-time free trial, with 10 licenses valid for 30 days, which you can apply for on the license subscription website.

6. Can I cancel the free trial?

Trial licenses will automatically expire, just make sure to unbind the licenses from your devices before the end of the trial period.

7. How long is a license valid?

A license can be purchased for different term lengths, such as 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and so on.

A license is active from the day it is activated, and until the purchased duration expires, regardless if it is bound to a device or not. Please visit An Introduction to Licensing for details on license validity and status.

Note that free trial licenses are valid for 30 days and start ticking when the licenses are assigned to your account, not when they are activated.

8. What happens when my license expires? Can I still use the device when its license expires?

When a license expires, you lose access to the Omada CBC features for your device, such as management, configuration, and monitoring. However, the device will continue to operate with the last applied settings. Your network may still function, but some features that depend on the Controller will be disabled, such as Portal, Fast Roaming, Schedule, etc.

We recommend that you enable Auto-Renewal to simplify license management. The controller will automatically assign a new license to the device when its current license expires. You can also purchase new licenses and manually bind them to the devices to restore the management.

9. Will I be informed if a license expires soon? How can I check the validity period of my licenses?

The controller will email you 30 days before the license expires. Meanwhile, when a license is available for less than 30 days, the exact remaining days will be displayed on the License Page of Omada Cloud Portal and the individual CBC.

Please visit An Introduction to Licensing for details on license validity and status.

10. What happens if I unbind a license from a device? Can I still use the device?

After a license is unbound, you will not be able to access the Omada CBC features of the device, such as management, configuration, and monitoring. The device will continue to operate with the last applied settings, but some features that depend on the Controller will be disabled, such as Portal, Fast Roaming, Schedule, etc.

Note: The number of times a license can be unbound is limited. If a license’s unbind count reaches the limit, it will expire.

11. Does Omada CBC support all Omada products? Why can’t I add my Omada products to CBC?

No, not all Omada products support the Omada CBC. Some models, like EAP610 V3.0, EAP225 V3.20, TL-SG3428MP V3.0, cannot be added.

Please visit Devices Supported by Omada Cloud-Based Controller to view the compatible devices.

12. Why is my device in Preconfigured status? What does this mean?

Preconfigured status means that the device has been successfully added to your CBC but has not established communication with the controller, so it is not under its management yet. A device in it’s the factory reset state is powered on and has access to the Internet, it will automatically connect to the TP-Link Cloud and communicate with your CBC, which will then adopt and manage the device.

13. Why is my device powered on, but still in Preconfigured status?

There are two possible reasons for this. One is that your device cannot access the Internet. Make sure it can get a valid IP address via DHCP and reach the Internet. Try powering off the device and waiting a few minutes, then try again.

The other is that you may have configured the device via its standalone webpage or CLI, which will disable the Omada Cloud-Based management and prevent it from connecting to the TP-Link cloud. You need to enable the feature manually or factory reset the device. For more details, please refer to How to Add Omada Devices to Omada Cloud-Based Controller.

14. What should I do if I no longer want to manage a device on Omada Cloud-Based Controller?

You can unbind the license from the device, it will then no longer be managed by the cloud-based controller. You can then assign the available license to another device.

15. What should I do if no licenses are assigned after payment?

Visit Omada Cloud Portal and log in with your TP-Link ID. Go to License, and choose “Assign Licenses to Controller” to assign licenses for the controller. After that, log out and back in, then check if the licenses are now assigned.

If still not assigned after 2 hours, please contact TP-Link Technical Support.

16. Can I share my licenses with a CBC created by other Omada accounts?

Whether you can share your license with this CBC depends on your License Manager permission. The accounts that have the “Modify” License Manager permission can share their licenses.

The default Administrator role has the “View Only” License Manager permission, so it cannot share its license. However, the Main Administrator, who is also the CBC creator, can create a new account role with the License Manager permission set to “Modify”, and assign this role to other Omada accounts, allowing them to share their licenses.

17. Where is the Omada Cloud-Based Controller server?

Omada uses Amazon AWS cloud service, and there are three server nodes. The European server is located in Ireland, the Asian server is located in Singapore, and the American server is located in the United States. The Omada Cloud-Based Controller will be deployed to the nearby server node based on where you registered your TP-Link ID.

18. Is the communication between the Omada Cloud-Based Controller and the device secure? Does the data stored on the Cloud-Based controller comply with regulations?

The communication between the Omada Cloud-Based Controller and the device is encrypted by SSL. The device and client data are encrypted and stored on the controller. TP-Link will not read or leak any data. The service provided by TP-Link fully complies with the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

19. Can I transfer Administrator/Viewer account as Main Administrator?

The cloud-based controller allows for the transfer of permissions for the Main Administrator. To do this, please follow these steps: Go to Global View > Account > Select Main Administrator > Click on Action and choose Permission Transfer to select the new main administrator, then click Apply.