You can use the UniFi Network Controller to administrate Ubiquiti network equipment from a macOS/Linux/Windows client if you have a Dream Machine or Cloud Key. But there’s another way: Using the FreshPort unifi5 it’s possible to install the controller in a FreeNAS jail so you don’t have to run a server 24/7 for this specific purpose. This FreshPort is not an official Ubiquiti package but as of July 2020 it’s well maintained.

Installation

Setup a new FreeNAS jail in the FreeNAS web interface with Jails → Add. You can use all the default settings or change them if you know what you’re doing. Make sure you activate auto-start. Once the new jail is running, click on the Shell button to enter the Jail’s shell. Then install the unifi5 package:

pkg upgrade
pkg install unifi5

To enable autostart for the UniFi Network Controller add the line unifi_enable="YES" in /etc/rc.conf.

Then start the service:

service unifi start

In the Jail overview of the FreeNAS web interface you can see the IPv4 address of the jail, e.g. 192.168.1.16. Go to https://192.168.1.16:8443 to visit the Network Controller’s interface which will guide you through the rest of the setup.