Does anyone have the Unifi Cloud Gateway Ultra, I'm looking for opinions.
My current setup is the Dream Router with integral access point and two U6 Lite Ap's (one in Garage, one upstairs landing). The Dream Router is connected to my Virgin Media Hub 5 (in modem mode) and my package gives me 1100 meg download, 200 upload. The Dream Router limits my download to around 700 meg and that's without using any firewall features; I've left those off as it would drop the download speed further.
I'm considering swapping out the Dream Router for the Cloud Gateway Ultra. My reasons:
Faster processor: Quad Core A53 1.5GHz vs Dual Core A53 1.35GHz
Memory: 3GB vs 2GB
Performance: 1Gbps routing with firewall vs 700Mbps (ish) without.
It seems like a no brainer to me. I'm only using Unifi Network on the current router with no need for any of the other applications. I'd just need to add an access point in my living room to replace the integral one in the UDR. Any thoughts, reasons the UDR would be considered a better choice? TIA
Side note - I've no room for any of the larger models such as the Dream Machine.
I'm no expert, but if you are connecting stuff via wifi wouldn't this limit your useable speed more than the Dream Router? I have a very similar setup and except for mobile devices I connect stuff (Tv, PCs, cameras, etc) via Ubiquiti switches and ethernet cable.
I got one to replace an EdgerouterX as soon as UCG Ultra became available. Unifi teased me with the Express but it can't handle enough other Unifi devices and I have two APS and five switches. I don't need the features in a Dream device.
So far I am very happy with the UCG Ultra but I haven't really done any benchmarking other than testing that I am getting my full 1G speeds I am paying ISP for.
Since you will need to replace the access point feature of the Dream Router, consider the UniFi Express. It sounds like you don't have that many other UniFi devices, so the Express should fit the bill as an all in one device for you, with no need for an additional access point. The Express does 1 Gbps routing as well. Also, keep in mind that the Ultra does not have POE on board, so if you need to power an external access point, you will need a POE injector or another switch with POE.
Probably the main reason I want it. I know I won't need that total speed but if the ISP supply it I'd rather it was available for use.
I do intend to replace some switches going forward with Unifi and add another AP at the front of the house where coverage is a bit spotty.
Yes I forget to mention I was aware of that in my initial post. I've a switch adjacent to the UDR that I'll replace with Unifi to power the AP's. Currently the two APs I have are powered from another none PoE switch via active PoE injectors.
I think the UCG Ultra would be a good solution…however, it does have one limitation. While it does have a 2.5Gbps WAN port, the total combined 4 LAN ports are bottlenecked to 1Gbps at the WAN. All 4 LAN ports can communicate with each other at 1Gbps full duplex, but all 4 ports share a 1Gbps connection to the “router” side of things.
Thus, the 2.5Gbps WAN port is really not very useful, compared to a 1Gbps WAN port.
So, if the priority is to achieve faster than 1Gbps WAN speeds, the UCG Ultra and the UniFi Express will not be very helpful.
The UniFi Gateway Max has 4 x 2.5G LAN ports, and a 2.5G WAN port, but it does not run the UniFi Network App. You’d have to self host it, or buy a CloudKey to run it.
I got a UCG Ultra and a Lite 8 POE switch for my parents house right after it came out. Been pretty happy with it so far. I have a UDM Pro at my house, and wanted to add Unifi to their house as well to use the site magic VPN between the two locations for my offsite backup. Has been working pretty well so far, though the magic VPN isn't as "magic" as I hoped it would be.
Though, when talking internet speeds for the UCG Ultra, I can't really provide a useful comment. My parents internet is absolutely abysmal, and nowhere near gigabit speeds. Definitely overkill for what their needs are / internet at their house, but I wanted it more for the VPN capabilities and manageability over anything else.
Though overall pretty satisfied with the device itself, and it is very nice being able to manage their config remotely. The price is certainly great for what you are getting, and if you don't need POE (or have other switches / injectors to power things) it really sounds like the perfect option.
Back before this device was released, I was planning to get a UDR or a used UDM (non pro) for their house, just really didn't want to spend $200 or $300 to do so. The UCG Ultra really fit the niche for me in terms of what I needed.
So you are "only" getting 700Mbit. SO WHAT. How often do you actually come anywhere near saturating that 700Mbit for more than a few min. Let's say you replace your dream router and now get the additional 400Mibt. That is about 50%. So your 10 min download would change to 6.5min. Is that a significant improvement in your online life? Probably not.
Don't worry about leaving "bandwidth on the table". Very few people utilize the bandwidth they have available. Gaming uses almost no bandwidth. 4K streaming, less than 40Mbit. You aren't missing anything, IMO.
Yeah good point for OP to consider. The real benefit of gigabit fiber is the low latency, which can be significantly more noticeable than the high download / upload speeds. In my experience with my symmetric gigabit fiber over the last few years, is I only really peak gigabit (or close to gigabit) when downloading a game from steam, Nvidia drivers, or something large like that. And typically with those downloads, it just peaks max speed for a few seconds, and then it is usually done, or tapers down to finish out the download. Ballparking a benchmark here, but I'd say personally in my house, we probably stay under 250mbps 99% of the time.
There was one time recently, where I was gaming online with some friends, and had some downloads running at the same time. I actually noticed a saturation in my network and the game started lagging really badly. Though, within 30 seconds it went back to normal, and was fine after that. Only time I have actually noticed network performance issues here, Not too worried about it though, as I don't see that happening often at all
This had been on my radar for a while. I may be interested in replacing a Asus Router and Managed POE Switch. If i went with this, do I need a separate Wi-Fi access point, or is it part of this device? Can i use a POE switch with it? Does it need to be a Unifi switch, or can I use my current switch for a while until I upgrade?
A couple of things to consider. The Unifi gateway ultra has a max throughput of 1gb while the UDM has 2.5gb. That may not be a factor if your wan connection is limited. Also the gateway ultra does not have POE so you will need an external unifi switch to power the access point.
