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Ubiquiti's new "Ultra" line of products

Posted on 2/26/24 at 5:34 pm
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28705 posts
Posted on 2/26/24 at 5:34 pm
Ostensibly the "Ultra" products are to bring low-cost products to the developing world, but it looks like they're selling them everywhere so whatever.

First came the weirdly-named Swiss Army Knife Ultra, which is an $89 indoor/outdoor AP. I have one but I have not yet tested it. Later came the antenna options for it, $19 for the omni and $39 for a directional panel-style one. So I guess the name comes from the versatility of the product, but it's still weird.

Next came the Cloud Gateway Ultra for $129, which I believe is the most-direct replacement for the old USG. Multi-WAN like the USG but faster and runs the network controller.

Then came the Switch Ultra, which looks to be an upgrade to the Switch Flex. For those that don't know, these switches can be powered via PoE and also output PoE (per-port and total power budget depends on input power). These are very handy if you have a need for a switch in a location where there is no easy access to 110v. The new Switch Ultra has the added option of power via 110v or PoE. Further, there are multiple power brick options to give it up to a 200W PoE budget shared across its 7 PoE ports (I guess the 8th port is PoE in only).


I think that's all of the Ultra line that they've released so far, but allegedly there are cameras in the works as well so I'm looking forward to those. It'll be nice if they put out some sub-$100 cameras that can still do person/vehicle detection and perform decently at night.
Posted by mchias1
Member since Dec 2009
801 posts
Posted on 2/26/24 at 6:08 pm to
The CGU doesn't sound bad compared to older equipment.

Multiple VPN server options, including Wire guard. I'd be curious to see bandwidth while running a VPN. My edge router is rated for 1 gig but if using the built in VPN l don't think it does 500Mb.

Another plus is the built in controller. That was one reason I prefer TPLINK over ubiquiti. I got tired of running a computer/VM just to make network changes.
Posted by Hopeful Doc
Member since Sep 2010
14943 posts
Posted on 2/26/24 at 8:10 pm to
CGU unfortunately came out a bit late. FIL needed a new gateway for site to site VPN between his camp and home, so I bought the UXG-lite, assuming that whatever the “Ultra” was that it would be a tier or two up in price range. He didn’t need multi-WAN support and already had NVR + CKG2+.

Patience is a virtue. Because this device is neat. They’ll give you, for $129 a combined gateway/controller. Not a bad deal at all. I do think that if it had wifi and cost up to about $180 it would still be pretty decent and go a long way in capturing the home enthusiast “prosumer.”


I still don’t think it’s compelling enough for me to upgrade what I have in place currently at the office (USG+CKG2+ running Protect, Talk, Network with a 48-port PoE switch, 3 Flex, 3 Flex mini, and 2 APs (and 20 phones). I don’t use IPS, but for my office use, I’m still below the advertised speed limit for the old USG. I think I understand the newer products to be better at load balancing, but I care far more failover is available than that my 20-50mbps of bandwidth (actual use, connections are 150 + 200mbps) gets split evenly. If my USG failed tomorrow, I would take ten minutes to decide if the $129 CGU would drop in (and migrate the Network application to it while leaving Talk, Protect on the cloud key) vs buy UDMP which is, of course, 3x the price. But I’ll be saving roughly a UDMP per month once my phone numbers finish porting to Talk (I haven’t forgotten to update the thread).



When something eventually gives way, I will probably go the route of the UDMP because they’ll allow for LTE failover, and FirstNet offers a sim for $40/m that would work in their backup device, and there’s the ability to run two UDMP in parallel. Both of these things are overkill for my application, but downtime is so annoying when it cost so little to prevent.


That said, I have a spare OG USG now, too, so it’s entirely possible that future me is too lazy to ever actually upgrade without experiencing the downtime he could have easily prevented.





Of note:
My Protect setup is a single wireless g3 cam only recording detections. The HDD in my cloud key failed. It writes about 20gb a day. I put a WD Blue ssd (1tb) in its place. Should last about 20 years if the estimated tolerance and current volume of use hold.
Posted by BabySam
FL
Member since Oct 2010
1504 posts
Posted on 2/26/24 at 9:08 pm to
Yeah i just configured the ui-express for family member's condo and like straightforward approach. Still need to go install it and test it out for wifi coverage to see if i'll need to add an AP.

Last week i was himming and hawing at the cgu and then next day was gonna order one but they were sold out. Im curious about it so will order one when available.

I just setup one of my old uck2+ and usg for a client's business and did swap out today. Ucg or even the express would have been just perfect for it instead of the 2 devices
Posted by LSUDropout
Member since Oct 2009
2023 posts
Posted on 2/26/24 at 10:53 pm to
I currently have a USG, a couple of switches (including a flex), and 3 APs. I currently run the controller on a computer in the house. If I were to get the new gateway, can I restore a back to it from my current computer based controller? Any idea what that migration path looks like?
Posted by gpburdell
ATL
Member since Jun 2015
1421 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 1:33 am to
quote:

I currently have a USG,


I'm currently running a USG still as well. Though I snagged a UXG-Lite a couple months ago but I haven't tried installing it yet.

I was a hoping for a true USG successor (i.e UXG) but not sure if that will happen. But I wanted something on hand as I've been worried the USG will die any day. It's been running almost 6 years now.

I believe you would just delete the old gateway in the controller and add the new one. I assume the software is smart enough to copy over configs. I'm sure there are YT videos covering this.

I will definitely take a backup of the controller before doing this.
Posted by BabySam
FL
Member since Oct 2010
1504 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 8:36 am to
I was able to import my backup from a uck2+ to udmp, so my unverified assumption would think its possible for you
Posted by bluebarracuda
Member since Oct 2011
18228 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 9:13 am to
Only thing that looks worth a damn of these is the Switch Ultra. That could be really nice for security appliances that need power
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28705 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 9:40 am to
quote:

If I were to get the new gateway, can I restore a back to it from my current computer based controller? Any idea what that migration path looks like?
I've moved a config from a bare metal server install to a cloud key for a while and then to a VM. I don't recall any specific problems while migrating, I think it was a mostly smooth process both times.
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28705 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 9:52 am to
quote:

Only thing that looks worth a damn of these is the Switch Ultra. That could be really nice for security appliances that need power
If you are aware that PoE-powered PoE switches exist you can really find a lot of uses for them.
Posted by Dam Guide
Member since Sep 2005
15499 posts
Posted on 2/27/24 at 4:45 pm to
I'm gonna get the CGU when I see it in stock. My old USG and Cloud Key Gen 1 is on life support at my parents.
This post was edited on 2/27/24 at 5:00 pm
Posted by BruslyTiger
Waiting on 420...
Member since Oct 2003
4608 posts
Posted on 3/5/24 at 9:30 am to
I am not sure if these use the same code, but there was an advisory about Ubiquiti edge routers.

quote:

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), US Cyber Command, and international partners are releasing this joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to warn of Russian state-sponsored cyber actors’ use of compromised Ubiquiti EdgeRouters (EdgeRouters) to facilitate malicious cyber operations worldwide.
Posted by bluebarracuda
Member since Oct 2011
18228 posts
Posted on 3/5/24 at 9:56 am to
If anyone is using Ubiquiti in corporate environments. Big nothingburger for home users
Posted by Korkstand
Member since Nov 2003
28705 posts
Posted on 3/5/24 at 1:44 pm to
I believe the "vulnerability" of the EdgeRouter was people leaving the default admin credentials or other weak passwords on devices exposed to the internet.
Posted by FriedEggBowL
MS
Member since Nov 2021
466 posts
Posted on 3/7/24 at 8:21 pm to
I finally gave up on UI and went with Grandstream
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