Hi All,
I’m in the market for a new router / security bundle.
Is this worth a look at?
I use a UDM Pro and for the most part I like it but I have had some issue with the software. At one point I lost all my configs and had to completely reconfigure it which took hours and was annoying. It was certainly partially my fault for not having backups (which I do now) but the software hasn’t always been great. Also, last I checked, UnifiOS still doesn’t support IGMP proxy so if you’re dependent on that for some of your network configuration you’ll be disappointed.
If you need to buy a new router and you want to buy into the Unifi system the UDMP is a good choice. However, if you don’t need a new router quite yet you may want to wait, follow the Unifi forums, and see if the software improves and/or has the features you need if something is missing. Also, just so it’s totally clear the UDMP doesn’t have a WIFI AP built in so you’ll need to have at least one AP if you need WIFI.
You may also want to check out offerings from Mikrotik or just build a router with pfSense or openSense. The Mikrotik stuff is fully featured but not as slick and easy to use as the Ubiquity gear…but it’s also a whole lot cheaper so if you’re OK with CLI and/or crappy UI’s, Mikrotik may be worth real consideration. I’ve completely rebuilt my network over the last year with Unifi gear but if I’d looked more closely at Mikrotik before buying I actually may have gone that route instead (although I’d still probably use Unify AP’s). 
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I have Mikrotik, Ubiquiti Unifi, and DIY Linux/openwrt deployed.
I prefer DIY/OpenWRT on devices over Mikrotik firmware. (In fact, I run it on some Mikrotik hardware). In my experience Mikrotik wifi performance sucks compared to Unifi APs - I’ve yet to see a Mikrotik device break 450 Mbps in 2x2 or 700Mbps in 3x3 802.11ac mode.
For just a router/firewall I’d go the DIY route (e.g. build a $200 ryzen system, put debian on a small 64G SSD and do iptables).
If you need speedy wifi I’d go with unifi.
If you need both - a UDM or UDM pro will give you a consistent common UI.
If you want to save money and are happy with 200/300Mbps wifi , Mikrotik hap ac² or cap ac. (They’re around $50-$75, they do the job)
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Budget? Users that are going to manage it ? Way to little information
I originally liked Ubiquiti because of their modular approach. Separate router, switch, access point, NVR, etc.
Dream machine is wrong direction, highly integrated like Linksys.
I doubt they went this way without market research showing them there’s demand for this.
This is for a home lab / network
Budget is $1000 AUD
I’ll be administrating everything, I’m happy to go down the DYI road as I’m always interested in learning more
Im also looking at building VLANs to seperate the network and also building in QOS rules
- IOT devices
- Private Network
- Wireless
I went and bought a load of Unifi stuff for both home and at my mother-in-law’s house. APs, switches, and routers.
Mine has been OK, once I eventually got it working happily. Controller runs off a Docker on my unRAID box. I have a USG, 8-150W switch, an AC-Pro and a AC-In Wall. The In Wall won’t upgrade it’s firmware, it reboots a number of times then gives up and sticks with it’s older firmware.
MIL’s has been a ballsup. Initially I tried to set it up on my controller, but half the APs wouldn’t adopt, or they’d adopt then crap out after a few hours/few days. There’s a USG, 16-250 switch (runs at a million degrees but won’t spin it’s fans), an AC-In Wall, an AC-LR and an AC-Mesh. Now running off a local controller. Which means site-to-site VPN doesn’t work. And now it’s totally failed, and I have to drive 120 miles at the weekend to see what’s gone wrong, because MIL is 91 and not able to climb up to see what’s going on in the rack cab.
TLDR; hardware is decent, software is a car crash.
My mom (2000km away) has a few unifi AP ac lites, I ended up using ssh andset inform ... (as an adoption method) to point it to https://some.domain.name/.. on the internet where my controller is running. The controller also implements a STUN service in addition to http/https/websockets, but STUN is not really necessary (I don’t mind waiting a few seconds for the AP to check in if I want to reconfigure the APs, I rarely care).