Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine All-in-One Router

Product Information

UniFi can also be self-hosted on a Windows/macOS/Linux machine, but this is only recommended for users proficient with network administration, because it requires constant and precise attention. You’ll need to manually configure your network for sufficient communication between UniFi Network and all of your networking devices. Success hinges on your ability to continuously navigate various third-party software, firewalls and other networking devices. Some controllers can run more applications simultaneously and allow each application to handle more hardware units than others. Overall, the console's Protect worked extremely well with supported cameras in my trial -- it makes an excellent home surveillance system. You can do virtually anything you'd want to do with the UDM-SE's ports or connected clients, and in comprehensive ways. And the console has everything you can think of regarding network, Wi-Fi, and mesh configurations.

As the name suggests, OpenVPN is a flexible VPN protocol that uses open-source technologies, including OpenSSL and SSL. And using a router and a few access points is the best way to build a serious Wi-Fi network. Ubiquiti UDM-SE: A powerful network controller

Short for Layer 2 Tunnel Protocol is the second most popular VPN protocol -- it's also a built-in application in most modern operating systems -- and an interesting one. Using cryptography, the new protocol is slated to be extremely simple yet fast. WireGuard is still under development but has proven to be the most secure, easiest-to-use, and simplest VPN solution. The UDM supports common networking features like port forwarding, SIP, uPnP, mDNS, Dynamic DNS, and custom DNS filtering. It supports IGMP snooping, DHCP snooping, and some custom DHCP options. Adding networks, VLANs, static routes and firewall rules are all pretty simple. If you want to setup a separate network for IoT or untrusted devices, the UniFi software makes that easy, too. You can customize your DHCP scopes and the DNS servers on a network level. I have my own internal DNS server, a Raspberry Pi running as a Pi-Hole. This provides DNS for my main wireless network, and is set under the “DHCP Name Server” network setting. Also, since the router has just one 10Gbps LAN port, I put it in a double-NAT to copy data from my 10Gbps-capable server via its other 10Gbps WAN port. This setup is also not ideal for performance.

If you want to use them with a non-Ubiquiti device, such as a managed Multi-Gig switch, set the third-party device's SFP+ port in DAC or Auto (and not SFP+) mode. Else, no SFP+ copper cable will work. However, it's also the least secure. It's better than no VPN at all, and it does its purpose of making a remote device part of a local network. UID (UniFi Identity): A premium feature for enterprises that allows single sign-on across multiple hardware platforms and applications. We were also able to use the iOS app to add the USW PoE switch to our account, and were blown away by its clever augmented reality (AR) feature: point your device camera at the ports and a live overlay immediately pops up, showing which ones are active and what’s connected to them.If you want to use transceivers to convert them into 10GBASE-T ports, the TP-Link TL-SM5310-Tworked best out of many I've tried. The initial setup of the UDM is very simple, and I won’t cover it in too much depth here. If you want a visual guide to how to adopt and get started with the UDM, refer to my UDM Setup Guide for the basics. I show how to setup a remote access VPN and portal-based guest wireless network below. This is where the UniFi Dream Machine shines: it is powered by a 1.7GHz quad-core Cortex A57 chipset, and has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. That's eight times the RAM of the RT-AC5300 and 128 times the amount of storage. The beefier hardware is because the Dream Machine also has UniFi's network controller built in, as well as a managed switch. Ubiquiti Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE): Representing the flexible non-Wi-Fi and “Enterprise of Things” approach That's another area where the router has an advantage. It strikes the ideal balance between simplicity and extensibility — you can just configure it and leave it alone, and it will continue to work day in and out. But if you're like me and like to tinker with your home network, Ubiquiti offers a set of tools that you won't find on any other consumer router. As Ars Technica's Lee Hutchinson found out a few years ago, there's an unending list of configuration options possible with UniFi gear, and the UniFi Dream Machine makes it easier to delve into that world.

For the best setup experience, we recommend updating to the latest version and ensuring that automatic updates are enabled. Open All Required Ports Hardware-wise, it has more PoE ports, multi-Gigabit support, a larger internal storage option, and much higher capability. But software-wise, the two are identical since both are UniFi controllers. While the UDM doesn’t have all the flexibility of the older UniFi products, it makes up for that in being convenient and cost effective. If you went out and bought all the equivalents, you’d end up spending more and getting less in a few ways. The USG and USG-Pro can’t match the performance of the UDM. You still have the option to expand your UniFi network, even if the UDM is where you start. UDM ExpandabilitySource: Harish Jonnalagadda/Android Central (Image credit: Source: Harish Jonnalagadda/Android Central) Overall, if there’s something the UDM doesn’t do yet, do not count it getting added in the future. UniFi Dream Machine Competitors Since the UDM is an all-in-one, it’s natural to compare it to a lot of the normal consumer routers you find in a big box retailer. If you are only interested in the speeds and feeds, you will find higher numbers elsewhere. A lot of the value of the UDM is tied up in the software and the UniFi ecosystem. The best thing about the UDM is the controller software. It’s better than what most other consumer-grade routers give you. The point is L2PT/IPsec is great when it works. And it does in most cases, which ultimately depends on whether the local network of the remote device allows it to pass through. PPTP

The amount of customizability can be overwhelming. But you can start with default settings and gradually change over time as your needs grow. Excellent traffic management and VPN support For wireless testing we connected a set of UniFi nanoHD access points to the PoE switch and added them to our cloud account. Once online, they started broadcasting our predefined SSIDs and guest networks, with details automatically appearing in the portal’s wireless experience graph. Ensure that your power and network connections are secure. If they are, but your issue persists, we recommend using our UniFi cables for optimal compatibility and performance. Verify Your UniFi Console's Internet Connection The UDM-SE hardware leaves much to be desired, especially on the network port front. The console would be much closer to a dream come true (for me) if it had a few 10GBASE-T ports. Still, it's vastly superior to the UDR, as shown in the table below. Ubiquiti UDM-SE vs UDR: Hardware specifications

As a network controller, the UDM-SE has everything the UDR has and much more. You can run multiple applications with the UDM-SE, of which the Network app is the default. I'll get this out of the way before starting with the review. The UniFi Dream Machine does not have Wi-Fi 6— it is based on the older Wi-Fi 5 standard (802.11ac Wave 2). And before you point out that Netgear has a Wi-Fi 6 router that costs half as much, that particular model has less than half the range you're getting here, and in real-world usage it is nowehere as reliable.