UniFi 24 & 48 Port Switch Review And Yes, I Took It Apart

[@bentheguru4986]

I use a lot of UniFi for my home/business/DC as well as clients. Pretty good but there are some things you need to use caution with: Touchy port speed/connection negotiation - Tired of having to manually set port speed on some devices that wont work with these but fine on EVERY other device. Touchy port flaking out - They fry easy as heck. Lights don't always work - Some lED's stop working until reboot or power-cycling, others dead from firmware bugs. Firmware - OMG, these can be great but still need to be wise with UBNT and their firmware's being rushed out. Power supply is touchy (PoE models) - Got a few that turn off the PoE if you get a tickle on the mains power, power cycle required, not good if your cloud key is powered from it... Pluses: 24V / 48V PoE options SFP ports pretty flexible with other vendor adapters Managing ports, VLAN's and other setting very easy Switch stats and topology are handy but still dependant on controller version.

[@bsodmike]

Thanks Tom! I'm planning to add a EdgeSwitch 16 XG to provide SFP 10G between critical boxes to the primary FreeNAS box - this should help IOs over iScuzzy (ha!). I do need a managed GigE Switch inside the 'Den' as well, so may consider the 24-port for the UniFi version. I picked up a NETGEAR ProSafe 24-port (unmanaged switch) and it has the annoying cluster of LEDs off to the side. What's worse, you have to look at the LEDs very much head-on, or the LED glow leaks into near-by LEDs, making it pretty useless even further!

[@billcarson1966]

I used to use a lot of ZyXel for my small biz clients. Affordable, feature rich and reliable. About 3 years ago, I decided to use a new client as a test bed for Ubiquiti products. BOOM! I switched over to Ubiquiti and never looked back. I even have their equipment in my home network. Never been happier.

[@interupt0]

The 24 black chips are small signal transformers, 1 transformer for 1 port. If you follow the traces you can see the each trace represents one wire in the STP/UTP bundle per ethernet cable. Having a dedicated transformer per port is not a strict requirement, and it is a sign of a good design.

[@DBLCreations]

So can i buy a UniFI switch with PoE ports and disable does PoE ports in the software? But then my question is: What if it needs to reboot? Will it remember the state of that particular port? Because i want to buy into UniFi equipment. But i have a lot of expensive hardware: Mac Pro 2019 being the most expensive. But i also have my tv and receiver, my PS4 Pro, Apple tv etc etc...

[@SenorRobertFixit]

See now videos like this is what I look forward too. Much details and whys and don't just awesome...Thank you Tom...

[@ViciousXUSMC]

Sad to see a review that does not show it running live and give us a review about the heat/noise/power use. I consider these important for any home use.

[@sopota6469]

24 port rack mountable switch for home use?

[@shagmesilly78]

Thanks Thomas for the video. Really enjoy your videos. No BS. Just saying how it is. I really like that. Keep up the good work mate!

[@CraigEngbrecht]

Again, Lawrence, you have given me great info. :P I didn't know about the cmd option. This is why I subscribed. :)

[@PeteKowalsky]

So, I totally dig the UBNT stuff - but I wish the switches were layer 3 capable. Need a "Security Gateway" to do routing with Ubiquiti stuff in the UniFi paradigm. Not really a deal-breaker for most, but for me, I'm a nerd and want full OSPF/BGP support in my "core", and at the edge... Would be really nice to NOT require a trip outside the silicon to get from one VLAN to another. Just sayin'. I love my UniFi gear, but I'm still trying to figure out how to maintain full high-performance routing between my lab networks and my production network.

[@MelbHusTLA]

Nice summary of the switch and thanks for going through the switch settings

[@charliebrownau]

Gday Bit of a shame it doesn't have a single or duel 10GBE SFP Port . I am looking around for a good affordable 24 port gig switch with 1 or 2 10GBE SFP ports for the home LAN or LAN PARTY situation that you might need a single 10GBE SFP uplink or connect to two servers that use 10GBE SFP ports

[@billcouper1289]

would love to see the inside of the PoE compared to non-PoE

[@4N5W3R5]

Bonus points if you test voltage while it's hot... with your tongue xD

[@JasonLeaman]

This video just helped me Ditch Untangle UTM and start buying all Unifi stuff :) Sip phone 48 port switch firewall Ap maybe a few other things.. :)

[@rrrussell1009]

What’s the difference between setting a new corporate network to run on a vlan vs. setting it for vlan only?

[@ColbyPerry]

Be aware that the your original AP will be going EOL from UBNT by the end of the year. The latest controller software was informing me of such..so I ultimately upgraded it to a AC-Pro :D

[@lucavellacom]

Good video just that when provisioning network settings like Vlans, Networks and that other stuff it cuts the network not when renaming ports.

[@ericross2203]

I have an ES-24-Lite that is out of warranty and the power supply has just failed. Is there any way to get a replacement power supply for these units?

[@urofseron]

Yes

[@fmaz1952]

Just to be clear, is this the US-24 (non-managed) or the USW-24 ?

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

both are first gen managed versions

[@22illingworth]

Are these suitable for someone like me who is kind of middle of the road knowledge wise?

[@jasonlee3247]

If you have to ask this question you’re not middle of the road knowledge wise.

[@Bercik87]

Just found review because I'm considering buying 48 port. 11:00 i lost it at "notice me senpai" :DDDD

[@jeepfanatik1304]

Can you tell me if the 24 port is noisy with that single fan? I'm looking at it but noise is a priority.

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

+Cj Rider both are relatively quiet but I don't have a decibel meter to give you a more subjective answer.

[@funkiam9214]

what brand asics they use?

[@Red1Wollip]

Do you use the cloud Key or Cloud Service?

[@danielaccioly]

nice review, cool to see and get all the useful info. touching the chips while not being grounded was a bit crazy though... :-/

[@charliebrownau]

Gday is SFP+ gigabit faster then Cat6/6a gigabit or is SFP+ gigabit still limited to 110-112MB/sec max ?

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

They both support the same speeds but there are a few other considerations. www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/11/27/data-center-infrastructure-benefits-of-deploying-sfp-fiber-vs-10gbase-t

[@joshuabrixey4679]

How noisy is it? With the fans on max, and with just normal operation. Thanks!

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

It's really not that loud at all. Most of the servers around it make more noise.

[@Derelictos]

What is aggregating?

[@jaysoncena8539]

Do you need a cloudkey to have the UI on this switch?

[@sopota6469]

Yes, or an unifi controller installed on a server or virtual machine.

[@KingdaToro]

No, you can install the UniFi Controller on just about anything. If you want it running 24/7 on a dedicated device, the cheapest option is a Raspberry Pi.

[@brianandjazmine]

So does the switch have its own built in router ? No need to add a router with this switch ? Sorry I am a hobbyist in networking, not a pro ..

[@jasoncleaver7810]

Brian Burwell you need to purchase a UniFi security gateway usg or pro version rack mountable Hopefully this helps Look on amazon ubiquity products

[@mikemcdonald5147]

does unifi have any smaller switches that have 10 gig?

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

yes

[@KawekSL]

That black things near rj45 ports that you called "chips" are not chip's, they are transformers and primary purpose of those is to provide electrical isolation, they are passive component and sometimes they are integrated inside rj45 port.

[@deletewin32]

I have the 24p, and I love it. Great software and stable hardware. Only downside are the price in my country(Norway) 😕

[@Ressy66]

you should try buying one in Australia :) 24 port 250watt is *just* under 600, the 500watt is around 850, the 48 port 500wat is 1300 .... these are some of the *best* prices here, the average reseller is in some cases a fair bit more than above.

[@tuttocrafting]

Same in Italy

[@CheetahNL]

24 port (non-PoE) is 200 Euro in the Netherlands.

[@notpublic7149]

Lol the 80 watt 8 port unify switch doesn't have lights on the ports... Luckily not a real breaker for me. :)

[@engrpiman]

the hardware seems good but the config and pauses as it configures are unacceptable. it may be more complex but I'll take Cisco iOS. ps the power supply in the Cisco 3650 weights more then the ubnt switch

[@sopota6469]

It's a bit unfair to compare this with a product that costs way, way more. The pauses only happen when you do specific tasks, like changing network settings or vlans. Changing a network port name does not pause network operations.

[@ikkuranus]

It's a shame they couldn't figure out a way to make the 48 port fit in the same depth as the 24.

[@sleepysloth847]

Don't these switches need the Unifi Controller, I was looking at adding the 48 port to my network and someone on the forums said these can't be used as a stand alone.

[@eastwardExpansion]

Aaron Lawrence you do but you have a bunch of options. You can DIY one out of a raspberry pi, run one off a server or desktop computer, or ubnt offers a management service for mission critical operations. Most people I know use a computer but it does need to be on almost 24/7 as your devices will crash after 2 days of not being connected to a controller.

[@sleepysloth847]

So if I just setup a VM on my server to run the controller software I should be able to easily implement this into my network?

[@Ressy66]

Aaron, you dont need to run the controller 24/7 ... if you want pretty pics and stats yeah you do, but you dont really need it unless you want to actually configure.

[@lilg563]

Yes, or get a cloud key.

[@sleepysloth847]

So I can jsut run the cloud key alongside of this switch? What are the advantages of a UNIFi switch over the Edge line?

[@Derelictos]

What is port mirroring?

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

Where you mirror the same output of another port.

[@issacohasi1928]

Good.. nice video guy!

[@JCumiskey]

Great video. Keep them coming ;)

[@toysareforboys1]

Are you going to do some 10gig stuff with the 48port?!? PLEASE!? :)

[@LAWRENCESYSTEMS]

On my to do list, need to get the equipment.

[@engrpiman]

price is good though. $400 vs $4000 does make it good for the home and smb

[@charliebrownau]

Shame the 48 port is USD$397 and works out AUD$570 in Australia

[@merdzd]

Even if is 52 ports working only 48 in same time.

[@PigMan9080]

I think it's 802.1x not 802.11x

[@kytexaranort4876]

Who else came here for the tear down? Thank you for the tear down!

[@AmauryJacquot]

just replace those stupid fans with noctuas ;-) as for the switch asics, they are the standard Broadcom offering

[@Alexiscosi]

Hermosos equipos unifi

[@willptech7565]

Don’t ever tell ubiquiti you have a KZbin channel lol

[@techgroupservices]

LOL "if you're into that"

[@davidg4512]

that few seconds of provisioning downtime is unacceptable.

[@kevinlongo9334]

I really like the product but I agree, any downtime while provisioning is a deal breaker for many deployments.

[@stephenkluthe6867]

There isn't downtime every time you're provisioning something. Just on specific actions.

[@davidg4512]

Renaming an interface should not cause a few seconds of downtime.

[@EmperorTerran]

1:15 WHAT IN THE FUCK< ARE THEY SUPPOSE TO BE PLASTIC?!!!!!

[@harrylachanas2400]

In my career I've dealt with all shorts of switches from simple to quite expensive. UNIFY and UB switches IMHO are not for any serious networking! Pretty soon I've stumbled upon a situation where VLANS cannot get IP ADDRESSES. In other words to access it you must use vlan 1 and not any other vlan that you might wish. To me this is stupid. It may be ok for HOME USE, but never ever consider it for business USE or for complex networks. Good Video but VERY BAD SWITCH! ALSO the GUI ports interface is thrown to the right site of the page. There is no command line that U Telnet into for any serious configuration! It uses a weird JAVA WEB interface and only it communicates with the device. If you are not a GUI person and you wish to see what is the config in a simple text page you are out of luck. Even though it has a custom linux OS ( I suspect ) ! BAD web interface, BAD logic, BAD attitude ( switch knows all and the user is stupid ) ! It's going back!