Unifi Network Switch Lineup Tour

[@ImARichard]

I just recently had to wrap my brain around the differences between all the 24 port switches. The differences are so subtle on the surface. I finally landed on the Pro 24 PoE, only because the Pro Max wasnt available at the time and I didnt want to wait and really didnt need to 2.5G ports anytime soon.

[@chaosfenix]

Honestly none of them appeal to me. We have had 24 port gigabit ethernet switches for literally decades now. I really just don't see much innovation in the space while keeping at the slower speeds. Mikrotik has a newer switch where every port is at least 2.5Gbps capable and some even go up to 40Gbps. Something like that would be much better but even then I feel like manufacturers have been dragging their feet. The standard for 10GBASE-T was finalized in 2006. Why is it almost 20 years later and it still isn't the common port on pretty much everything? Yes the management of switches has gotten easier, POE ++ and its prior standards are nice and I do think that even etherlighting is a good feature. I just wish that we weren't being charged $1000 for speeds that came out 25 years ago.

[@chaosfenix]

Sorry. I just want to give a little context here. What other piece of technology do we use that is as old as Gigabit Ethernet(1999)? Since Wifi 1 came out in 1999 we have had 7 revisions and speed boosts. The Nokia 8210 came out in 1999 and cellphones have obviously come a long way since then. 3G wireless was brand new in 2000/2001. CRT displays were common until about 2005. The very first broadband technologies like DOCSIS 1.0(1997) and ADSL(1998) were also just starting to be deployed. Instead of thanking companies for adding RGB to their devices I think we should start getting actually offended that 1Gbps is still considered acceptable on any product in 2024. For me? The Dell S5048F-ON, with 6x100GBE and 48x25GBE, can be had on ebay for $1300 and at the rate that network companies seem to progress it will probably be considered fast enough for another 30 years.

[@andrew2473]

But… but…. Etherlighting is “innovative” ish 😂

[@hugevibez]

When Ubiquiti cancelled their USW-Leaf switch to focus on putting screens with fancy stars or whatever on them I knew it was time to move on. Not that surprising considering Robert Para came from Apple. The lack of progress on networking speeds has little to do with Ubiquiti though.

[@chaosfenix]

@@hugevibezOh I am not really blaming Ubiquiti here. Pretty much all consumer/prosumer brands are segmenting their product stack like this. I use a bunch of Ubiquiti gear in my home network because I really do find value in POE for my unifi cameras and in their management features. It is part of the reason I find it frustrating that speeds are moving so slow. Since Wifi 1 in 1999 we have gone from a theoretical max speed of 11Mbps to a theoretical max of 46 Gbit/s with Wifi 7 in 2024. That is a 4181x increase in bandwidth on consumer gear. For ethernet though we have gone from 1Gbps to 10Gbps. For a long time wired technology was always considered superior to wireless and now here we are that our wireless connections are being bottlenecked by the wired technology they are connected to because switch manufacturers basically haven't bothered increasing speeds outside of enterprise switches. 10Gbps should be considered our minimum with cutting edge RJ45 switches using the 40G-BASE-T standard that came out in 2016, 8 years ago. We also know that 40G-BASE-T is pretty much the limit for RJ45 and should be moving newer deployments to fiber connections. I didn't even know about the USW-Leaf you mentioned. That is exactly what I want to see from Unifi. Anything slower just feels old and like we are being cheated.

[@AGL_AerialsTampa]

If I remember correctly, there was a patent on 10G that ended last year. I think we'll potentially start to see more switches and products have 10G soonish.

[@DPCTechnology]

Would loave a small 10gbe model between the Flex 10 GbE (Awesome unit) and the Enterprise XG 24. an 8 and a 16 port unit.. The Aggregation is a great switch too but 10GSFP+ not 10GbE. With more storage (and PCs) coming with 10GbE as standard, I'm stuck between ~$300 units and a ~$1300 unit...

[@TayDay1]

Just received my Pro Max 24 today, poe ++ was what made me go with this over the Enterprise 24. Especially since my Ubiquiti US-16-XG can run 2.5 gb o the 10gb ports. super pumped!!!

[@itsJoshW]

Thanks for this video. I've recently decided to build out my network a bit more and I'm very likely going to go with Ubiquiti all around, so this clarifies a few questions I had otherwise.

[@OneTrueKing23]

Awesome video, can’t wait to have my own house do I can start making the networking. Yeah I guess getting a home will be the most expensive part of my homelab.

[@jaygat5366]

I was searching for such review for weeks before I order the pro max 24. Thank you so much, great video as always

[@michaelsims7728]

Thank you for this video ! This help me out a ton for picking which switch is going to the right product.

[@lucidlx]

The lineup is a bit weird. They seem to have made the gen2 standard switches much worse than the gen1 versions, to upsell you to the higher models. Had a job spec'd with the gen1 16port standard, that has 150W PoE. Ended up being supplied the gen2 model that only has a pathetic 42W. Turned out to not be quite enough. The USW-16-PoE is now basically the same spec as the Lite 16 PoE, but the Lite is 1/3 the price.

[@victorshane4134]

You missed a big part of "Why they are priced differently or ranked differently" : Layer 2 versus Layer 3. Layer2 switch work with Ethernet Frames on OSI Layer 2 // They know MAC addresses only Layer3 switch work with Ethernet Packets on OSI LAyer 3 // The know MAC and/or IP addresses + they can Route

[@rezenclowd3]

Yup, but L3 functionality is all but broken on Ubiquitis lineup.

[@TheMongolPrime]

Let me know when Unifi's switches catch up to Mikrotik. They're outdated already, but at least they come with RGB!

[@RaidOwl]

RGB is all that matters anyway

[@rezenclowd3]

Just be sure with Mikrotik to never hit the CPU cough cough. To me Mikrotik is always a non-starter.

[@Artentus]

I think there is one thing missing in the lineup and that is a Pro 8 and Enterprise 8 without PoE. Those switches are ideal to distribute a single fiber connection in a room, and often PoE is not required. So if you want a bunch of them having to pay almost double the price for a feature you're not gonna use is painful.

[@JasonsLabVideos]

Good video sir !! These unifi switches are looking nicer and nicer !! Loving my Unifi Ultra router now too !!

[@JamesTenniswood]

I have the enterprise24, its a greatmachine but really noisy. Replacing the fans really helped

[@TaylorGregory]

I’ve deployed the Pro 8 as a the main switch in a secondary building with underground fiber backhaul to the main rack in our office. My thought is that the PoE++ can be used to power a couple flex units for future AP and camera installations later this year. The fact that it’s also passively cooled helps too, as the manufacturing environment it’s in is full of molding sand and metal dusts that would wreak anything with an intake fan.

[@ferlez]

But the enterprise 8 has a fan…

[@LordSaliss]

I just wish all the Enterprise switches had 25gb SFPs instead of sticking with 10gb. And the regular aggregation model should be a layer 3 really, cause otherwise it isn't even an aggregation switch.

[@pgoof78]

I bought the Ultra-210W for powering any AP's and cameras i needed at this point. That power supply is HUGE! But it seems to perform great. I also like my USW-Pro-48 that I managed to pick up for $280 used. But I agree I wouldn't have gone with just the Pro model new.

[@GotWire]

I work for att I install fiber i would call them and get a 320 modem and get rid of your old 210 that needs the media converter to convert the fiber to copper. The 320 has the ont built in to it and the fiber just plugs right into the back of it and it also has a 5 gig port on it to run to your UDM Pro. Love your vidoes tho man!

[@spoils8179]

I'm 2 seconds in but I'm gunna buy the best one I can't afford (the 24 port with 2.5gb poe) because I can't stop wanting the best thing for no reason.

[@bradleyclark5936]

More omada content. I have multiple devices. Entire network concept learned from your content. Thanks.

[@Dalewhlr]

i believe the standard and lite are also all layer 2. You will be able to assign vlans, but if you wanted the switch to do the routing instead of router you wont have this option. This wont be an issue for most home use, but for an enterprise alot of people have their core switch doing all the routing between vlans.

[@darcsentor]

Just wish they had a few more 10gb Networks switch options. An 8 and 16 port ethernet option would be absolutely amazing.

[@RaidOwl]

Yeah or even a 24 port with 12x 10gb and 12x 2.5g

[@ukwaffles4500]

The Aggergation Standard is 8 port SFP+ 10Gb Switch, so that is always an option as it can use fiber connections and RJ45 Adapaters to connect as well

[@darcsentor]

@@ukwaffles4500 the AS only allows for 4 10g Ethernet connection’s sadly, I need 8. Looking at putting in a TP link or Netgear 8/12 port 10g switch, since all my servers are on the same vlan. When/if Ubiquity has some other options then I’ll swap their switch in.

[@janpichrt]

Current lineup is fantastic? What about simple, basic 1U, 48x full PoE, L3, 1Gb switch?

[@Glatze603]

For me the right unifi switch it the TL-SG3428X-M2 from TP-Link 🙂

[@RaidOwl]

Zinggggg

[@stevecummings3591]

If I understood Crosstalk Solutions right and what the UI store shows, the there is only one Ultra switch. The Ultra, Ultra 60, and Ultra 210 just tell you the if/what power brick it comes with. Ultra - PoE powered, 60 - 60w brick, 210 - 210w brick.

[@RaidOwl]

Correct but they appear as different items so I wanted to treat them that way. In hindsight I shoulda mentioned that.

[@stevecummings3591]

@@RaidOwl they do show them weird, and you are not wrong in how you presented them. They list them separately when looking at all switches. But they also have options to select No Adapter, 60w, or 210w when you go to the product page. Just a minor critique, to an otherwise good video.

[@kristopherleslie8343]

He missed the thing Apple tries not to heavy fragment. Poor perez forgot it’s 1 or 3 choices 😂

[@justinmann29]

I'd really like to see a 2.5 gig version of the Flex Mini.

[@RaidOwl]

That'd be tite

Been eyeing the Enterprise 8 PoEboi for some time. Does the fan ever come on? I know you keep it in your closet but I plan to have it on my desk.

[@RaidOwl]

Nah it’s super quiet

[@postnick]

Listen I'm in Unifi now, and the switches I want cost an arm and a leg. Idealy I want a Rack Mountable with SFP+ and like 4 2.5 gigabit and like 8 POE and 4 regular. But also not cost $700.

[@RaidOwl]

Yeah lower cost would be ideal

[@Kfrankie46]

It would be nice if they came out with a 16 port aggregation switch, as my network is now I don't need the 32 ports of the pro aggregation switch, but the 8 ports of the regular aggregation switch aren't really enough for my needs, so I will end up having to waste 1 U of space in my rack and 2 ports to have 2 of the 8 port aggregation switches, because the 32 port version is overkill for my needs, and the price is way more than what I want to spend lol

[@dukeseb]

I started with the standard 24 then added the non Poe pro max 24 I think the pro tier only exists to get rid of stock …. I suspect that their will disappear

[@Mitchell7790]

Depends on how you classify “Best” For the small business and prosumer market the hardware and software features are likely fine but in my option they are definitely a no go in the enterprise space when compared to the likes of Cisco, HPE Aruba, Arista and other major players that generally offer better hardware, more advanced features and support.

[@rezenclowd3]

Keep in mind Layer 3 is broken yet promised on many of their switches....so if you want wirespeed between vlans....good luck. Apparently you can do many L3 things in the CLI, but am unable to save between reboots.

[@RaidOwl]

Yeah I've mentioned it in my other videos that their switches don't really do traditional L3 routing...which is kind of annoying

[@ZaPirate]

I've watched the video and it's still not clear to me what model can work without a cloud key and be managed standalone via web interface/ssh.

[@light6969]

I just want layer 3 with PoE. But is it really necessary for vlan management?

[@MrMcp76]

How did you know I was in the middle of doing a search for a new switch? Have you hacked into my network to monitor my internet browsing history to get ideas for videos?! If so, then welcome to my network! May I suggest something from my late night search history? Please don't judge... I have to do all my homelab searches/shopping outside of questioning eyes.

[@RaidOwl]

I’m in your closet

[@blahx9]

You missed the real hidden gem, USW-FLEX - Poe in , Poe out and weatherproof. for $99!

[@hugevibez]

Wait youre finally learning proper network topology? I heard your confused comments on the podcast about the existence of the aggregation switches lol

[@RaidOwl]

Aggregation switches?

[@gogorichie]

Great video a lot covered….. I’m a ultra 60w

[@RaidOwl]

I still like you tho 😘

[@tttomtxhc]

Anyone kind enough to help me understand how to configure VLANs for a back haul like Brent describes with his use for the Enterprise 8 around 10 min mark?

[@cmoullasnet]

Ubiquiti’s drip-feeding of products is frustrating at best. The fact that you can’t get all the best features as you move up the lines is ridiculous (eg choosing between 2.5gbE ports and PoE++ ports). The RGB is something I’d rather not have if would save any money at all. I don’t know, between this intentionally cluttered lineup and short warranties, I’m not really feeling the Ubiquiti product lines lately.

[@msolace580]

Their 2.5 port switches are very limited. still, i dont need poe anything. i need 4 10g with at least 4 2.5g and that is it....

[@GamingFruguy]

The wonky implementation of many things in Unifi switching has kept me on Cisco now that I can get used ones within my budget.

[@A77ick]

Audio seemed a bit flat. Did you change anything?

[@RaidOwl]

New mic. Working on dialing in the EQ

[@byronservies4043]

I never understood the Edge Router X UI, and the Unifi line was just as confusing to me. So, I switched to TP-Link and their Omada software instead. I'm sure the Unifi stuff is fine. I just couldn't grok it and went for an alternative. Now I'm moving from a TP-Link router to Opnsense. My internet may be down for a month.

[@FTLN]

But none of the enterprise switches can do IPv6 intervlan routing, in this modern age where we have multiple sites connected and a big potential of overlapping IPv4 subnets between these sites, IPv6 is a must to counter this type of problem. Unifi are just so far behind the competition when it comes to L3 switching............

[@kristopherleslie8343]

1600 is cheap when you take a look at meraki

[@jeremyrangel8138]

Unless you're only considering the marketing, no, absolutely not.

[@bentheguru4986]

I am over UBNT's BS with all the switching and lack of enterprise. A switch should have either full PoE or none at all. Don't need the E-Penis extender RGB junk. BT PoE is special case and not to be trifeled with. Stay away from battery crap, bad history there. Port speeds, all the same, stop the mixing crap.

[@TMoneyJones]

Basically a UniFi shill chanel now. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

[@RaidOwl]

If you ain’t shillin you ain’t tryin

[@TMoneyJones]

Fair enough 😂😂

[@chris_schenkel]

He'll sell out to anybody. Like a whore. It's why I unsubbed and don't watch anymore.

[@eat.a.dick.google]

Their switches are far from the "BEST". The build quality is cheap and software has more than enough issues. Leaves a lot to be desired. But the cult of clueless drool over cheap stuff.

[@RaidOwl]

They’re definitely the best by far

[@eat.a.dick.google]

@@RaidOwl If you smoke a lot of crack.

[@RaidOwl]

Define “a lot”

[@peteradshead2383]

There is a lot of, I wish it had this switchers . eg Like I wish the Flex 10 GbE had a extra SFP+ 10gb port or the standard 24 poe having SFP+ 10gb ports.

[@animelover877]

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