This time we received professional, industrial Ubiquiti UniFi switches. The switches are stable and support Layer 3. They have user-friendly interface. Devices are fully configurable from the command line or GUI user interface. Attention is also drawn by very extensive documentation and instructions how to use these switches.
Ubiquiti UniFi switches solve the problem of power, connectivity, and traffic handling for all your devices. Because the size and layout of each deployment is unique, Ubiquiti offers several different categories of switches, carefully designed to optimize any network in any environment. Let's take a closer look at these categories to help you identify the models that will benefit you the most.
Today we're going to look at a series of Ubiquiti switches such as:
- Switch Lite Series
- Switch Flex Series
- Switch Standart Series
- Switch Pro Series
- Switch Enterprise Series
The main thing they have in common is that they can be seamlessly integrated into a single network under one of the controllers - Cloud Key Gen2 or Cloud Key Gen2 Plus, as well as UDM and UDM-Pro. The key difference, however, is the different placement of each series in the network structure.
UniFi Switch Flex Series
The UniFi Flex series includes three switches:
Switch Flex XG (USW-Flex-XG),
Switch Flex (USW-Flex) and Switch Flex
Mini (USW-Flex-Mini).
The
UniFi Swith Flex has a rather unusual design, reminiscent of the old UniFi AC Pro access points that had a similar design. The switch has
5 gigabit ports for connecting devices. Port number one is used for power, with 802.3 bt PoE being desirable for maximum performance. The other ports distribute PoE power, including Po2 802.3 af, with automatic detection of its type.
A closer look at the UniFi Switch Flex specifications - the total number of ports, the total PoE budget, and the chassis layout - reveals that it is designed for outdoor installation (mast/pole, canopy) and for connecting endpoint devices such as surveillance cameras. The switch itself acts as both a source and receiver of twisted pair power.
UniFi Switch Lite Series
The UniFi Switch Lite series is just two switches:
Switch Lite 8 PoE (USW-Lite-8-PoE) and
Switch Lite 16 PoE(USW-Lite-16-PoE), which differ in the number of ports, with half of them powered by PoE .
The appearance of the
Lite series switches differs significantly from the well-known UniFi switch models. This is because most standard switches are designed for installation in a server rack. As such, there is no need to be too concerned about their appearance as the hardware is industrial grade and will be hidden from prying eyes.
However, not every organization has the ability or need to install a separate server rack. Of course, we are talking about small businesses here. At the same time, the need to deploy e.g. a UniFi network with multiple access points in such organizations is not a rarity, but rather a rule.
And this is where the
UniFi Switch Lite series of switches comes to the rescue. These models come in enclosures that are quite suitable for placement on both office walls and desks. As a side note, the first device in the UniFi Switch series to allow such an application was the UniFi Flex Mini, but it only has 5 ports and cannot provide power, so with some reservations it can be counted as a full-fledged UniFi Switch.
Both models support the Layer 2 specification set and have configurable ports. This makes their functionality fully compatible with most rackmount switches, allowing you to flexibly configure your network according to its topology and perform precision switching. In addition, all Gigabit Ethernet ports on the wall switch feature 1 Gigabit data rates, and half of the ports support PoE power, using the 802.3at PoE standard . This standard allows the vast majority of Ubiquiti access points, such as the UniFi AP HD and UniFi AP IN-Whall Pro, to be powered to create a wireless Wi-Fi network in a small office.
To get the full picture, let's take a closer look at the Switch Lite 8 PoE switch and see what it comes with, as well as its settings.
After opening the box with the device, we have:
- Switch Lite 8 PoE
- Power supply
- Wall mounting bracket
- Two wall plugs and two screws
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Once connected to the network, let's run through the initial configuration of the Switch Lite 8 PoE and see what basic settings it has for network management.
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After testing the switch, we came to the following conclusions:
With each software update, the manufacturer changes to find certain settings. It used to be easy to find Vlan settings, now it's more difficult (although this is not specific to the Lite series, but we decided to include it).
There are more switch settings in the UniFi Controller system than described on the manufacturer's official website (not sure if they actually work).
The main advantage of the Lite series is the sleek design that will fit in your office or home and the PoE ports.
The downside, however, is that half of the ports are PoE powered.
Switch Standart Series
The UniFi Standart switch series is represented:
UniFi Switch Aggregation (USW-Aggregation)
UniFi Switch 48 PoE (USW-48-PoE)
UniFi Switch24 PoE (USW-24-PoE)
UniFi Switch16 PoE (USW-16-PoE)
UniFi Switch 48 (USW-48)
UniFi Switch 24 (USW-24)
UniFi Switch (Standart) is designed for mid-range networks where Layer 3 features are not required. The cooling system is as quiet as the UniFi Switch Pro units. Except that the UniFi SmartPower USP-RPS is not available compared to the Pro series. On the other hand, it is also worth noting that full throughput on 10Gb connections is limited.
The UniFi Switch and UniFi Switch Pro series can be operated via a mobile app. Touchscreen displays allow the administrator to quickly search for switch data. And the mobile app takes network management to a whole new interactive level.
Switches with or without PoE power and the required number of ports are required depending on your business needs. All switches are built into a standard server rack.
The convenience of using these types of switches comes from their reliability, speed and the ease of configuring all the switches simultaneously from one place using the UniFi Controller.
The 1.3" color touch screen provides instant information about the switch status and allows network administrators to quickly diagnose and prevent incidents from occurring.
This UniFi Switch line also includes the UniFi Switch Aggregation Layer 2 SFP switch with eight 10G SFP ports specifically designed for installations where the highest throughput and reliability is required. UniFi Switch Aggregation supports high-speed link aggregation for increased traffic and service availability. The switch's internal bus provides 160 Gbps throughput.
UniFi Switch Pro Series
In our opinion, the most interesting series of UniFi routers. The switches in this range include:
UniFi Switch Pro Aggregation (USW-Pro-Aggregation)
UniFi Switch Pro 48 PoE (USW-Pro-48-PoE)
UniFi Switch Pro 24 PoE (USW-Pro-24-PoE)
UniFi Switch Pro 48 (USW-Pro-48)
UniFi Switch Pro 24 (USW-Pro-24)
UniFi Switch Pro features Layer 2 and
Layer 3 switch functionality, as well as 10 Gb SFP ports . Compared to the first, the second switch generation has a more modern cooling system, which is twice as quiet under the heaviest loads. The switches of this series are equipped with the optional
UniFi SmartPower USP-RPS device. The USP-RPS allows you to switch to a backup power channel if the main power source fails. UniFi Switch Pro with PoE support offers 802.3bt PoE on up to 8 devices and 802.3af/at on the remaining PoE ports. But it all depends on the model. For example, the USW-Pro-48-POE can distribute a total of 600 watts across all ports, while the USW-Pro-24-POE is limited to 400 watts.
Let's take a closer look at some of the switches in this series.
Starting with the simplest switch in the series
UniFi Switch Pro 24 (USW-Pro-24)
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The UniFi Switch Pro 24 (USW-Pro-24) features a built-in 1.3-inch color touchscreen that provides instant status information about the switch and allows network administrators to quickly diagnose and prevent incidents.
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With a wide range of Layer 3 capabilities, UniFi Switch Pro 24 allows fine tuning of network algorithms with traffic routing between VLANs, static routes, DHCP server. Two 10Gbps SFP ports can be combined for increased throughput and fault tolerance. UniFi SmartPower RPS power redundancy helps to prevent possible power failures and the cooling system is almost silent.
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UniFi Switch Pro 24 PoE is the latest addition to the UniFi Switch Pro family. This model has received a number of improvements, not the least of which is support for the modern PoE standard , also known as 802.3bt. Such an extension of functionality was dictated by both current trends and the fact that Ubiquiti has in its portfolio of points working exclusively in this standard.
Similarly to the rest of the devices from UniFi series, the discussed model does not have its own web interface and is managed via proprietary software called UniFi Controller. With the controller, all UniFi devices in the network can be centrally managed.
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After reviewing the features and capabilities of the switch, we came to the clear conclusion that this UniFi Switch Pro 24 PoE has by far the best power supply compared to other models, and is quiet and cool enough to keep the switch from overheating.
UniFi Switch Pro 48
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UniFi Switch PRO 48 has a rich set of Layer 2 features and Layer 3 capabilities such as routing between VLANs, static routing, DHCP server. The 10 Gbit/s SFP backbone ports can be combined to provide high data rates and increased availability. UniFi Switch PRO 48 achieves a total port throughput of 88 Gbit/s and a switching capacity of 176 Gbit/s. UniFi Switch PRO 48 has the ability to connect to the optional UniFi SmartPower RPS, which protects the switch from power outages. The enhanced UniFi Switch PRO 48 features a near-silent cooling system.
The USW-Pro-48 is ideal for large enterprise networks, office buildings, retail and administrative centers, healthcare organizations and universities. The front panel of the UniFi Switch PRO 48 features a 1.3" color display that helps the network administrator clearly identify which device is connected to each switch port in an augmented reality interface and displays key information about the switch operation.
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An excellent switch for a large network that doesn't require PoE-powered devices to be connected. In the technical documentation it has great data transfer performance, but we will measure it on the USW-48-PoE model, they have the same chips so the result will be identical.
UniFi Switch Pro 48 PoE
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The UniFi Switch Pro 48 PoE is not too different in appearance from its predecessors, but now features a small 1.3" touchscreen display. The network interface still has 48 gigabit Ethernet ports, each of which automatically negotiates PoE with the connected device. Additionally, there are two SFP slots .
It's worth noting that only 8 ports can simultaneously distribute 802.3bt power, with the remaining connectors available for 802.3af/at PoE. Considering the possible load, the switch has a power reserve of 600W - this is enough to distribute power to all ports, provided that the total power consumption of all connected devices does not exceed the limit.
With a simple calculation, we can see what 600W power supply is appropriate for this model if all ports have PoE receivers. Ports 1-40 can provide up to 32W of power, ports 40-48 up to 64W of power per port. On average, the device draws 12-18W of power. Let's count: 48 ports x 12W = 576W - that's almost the maximum for this computing power and this taking into account that we don't have the most powerful devices connected to the switch. But what if we need to connect more interesting WiFi Access Points (e.g. U6-LR-US) or UniFi PTZ devices? In this case we will exceed the limit and there is no telling whether the switch or the port will fail. In this case, if we have more demanding devices, it is better to take 24-port switch with 400W power supply, which gives us 16.5W per port. However, it is worth to consider each case individually and choose the right equipment. 600W of power reserve is enough to power all the ports, provided that the total power consumption of all the connected devices does not exceed the limit.
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We ran Layer3 routing tests (MikroTik Bandwidth Test) on the UniFi Switch Pro 48 PoE and got the following results:
UDP receive: 9.7Gbps
UDP send: 9.7Gbps
UDP both: 9.7Gbps / 9.7Gbps
TCP 20 streams receive: 9.3Gbps
TCP 20 streams send: 9.2Gbps
TCP 20 streams both: 2.4Gbps / 2.3Gbps (the maximum that the CCR1036 can achieve - the real result for the USW-48-Pro/USW-48-Pro-PoE switch will be higher)
In our opinion, these are excellent results, as close as possible to the performance declared by the manufacturer.
UniFi Switch Aggregation Pro
The new UniFi Aggregation Switch Pro is a managed Layer 3 switch designed for the Ubiquiti Networks UniFi Enterprise System. UniFi Aggregation Switch Pro has 28 10G SFP ports for connecting devices over optical links and 4 25G SFP28 ports for connecting backbone links in enterprise networks. The 25G SFP28 ports support 25Gbps in mono mode. A 1.3-inch touchscreen display provides important information about the current state of the device and provides information needed for quick troubleshooting.
UniFi Aggregation Switch Pro's advanced Layer 3 switching protocols, including per-port modes, switching, mirroring, aggregation, VLAN routing, static routes and DHCP server are configurable via UniFi Controller or the UniFi mobile app.
Pro Series Summary
As usual with UniFi switches, all configuration and settings can be done from a single UniFi web controller or mobile app. New from Ubiquiti is that the built-in dashboards on the switches can display a QR code that, when read by the UniFi Network mobile app, allows the user to see which ports are connected to which devices and what those devices are using augmented reality. This actually looks very cool! We haven't seen something like this from any other manufacturer yet. However, it is worth noting that so far it only works on iPhones (surely AR support should appear on Android devices in the near future).
Another important fact is that the Pro Series units can be connected to the UniFi SmartPower redundant power system, allowing power to be switched to redundant power in the event of a main power failure, without interrupting service to customers.
UniFi Switch Enterprise Series
This series of managed switches is primarily designed for Ubiquiti Networks UniFi Enterprise System. It offers the following devices:
UniFi Switch Enterprise XG 24 (USW-EnterpriseXG-24)
UniFi Switch Enterprise 48 PoE (USW-Enterprise-48-PoE)
UniFi Switch Enterprise 24 PoE (USW-Enterprise-24-PoE)
UniFi Switch Enterprise 8 PoE (USW-Enterprise-8-PoE)
The UniFi Switch Enterprise Series is ideal for demanding deployments. These switches are designed to handle massive amounts of data and take full advantage of the UniFi 6. You could say this is an upgraded Pro Series, with additional 2.5 Gigabit ports, SFP ports and additional enhancements. The RJ45 ports and SFP slots are conveniently located for easy switching. UniFi Switch Enterprise enclosures are 1 unit high and are primarily designed for standard 19" rack mounting. Control is via the mobile app or in the Ubiquiti UniFi Controller software.
Summary and comparison
We don't really see the point of comparing these switch series to each other, as each series is designed for a "different cell" in your network infrastructure. Each UniFi switch series does what it is supposed to do and does it very well.
Ubiquiti has done a pretty good job with the UniFi product line and has hit the jackpot by having one system that manages all UniFi devices from the UniFi Controller, which is perfectly manageable through a web interface or from a mobile device, from anywhere in the world.
It's also nice to note that the manufacturer frequently releases updates and firmware for both their devices and the controller itself, adding new features and tools without forcing you to buy new hardware with new features. The UniFi system is also highly scalable and configurable, allowing the system administrator to quickly address network expansion and configuration.
But let's take a look at the key features of each UniFi switch series in the table below.
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