Ubiquiti Unifi Security Appliance (USG), Single,White

I had recently purchased a Ubiquiti Unifi switch and a couple of APs for my place and was really impressed with the whole Unifi concept so I went ahead and purchased the USG and another switch to complete the re-vamping of my home's entire network infrastructure. In anticipation, I read blogs, forums, and watched videos about this particular device and was really wondering how easy it was going to be to setup given some of the feedback but, for me, it was a breeze. The LAN interface is set to 192.168.1.1 by default, and as long as you are aware of that and account for it (like pretty much any other router you may purchase), the setup goes very easy.I plugged the WAN interface into my modem and my existing switch into the LAN port and that was pretty much it. I had to wait for a few minutes for it to sync up with the modem (get an IP, etc...) and for it to assign my PC an IP on the 192.168.1.x range but it eventually just started working and I could get on the Internet.After it was connected, I adopted it into my Unifi Controller and upgraded the firmware with no issues. I did have to re-boot my modem and then re-boot the USG in order to see full speeds but that was not really an issue. The only other thing I did was to change the default DHCP scope by making sure it ended lower than my old router to avoid potential IP conflicts.So, in my experience, for basic internet connectivity and DHCP setup it was very easy. Assuming your network is already 192.168.1.x and that your modem/ISP assigns you an IP via DHCP, it "just works".But is it an "easy" device? That really depends. On the one hand it integrates into the Unifi environment really well and the separate controller really gives you great insight into your network, way more than you would ever get with typical consumer grade stuff. However, while learning the controller interface is not hard (especially if you are reasonably savvy with networking) you do have to spend some time with it to understand where all the configurations are. And sometimes not everything is where you think it ought to be! But if you enjoy stuff like this, it's really fun! If you really can't be bothered it may be too much.Also, remember, for a typical consumer router, you just have a GUI to the router itself. With the Unifi environment you get a controller (purchased or downloaded separately) that controls everything (switches, APs, etc...). That means you have many more perimeters and areas to explore in the GUI than you may be used to which could add to the learning curve..There are lots of forum posts and blogs that say that the USG is really limited by the Unifi controller GUI and that to do anything really complicated you have to go into the Command Line Interface. I guess that really depends on what you want to do! If you just want a good, solid router/firewall for Internet access that is easy to setup, inexpensive, and gives you a ton info about your network (via the Unifi Controller software) I think this is great. If you are brave and have more advanced needs you can do all that stuff as well. Just be aware that you may have to learn how to SSH into the device and configure things by the CLI.Otherwise, I'm super happy with this purchase as well as the entire Unifi environment. With the managed switches, professional grade APs, and advanced routing configurations this really gives people the opportunity to have a first-rate network at home without spending a ton on pro-grade gear.FYI, I have RCN cable in Chicago with 150Mbs speed and the USG seems to handle the speed/traffic without any issues. I believe I could go up to Gig speed without any worries.

This unit is amazing with capabilities that go far beyond what you can do with typical consumer router/firewalls. While it is straightforward to set up with the quick start guides, it could be a bit intimidating for those that start digging into the features. If you are a techie like me you'll be in LOVE!. I love the way it draws your network diagram and discovers your devices and even renders them in many cases (the iPhones look like iPhones, the echo dots are actually echo dot icons, etc. You can see what's connected to what at a glance. I'd forgotten about some of my iOT devices in the house. My only complaint is that for setup there is only a single LAN port. They expect you to have a switch downstream of that. In my case my initial purchase was this unit and a single WAP. initially, to use the controller setup software you have to run it on your laptop/PC and connect it to the same network as the WAP. You can't do that with a single LAN port. There is another WAN/LAN port but initially it is disabled until you run the configuration setup software. So, to get my WAP configured I needed to use a switch I had on hand to give me more than one connection to the enabled LAN. Once I had the WAP up and running, I simply switched the PC to a wifi connection and used the single port for the WAP. I then set the switch I had aside. The point is that you CAN have a minimalist setup of the USG and a single WAP but you will need a switch temporarily to initially connect them both. Once I saw how good this stuff was, I bought their 8 Port switch. That too is outstanding and I wanted that quality throughout. This is a MANAGED system. Each part shows up in the dashboard and can be managed. A passive switch simply doesn't "show" as it's invisible to the software. If you look at the pictures, the port on the left is actually a SERIAL port for a dumb ASCII terminal through which you can do command line setup. This is common in high end equipment but I expect most home users would never use it. Again, that's not a negative. It merely shows you that this stuff is actually enterprise grade at consumer prices. One of the other advantages to having their switch is that it supplies Power Over Ethernet (POE) so that you can simply run the CAT 6 to your WAP and the power comes through the cable. Once you get up an running you can enable the second LAN port and set up a separate network if you wish to segregate traffic if desired. The two ports can be configured to "bridge" so that devices on one network can communicate with the others (or not) as desired. This unit also has advanced intrusion detection/intrusion prevention capabilities to detect and block folks that might try to hack your network. It's kind of creepy to find out shortly after you install your network that folks from the Netherlands are trying to hack your home network! Before I was "blissfully ignorant." Now I'm blissfully enlightened and protected. Oh, one more thing. With the SAME internet provider and modem I am getting DOUBLE the speeds I was getting before with my old setup. I now feel like I'm getting my money's worth.