Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition

I set one of these up yesterday on Spark Gigabit Fibre. It took about 1 minute to configure the connection, basically chose advanced for Internet setup, add the VLAN 10 and the PPP settings and it was online and doing an update. Then I setup the supplied Unifi AC Lite A/P's and again - An absolute breeze - Plug/Patch them into the POE and the web interface popped up it had found an AP and I configured the first to configure the Wifi network and then plugged in and adopted the others. Ignoring physical relocation and patching the Router and 3 AP's were up and running in about 5 minutes. I run Unifi controller on a Windows server at my place and its a pain doing the software updates at times but assuming this puppy does them all automatically as scheduled it should be ... MoreI set one of these up yesterday on Spark Gigabit Fibre. It took about 1 minute to configure the connection, basically chose advanced for Internet setup, add the VLAN 10 and the PPP settings and it was online and doing an update. Then I setup the supplied Unifi AC Lite A/P's and again - An absolute breeze - Plug/Patch them into the POE and the web interface popped up it had found an AP and I configured the first to configure the Wifi network and then plugged in and adopted the others. Ignoring physical relocation and patching the Router and 3 AP's were up and running in about 5 minutes. I run Unifi controller on a Windows server at my place and its a pain doing the software updates at times but assuming this puppy does them all automatically as scheduled it should be fairly set and forget. Got very good throughput on ethernet. Overkill for this site as in terms of VPN or NAT rules etc he just doesn't need any but it should be very reliable and stable. The only time my Unifi AP's need a reboot is when doing the occaissional firmware update.

I have two of the Non-SE versions and lacking POE is a real problem for small office or home office setups. Not having a hard drive was a bit of a surprise as well.This version, although being probably a little poor value for money, fixes those two big issues. The extra speed is a nice bonus.Setup and configuration is as easy as any other Unifi kit.

I was thinking of getting the UDM Pro, but the lack of PoE held me back, so I was excited to see the UDM SE become available in NZ, and even more so because of the 2.5 Gbps WAN port! (There's also the SFP+ WAN port, but I have no plan for > 2 Gbps Internet connection at this time, and using an RJ45 to SFP+ transceiver can create heat issues.)Unfortunately, the caveat is that the uplink from the switch component to the router component is limited to 1 Gbps, so you won't get full use of the 2.5 Gbps WAN connection even with a 2 Gbps hyperfibre plan, unless you connect another switch using the SFP+ LAN port. I ended up doing that as it turned out that I needed more than 8 ports anyway.Nonetheless, as a single network appliance replacement for a Unifi security ... MoreI was thinking of getting the UDM Pro, but the lack of PoE held me back, so I was excited to see the UDM SE become available in NZ, and even more so because of the 2.5 Gbps WAN port! (There's also the SFP+ WAN port, but I have no plan for > 2 Gbps Internet connection at this time, and using an RJ45 to SFP+ transceiver can create heat issues.)Unfortunately, the caveat is that the uplink from the switch component to the router component is limited to 1 Gbps, so you won't get full use of the 2.5 Gbps WAN connection even with a 2 Gbps hyperfibre plan, unless you connect another switch using the SFP+ LAN port. I ended up doing that as it turned out that I needed more than 8 ports anyway.Nonetheless, as a single network appliance replacement for a Unifi security gateway and cloud key (with disk storage), while offering the option of up to 2.5 GbE WAN connection, is excellent. If I didn't need so many ports, the switch with PoE would have still been alright, even with the disappointing uplink.

This was a significant upgrade from a Cloud Key, Security Gateway, and a 16 port PoE switch that we had previously. In addition to collapsing 3U into 1, it provided a much faster gateway that is able to better process Fibre Max with more DPI and IDS, has an SFP+ port to the LAN, as well as 8 PoE ports that are perfect for cameras and wireless access points. The 3.5" bay was filled with a 6TB drive for the cameras, and was easier than upgrading the Cloud Key's 2.5" drive. It doesn't come cheap, but it sure packs a lot in that one U!

I’m not that enamoured with this router. I think a better buy would be an ordinary Dream Machine with a switch that provides POE if that’s the reason you are purchasing. I’m also somewhat disappointed with the Wi-Fi performance from the Unifi U6-LR:110D access point that I’m using with it compared to my old router, but that’s another story. The interface is a GUI that does everything the unit is supposed to be capable of. The VPN offering is currently limited to L2TP unless you include the rather limited Teleport function. No Open VPN support or Wireguard. If you like swapping between two Guis and using what can only be described as a messy unergonomic interface go for it. Otherwise, I would currently give this a miss.

Awesome machine, shame about the EU power cord and lack of IGMP Proxy

This is a great machine, but with one key issue especially for those using Swisscom TV: There is currently no IGMP proxy, which means you cannot simply connect your Swisscom TV box and stream to your TV. Either it needs routing through a separate VLAN or you need to cable your TV direct to your Swisscom IB.Another small complaint is that it comes with an EU power cord: As the UDM Pro SE uses a proprietary cord with special anti-backout lock, the generic CH cord provided did not match the unit properly.

Review of Ubiquiti UDM Special Edition (UDM-SE)

The UDM SE is awesome. What a difference. Only disappointment was the time it took for the 24 delivery. It took 7 days.

Simply wow

I would recommend this device to everyone. It is simple to use/install works perfectly (my install is with Swisscom). Creation of VPN, separate networks, etc. etc. the app is intuitive and easy to use.Worth the money spend!!!