Ubiquiti UniFi Switches Reviews

Our primary use case for Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is setting up a large campus network.

I think they need to provide a better firewall solution.

Availability has been an issue for us as well. There was a patch during the early days of the COVID 19 pandemic where it was really hard to get stock. We couldn't get what we wanted, so we had to choose non-POE switches. Eventually POE switches became available and that resolved the issues that we had earlier this year and last year.

I have been working with Ubiquiti UniFi Switches for a couple of years. 

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are very stable. 

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are scalable. We have around 600 users at the school we deployed the switches at. 

I am very satisfied with Ubiquiti's tech support. 

Positive

We previously used Alloy. We switched because Alloy was very hard to manage. 

The initial setup was very straightforward. However, a lot has been going on for many months. We are deploying 50 plus switches.

We deployed the solution in-house. 

I would gladly recommend Ubiquiti UniFi Switches. 

One of the primary use cases we have for this solution is integration with UDM/and WIFI access point.

The integration with the controller is one of the most valuable features of these switches. They are also very stable. For example, we have some equipment that we haven't touched for four years that is still reliable.

Firmware stability and accurate documentation regarding advanced networking. 

I have been using Ubiquiti UniFi switches for five years.

We were not having any issues.

Having a range of customers with moderate needs, I'm not sure I can comment on the scalability.

We have never needed to contact tech support. 

At my previous place of employment, we used NETGEAR. I'm not sure what my current employer was using before this solution.

The initial setup was easy. We did run into a few funny bumps, but we got over them.

Their pricing is reasonable and fair.

I would say: first read about networking, second, read about the hardware scope. Some people expect the machines to do magic by themselves; a little touch and knowledge should make a difference.

UniFi is marketing a wide range of special purpose products to choose from. 

We mostly use the solution for wireless. We have a lot of wireless clients. That's the big bulk of usage as we're rapidly evolving to IOT.

The solution has improved our organization in the fact that we don't take as long to configure anything. It's just plug-and-play. As far as the wireless goes, it's instantaneous for anybody who wants to get on the network. We have a lot of wireless access points deployed. It works really well. It's convenient.

The ability to deploy quickly and then having one central location for all the settings are its most valuable aspects.

They've been very aggressive as far as their feature sets as their capability.

The documentation for command lines needs to be improved.

When we do firmware updates, it usually creates problems in the devices themselves. If we do a firmware upgrade, it's for sure that there will be an issue. They need to work out the kinks in that regard.

The security of the solution could really be enhanced.

It would be ideal if you could roll back firmware. It would be ideal to have something that's built-in that you can kind of just go and push a few buttons and then it reverts back to the old firmware.

I've been using the solution for five years at this point.

The stability of the solution has room for improvement. It could be unique to us, however, there's been some instances where it's very unstable. Instabilities are something that we've been striving to reduce ever since I got here and even before that.

I believe that it has to do as much with the environment that we're putting this hardware in. When you're in a facility where the temperatures get high, the humidity sky-rockets. If you don't have hardened equipment that is designed to handle that kind of very harsh environment, you will have problems.

I try and design so that we can mitigate without spending exorbitant amounts of money to do so. 

I used to sell systems to a crab fleet that fished out of Ballard Washington and go up to Alaska and we'd sell them two or three of the same systems because they'd rot. They'd throw them overboard and install new ones. It's that kind of environment that things get corroded because there's a lot of moisture. Therefore, the stability issues we face could be based on the fact that the environment is a questionable and uncontrollable factor.

We have about 60 plus switches deployed right now. We have four active sites and a fifth site is coming online. I'd say probably closer to 100 switches. We've got all sizes. I tried to standardize recently on eight ports and that's a whole different conversation, however, we use them in horticulture areas.

This solution is built more for small to medium-sized businesses. The bigger the network gets, the more instability. You have to be there going through the enterprise with the edge line. 

That said, it's very scalable. I have seen no blocks. You can build this as big as you want it. And we've done everything from basic switches to large point to point and a point to multi-point. So we pushed the envelope as much as we can.

However, then you get cases like switch age where it's way over the edge of the network, and then you see problems every day, that device old, but even before it got old, it seems like it had this issue.

We have clients that have hundreds of employees on the system, so there are probably users in the low hundreds at any given point of time. We also have about 80 cameras which make up endpoints as well. Most of the people using it are data entry (sales, administration, and procurement) and a few accountants. That said, it's all network-centric. Our security systems and our surveillance systems are all on the network. It's a busy place. We've got a fiber backbone between our main greenhouse and our administrative headquarters.

We do plan to expand. The site that we're bringing online is between 600,000 and 700,000 square feet of greenhouse with a 20,000 square foot building that will have processing, offices, and IT in it. It will double our capacity as far as production. We're going to grow big in 2021.

We're never able to get help from technical support. We don't use them due to this. You've got to be self-reliant. That is one area that I think that they're really lacking in. They need to beef up the level of support that they offer to clients.

That said, the actual factory technical support may be weak, but the forums and the available information is humongous. You could go online and you can get an answer and that's what we do.

The company was using the Ubiquiti Edge product initially, however, they transitioned to UniFi as they started to grow. The gentleman that made that decision is no longer here, therefore, I really don't know what the driving factor was, however, if I were to guess it had to do with the simplicity. 

The initial setup was mostly straightforward. 

That's one of the key features because you don't have to do any deep thinking trying to get a complex configuration. It's by the numbers. You know if you messed up in a heartbeat. You don't have to guess. Sometimes you have to do a little digging to determine what got messed up. However, even if you have to backtrack a bit, it's very easy to deploy.

Deployment takes a couple of hours typically, from design to final implementation.

We have about 13 maintenance people that cover the entire operation of the organization and this solution.

We didn't need an integrator or consultant. It was all done in-house. I've been an integrator for 40 years, and therefore I have a depth of knowledge. That is not very common in the industry. Usually, I'm the one that is out on accounts, however, I have been making smart systems talk to one another for many, many years. 

We don't have any metrics to really analyze. It's difficult to answer a question on ROI. I'm creating something right now to asset track and service track every piece of gear that goes in. That's one of my goals by Q1. I want to have something in place so that when we start hanging this stuff, it's got a QR code on it. We know when it was installed, we know what it's comprised of, and we know when somebody touches it or has anything to do with it. We plan to create a virtual service record. 

A year from now, I'd probably be able to give a lot of information about ROI, however, at this point, all I can say is, for the most part, the gear does have a good life cycle. The parts that we've had to replace have often been on us because when they get hosed down with water, they don't seem to work very well. And when they're PoE and they short out the switch we have to blame ourselves. We can't blame the hardware.

We don't have any visibility on pricing, therefore I wouldn't be able to speculate. It's my understanding that there aren't any extra costs above the standard licensing fee.

We're just customers. We like using the solution. We didn't want to change horses in midstream, even though a lot of people have attempted to convince us to do so.

We try to use the latest version of the solution. We update the firmware on a regular basis and so most of the time, it's maybe one version behind at the most.

We're going to basically start some life cycle management too. We're using the solution on-premise with a cloud key.

I would advise other users to take training before transitioning from the physical. You can get pretty lost in the process. Take any training you can on the system so that you understand it before you begin. 

I had a friend who was Cisco certified. He taught IT and he wasn't aware of Ubiquiti and I showed it to him and he said, ''Wow, this is easy.'' It is also very powerful, they didn't skim. The only thing that I have concerns about and everyone does is cybersecurity. Especially since the pandemic hit, there's a lot of activity on the web and there's a lot of malicious stuff going on, and people are looking for the antidote.

For me, the biggest lesson I took from working with this solution has to do with understanding the product and planning. Don't go in cold and try and, you know, find the fit for a job. If it's an emergency that's one thing, however, the better you plan, the better result you're going to have. 

On a scale from one to ten, it's a high 8. I don't really see any major glaring issues other than the support. They do make made a hardened version of the product for harsh environments. It's been all-around a pretty positive experience. 

We are a solution provider and Ubiquiti UniFi switches are one of the products that we implement for our customers.

The use case for this solution depends on the size of the infrastructure. Normally, for smaller installations, we use the routing functionality because they are layer three switches. In larger organizations, we use it as a layer two switch and we use Compass routers to handle 10-gigabit bandwidth. We have one customer using this configuration who does 3D modeling and 3D printing, which requires a lot of bandwidth.

We have several offices in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria, and we can manage this solution, as well as for our customers, remotely.

These switches are very simple to use and the GUI is very nice. They have made administration much easier. Optionally, if you have a very advanced requirement then you can do it less comfortably using the GUI, or instead use SSH to program it. If you have experience in Linux and bash scripting then it is very easy to do.

The most valuable feature is that the technology is open. If there's a new technology then you can implement it yourself. For example, WireGuard is a very nice VLAN framework that is available on Linux and you can implement it on the Ubiquiti switches. With Cisco or other commercial products, you'll have to wait until the manufacturer starts to provide it for you. Sometimes, they need quite a long time before this will happen. It is for this same reason that we don't use macOS or Windows because they are always about five years behind current technologies.

The UniFi switches are for people who are not very into technology and if you have a big deployment with special configurations then this line of switches is very limited.

It would be nice to have a single, unique management console or a GUI because as it is now, Ubiquiti switches have two management systems and it is annoying.

The VPN technology in Ubiquiti products is really difficult for beginners who do not have the right skills. It would be very nice if they had a simple way to manage all of the VPN connections from a GUI. This would include from location to location, or from location to computer.

We have about two years of experience with Ubiquiti UniFi switches.

So far, this solution has been completely stable. We have had issues with hardware and needed to exchange it at times, although we had the same issues with Cisco.

We are operating in Germany, and the rules here for when things fail are quite nice. We normally have a two-year warranty, and it is quite easy to exchange hardware with the dealers. Normally, if something is not going to function well, then it gives up within three months. There is no difference between Cisco and Ubiquiti in this regard.

Ubiquiti UniFi has been scalable enough for our use cases. The throughput is ok. We have used it in cases with a gigabit backbone and it worked fine.

We have deployments with only five users and we have deployments with up to 500 users.

We have not been in touch with official technical support from Ubiquiti. There's a big community that supports you if you have issues, which is the only support we have used.

We used to use Cisco switches but we had a lot of trouble with them. They are not easy to handle, which is why we switched to Ubiquiti. Cisco switches have the same capability but you have to have knowledge of Cisco IOS.

Ubiquiti is known for its access points, but the ER and ES switches are quite nice. We primarily use the Ubiquiti Edge switches and routers. The overall administration is very easy because we are able to write scripts in the same language that we use for our common operating systems. This was a great step forward from our Cisco solution.

The Cisco switches allow you do do everything because they are the standard-makers, but it is a closed community. If they don't do it then you can't do it, whereas with Ubiquiti, there is always somebody who is doing something crazy and you can get advice for your project. It is very nice.

With Cisco, normally after six years, they stop support and you have to buy completely new infrastructure. It is really awful. 

It is a complex product so, of course, the setup is complex. However, it is straightforward in that you have the freedom to do what you want to do, without any limitations. There is a big community that supports you if you have issues with the configuration.

The deployment is quite fast. We took about two weeks to get the switches running exactly the way we wanted them to, but for simple tasks, you can do it in just two days. It's really easy.

Personally, I think that it is much easier to do if you are already familiar with the command line and the terminology from Cisco. 

If our customer is large enough to have their own IT department and host the switch on their site then we do consultancy for them. There are cases where we conduct a PoC and then when the customer is satisfied, we implement it on their site and they take it over. Finally, if they have insufficient knowledge on their end, we sometimes implement and manage the entire solution on their site. In most cases, we handle the implementation for our customers.

Beyond what our technical department does, the economic department will discuss things with the client such as what new services or products are available. This can include things like monitoring, data aggregation, and providing information.

Ubiquiti switches are quite affordable and you don't have to pay extra for support.

We are focused on open software and manufacturer-independent solutions, so Ubiquiti fits our strategy well because they operate on the Linux operating system. 

We have had no problems where this product did not do what it was supposed to do, either from the hardware side or the software side.

This is a solution that I recommend for normal operations. The suitability of these switches depends on what you want to do, what your tasks are, and what the application is. Ubiquiti is not always the manufacturer of choice. If you need really high-speed networks or have special requirements then it is important to test things out in the lab beforehand.

I have a lot of experience with different switches that are on the market and my favorite are those by Ubiquiti. They are affordable, they do what they should do, they are open, and you don't have to pay extra for support.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

The solution helps me manage the network far better than before. I can also manage VLANs and decide how much bandwidth the users should get.

The product is seamless and robust. We only had issues when there were power outages. The user interface is the most valuable feature. The tool is easy to use. I rate the ease of use an eight out of ten.

The initial deployment was a bit complex.

I have been using the solution for a year and three months.

The tool has been rock solid. I rate the stability a ten out of ten.

I have used Cisco’s switches and routers. We switched to Ubiquiti because it enabled us to manage the network.

The initial deployment was a bit complex, but we figured it out.

I have seen an ROI on the product. We can manage our users far better now.

The price should be improved.

We have consultants. We did not need to call the support team. With Ubiquiti, we get what we pay for. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

We use the product for accessing controls for video conferencing.

The product’s most valuable features are stability and scalability.

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches’s pricing could be less expensive.

We have been using Ubiquiti UniFi Switches for two years.

I rate the product’s stability a nine out of ten.

The product has good scalability.

The technical support services are good.

The initial setup is straightforward. It takes less than 30 minutes and requires a manager and an engineer to execute the process.

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches are more expensive than HP and Aruba. We purchase its yearly license.

I rate Ubiquiti UniFi Switches a nine out of ten.

I mainly use UniFi Switches to power access points and P2P devices. If I have a backhaul point-to-point wireless link, I forward them by using these switches because they have two voltages (24 and 48) that I can switch between according to my needs.

UniFi Switches' best feature is the ability to switch voltage from 24 to 48, and it's almost the only device on the market with this feature.

I've been using UniFi Switches for about six or seven years.

UniFi Switches are very stable.

UniFi Switches are scalable - you can extend your network easily since some switches have the fiber optic option, and you can extend your number of ports, making connections between fiber ports.

The initial setup is very easy and takes only a few minutes.

I installed UniFi Switches myself.

UniFi Switches are cost-effective compared to Cisco, but the price could be lower.

I would recommend UniFi Switches to other users and rate it nine out of ten.

The performance is good. They also have good prices and have a lot of functions in their software.

The idea used in Ubiquiti UniFi Switches is very powerful and interesting. It's also new in this market.

They improved the stability a little bit, but it still requires more stability.

Installation could be easier as well.

I've been using it for a few years.

It is not as stable as required. They improved the stability a little bit, but it still requires more stability.

We have about 100 users, but we have approximately 10 switches. They are connected to a video recorder and a lot of video cameras.

We used Juniper before.

We had a problem with the initial setup because first we needed to upgrade the firmware. I think they have solved this in the latest switches.

It took about a day to solve the problem during the initial deployment.

I deployed it myself. You would need one person for deployment and maintenance.

The price is good, and it doesn't require additional licenses.

I would recommend it for offices, but I wouldn't recommend it for data centers.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Ubiquiti UniFi Switches at nine.