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.

So far so good.I am currently using this on a home network now almost exclusively of UniFi products. (3 UniFi AC APs 3 Trendnet 5 Port Switches and a BlueTech 24 Port Switch all running full gigabit)The box itself looks like nothing special, 4 ports, Lan, Wan, management and VOIP. If you are used to a traditional router with WiFi and 4 Lan ports this will probably seem a bit weird but it isn't at all. In my opinion moving to just a router, and just APs makes good sense becasue you can upgrade either without having to upgrade everything. But anyway, back to my review.*Update: with the latest 4.6.7 Controller software I have noticed that the gateway does seem to reboot a bit more often. But so far it has been seconds of downtime overall and I still think this is a good solution for a typical network. That said if you are in need of highly advanced features like others have noted they are not present in the GUI. After talking to the Ubiquiti folks I understand there are some more advanced options that can be enabled by using command line access and modifying files. But that isn't something I use. I find that in my home network setting this gateway and the associated APs are more reliable and I experience far less downtime than I did while using any typical home networking router (I have tried all the top end options from ASUS, Cisco and Belkin to name a few) Not to mention the setup is surprisingly more simple, which I atrribute to the simple interface. I do wish the controller software was more robust and allowed for an "Advanced" mode where you get the granular control like you get on Expensive business class equipment, but at this price point it's really not a bad gateway at all.*I am tech savvy but I am no trained network specialist. That said I had this set up on my network within 10 minutes (including upgrading to the Version 4+ controller software. The controller recognized it right away and it connected without a problem. (I already had the 3 UniFi AC APs up and running (using the V3 software) I have now had 30 Days since install with 0 downtime due to the gateway (I have Time Warner so they drop signal at least 2 times a week no matter what)This is on a home network and I have 12 wired devices and 18 wireless ones on my network at any given time and the only choke point is my internet connection. The router handles all the incoming/outgoing traffic without missing a beat. (Firmware v4.2.4.4733350)So far it's been a set and forget gateway and I couldn't be happier with it. If something changes I will update this review, but as of right now I am definitely willing to recommend this gateway to anyone who is building a UniFi products based network.Just my Thoughts,AK