UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Rear 3
The Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber is the current hotness in 2.5GbE and 10GbE pre-built gateway devices. Onboard, the UCG-Fiber features two SFP+ 10G ports and a 10GbE port, which handle both multi-WAN and LAN-facing connections. There are four 2.5GbE ports for LAN duties, including one PoE port for a simple WiFi setup. All of this is what you can read elsewhere. What we have that makes this special is that we purchased several of these so that we could also take one apart to show you what is inside, since we could not find those photos online. We are also taking our $1M+ Keysight CyPerf load generation setup and showing another capability using this device.
We have a ton to cover today. Just as a quick note, we purchased these units thanks to our STH YouTube members. We have refused to sign the standard NDA with Ubiquiti that everyone else does because there is a line in there that Ubiquiti would not allow us to remove, saying that we could review the product provided Ubiquiti is allowed to review the post prior to publication, and that we would incorporate that feedback if needed. While we tour data centers, manufacturing sites, and similar locations and let people preview to ensure we are not leaking confidential information, we do not allow vendors to preview and provide substantive feedback that we would be required to incorporate into our reviews. Our readers and YouTube viewers have requested that we review this box, so we purchased it to provide an honest assessment.
Where to buy: Amazon (affiliate link.) B&H Photo (affiliate link.)
Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber UCG-Fiber External Hardware Overview
At only 212.8 x 127.6 x 30mm or 8.3 x 5 x 0.5in, this is a fairly small and sleek design. On the front of this machine, there is a little status screen which is a nice touch. That alone is a great feature that you do not get on many lower-end gateway router and firewall devices.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Front 2
On the back, we get the ports, and for a $279 base price device, you actually get quite a bit here.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Rear 3
For example, there are four 2.5GbE ports. One of them has PoE capabilities and is rated for 30W of PoE output.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber 2.5G Ethernet Ports 1
We hooked up a Fluke Networks MicroScanner PoE to the port (Amazon Affiliate link), and it only saw a 6.5W 802.3 Class 2 PoE device. At the same time, this seemed off since we have powered Ubiquiti’s WiFi 7 APs from this port, like the U7 Pro and U7 Pro Max. It is certainly capable of powering more than 6.5W.
Ubiquiti UniFi UCG Fiber PoE Port With Fluke MicroScanner PoE Large
Despite the fact that the Fluke is one of the best handheld PoE testers available (it is an ~$800 test tool). We have seen this before on some Hasivo and other usually ultra-low cost AliExpress switches, where the autonegotiated power the Fluke tool sees and the actual power provided by the port can be different. We ran this on three of our five UCG-Fiber units (one was destroyed to get the internal photos, and one was used for the CyPerf tool sanity check.) We also rented a second Fluke just to see if our result was a “fluke.” All six combinations gave us the same result. This week’s ASUS ExpertWiFi EBG19P Router and PoE Switch Mini Review has the same Fluke tester finding PoE+ properly negotiated, tested back-to-back. This is one of those things that to most will not matter, but it was an interesting find that we have not seen in other reviews out there.
The other three ports are the 10GbE ports with two SFP+ and one 10Gbase-T. One SFP+ and the 10Gbase-T are labeled WAN, although you can change a lot in the Ubiquiti management interface. The other SFP+ port is designed to be the LAN port. Something of note, however, is that the 10Gbase-T port is a 1/2.5/10G port. It would have been nice to have 5GbE support.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber 10G Ethernet Ports 1
The power input is a 54V DC power input. That is common on PoE devices. One area that would have been nice is some kind of locking/ retention mechanism to keep the unit plugged in. On low-cost devices, pennies count, but if you have ever installed a device like this in an area prone to bumping, you could understand why retention/ locking for DC barrel jacks is common in higher-end devices.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Power Input 1
There is also a small reset button recessed in the corner of this device.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Rear Angled 2
One item you will likely notice is that on the side, there is a little cutout.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Front Angled 2
$279 is the base price. You can get a 1TB SSD kit for $120 more at $399 and a 2TB kit for $529 total. There is also an option for a $19 kit, where you can bring your own SSD. The benefit of this is simple, but also great. You can use this storage for functions like recording video from a UniFi camera device. This is a superb feature.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Drive Latch 2
Here is what the 1TB drive module looks like.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber 1TB Drive 1
Installing this is super easy so long as you have that little tool to pop the blank out.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber 1TB Drive 3
On the bottom, we get a flat base with vents. Something we wish is that this had mounting holes for easy wall or DIN mounting. Ubiquiti sells a $39 magnetic mount, but it is also nice to just have a more standard and easy mounting option.
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Bottom Angled 2
Next, something else folks have likely not seen before: what these look like inside.