Long story short, I've been using my older Asus RT-AX86U for a few years now, don't remember exactly for how long, maybe 5-6 years or so? Anyway, it's a great home router, does everything I wanted and more. Setup was easy, performance was great, protection was decent. So why would I want to replace it?
Well, for one, it is quite a dated device. I've been using RMerlin's custom firmware for this since I gotten my hands on this device. RMerlin has contributed a lot to developing custom firmware modifications based on Asus' official firmware, so much so that Asus recognized his efforts and provided a lot of assistance to help them developing firmware. However, RMerlin will soon stop developing custom firmware as they felt burnt out. Besides, RT-AX56U is already deprecated as per Asuswrt-Merlin website. And the next in line should be RT-AX58U, RT-AX86U and/or RT-AX88U. So it's only a matter of time until the custom firmware support will end. And as you know, a router firmware that stopped updating, is a router firmware that's in constant danger.
Besides, I signed up for 2.5Gbps network a few months ago and is set to start at the end of November. The RT-AX86U supports 2.5Gbps in, but the rest are 1Gbps ports. Which means I cannot connect my PC to it utilizing the full 2.5Gbps speed my ISP will give me. So I had to change to a more capable device.
I thought of rebuilding my home lab setup, but quickly scrapped the idea since I have very limited space, and it is difficult to incorporate a full setup with AP, Firewall and Router/Gateway. So the logical solution to this would be an all-in-one device. And for that, Ubiquiti's Dream Router 7 is hands down one of the best choices for prosumers.
It's overwhelming at first glance for someone coming from consumer grade hardware. So many stats, and a complicated UI, with many settings to adjust. I definitely couldn't have properly configured my new router without the help of tutorials. Ethernet Blueprint's video helped a bunch.
What I really like about Unifi:
- Nuanced settings. There are TONS of settings to change and switches to flip. Unifi offers far greater control over the network compared to your run-of-the-mill TP-Link or Asus routers.
- Zone-Based Firewall. If you have seen the firewall page on home grade TP-Link, Asus or Netgear routers, you know they are inefficient and barebones. Zone-Based Firewalls allow me to control how traffic flows through my network, and reduce attack surface accordingly.
- Lots of statistics and insights. Network Topology, most used apps/services, most used WiFi type, most active clients, etc. This level of insights allow me to better fine tune my network.
- Built-in VLAN. Most home routers have very crude VLAN features that only include a Guest network and perhaps sometimes an IoT network. Here with Unifi I can create as many VLAN as the device can handle. Paired with Zone-Based Firewall I can split the network according to the devices that will connect to it, and apply different sets of firewall rules. It also allows me to isolate more sensitive areas of my network from external facing devices.
- Built-in IDPS. As far as I know some other home routers also offer IDPS feature, like Asus AiProtection and Netgear Armor or TP-Link HomeCare. Unifi's IDPS is no different. But the plus side is that the update is more frequent. I can also output IDPS and other logs to an SIEM of my choice to filter and view critical events.
I am liking the UDR 7 a lot, it's a nice upgrade over the RT-AX86U, I am thrilled to see how well it performs when my 2.5Gbps network activates at the end of November.
