Ubiquiti Unifi UXG-Max Router: The Most Boring Installation in Memory
The transition to AT&T Fiber meant jumping from 60/10 mbps service to 500/500 mbps service. Our old router was SmallWall on a recycled HP T620 Plus thin client. SmallWall is a fork of m0n0wall, which I used for years previously. And a history lesson, m0n0wall was the progenitor of pfsense.
Alas, that little hardware/software combination simply wasn’t up to this new, and much faster, ISP. It could only manage to pass 120 mbps. The CPU tracking in SmallWall didn’t show it to be overburdened. I suspect other aspects of the hardware were the problem. It has a dual-ported Intel NIC. They’re 1G ports, connected to the host via a PCIe x4 connector.
I could have swapped out the T620 Plus for something newer and faster. However, I decided to extend our installation of Ubiquiti Unifi gear by adding their Unifi UXG Max router. That would allow me to see the ISP/router performance in the Unifi UI, which is handled by the Unifi Controller app running on a local Raspberry Pi400.
We came to use the Unifi line by way of their Wi-Fi access points. That was the end-state of what had been a long-running search to deliver reliable Wi-Fi. When our Ubiquiti PowerAP N died we deployed Unifi AC Pro access points. So began our foray into “software defined networking.”
Managed Networking
The Unifi access points have been great. Not issues at all to report. They require that you use a smart phone app to install and configure. They worked so well that I added Unifi managed switching with POE+. I eventually got a first generation Unifi Cloud Key as a way to manage the whole site.
When that cloud key was so old that it was no longer able to receive software updates, I upgraded to the Unifi Controller running on a Pi400. Since my Linux chops are limited, setting up the Unifi Controller on the Pi400 was something of a project. I enjoy such challenges. That’s why I’ve got so many Raspberry Pi in various roles hereabouts.
As I have said many times, data is addictive. The Unifi Controller provides data about the state of the network. It handles device configuration and firmware updates.
Installation
Honestly, installing the UXG MAX was so easy that it hardly bears a mention. The toughest part was telling the Mrs that the internet was going to be down for half an hour or so.
I connected the WAN port to the AT&T Fiber device. Connected LAN port #1 to the office Unifi switch. Apply power to the UXG MAX.
With BT enabled on my Pixel 6 phone I launched the Unifi App. It found the UXG MAX and offered to adopt and configure it.
In the initial configuration I altered the LAN IP address range from the default range (192.168.1.x) to one that I prefer.
In just a few minutes the router appeared in the Unifi Controller. Where in the past, the Unifi Controller knew nothing about the WAN side of the network, it know knows everything.
For example, it knew that it was connected to AT&T Fiber. It presented ping times to Microsoft Google and AWS as indication of WAN health.
It let me do speed tests and set up expected performance metrics.
IP Address Reservations
What was not immediately obvious was how I could replicate the MAC-based IP address reservations that I was accustomed to using. That is, Unifi does not have a consolidated menu for the DHCP service. There’s no one place where you can see a table of MAC reservations.
I quickly learned that each connected client could be set to have a “fixed IP.” The property is in the settings for each client. Not nicely assembled in a single menu.
The terminology is a bit obtuse. I associate “fixed IP” with setting the IP address at the client itself. I prefer the approach that SmallWall and pfsense take in this regard.
SIP Devices
Initially, the combination of AT&T Fiber and SmallWall did not allow my SIP devices to register with outside hosts. To get them working I had to connect them to the AT&T router directly. That was inconvenient since it does not provide POE.
With the UXG MAX installed, all the SIP devices register correctly when directly connected to the POE switches. No issues caused by double-NAT.
Network Map
Now that the Unifi Controller knows about the entire network, the network map provides a more complete picture of the situation.
I can drill down into any item displayed to get to its status.
UXG Max vs Lite
At $199 the UXG Max is not cheap, but not overly expensive either. In truth, I could have opted for the cheaper UXG-Lite. The $129 Lite model has 1 WAN and 1 LAN, both just 1G.
The Max has 5 LAN ports and 1 WAN port, all 2.5G. One of the LAN ports can be co-opted to become a second WAN, with load sharing or failover. That makes it more future proof.
Dull: A Good Thing
I do enjoy a technical challenge. Installing the Ubiquiti Unifi UXG Max was no challenge at all. The whole process took me about an hour. Most of that time was poking around in the Unifi UI, getting to know were the various functions are located. It seemed odd to make such a transition with no drama at all.