Well, it was about time… I just purchased two Ubiquiti UniFi US-8 Gigabit Switches to replace a couple of aged Linksys Routers and Switches.
I’ll be outlining why I purchased these, how they are setup, my impressions, and review.
Make sure you check out the video review below, and read the entire written review below as well!
Now on to the written review…
The back story
Yes, you read the first paragraph correctly, I’m replacing wireless routers with the UniFi US 8 Port switch.
While my core infrastructure in my server room is all Ubiquiti UniFi, I still have a few routers/switches deployed around the house to act as “VLAN breakout boxes“. These are Linksys wireless routers that I have hacked and installed OpenWRT on to act as switches for VLAN trunks and also provide native access to VLANs.
Originally these were working fine (minus the ability to manage them from the UniFi controller), but as time went on the hardware started to fail. I also wanted to fully migrate to an end-to-end UniFi Switching solution.
The goal
In the end, I want to replace all these 3rd party switches and deploy UniFi switches to provide switching with the VLAN trunks and provide native access to VLANs. I also want to be able to manage these all from the UniFi Controller I’m running on a Linux virtual machine.
To meet this goal, I purchased 2 of the Ubiquiti UniFi US-8, 8 port Gigabit manageable switches.
Ubiquiti UniFi US-8 Switch
So I placed an order through distribution for 2 of these switches.
As with all UniFi product, I was very impressed with the packaging.
And here is the entire package unboxed.
Another good looking UniFi Switch!
Specs
The UniFi Switch 8 is available in two variants, the non-PoE and PoE version.
| Part#: US-8 | Part#: US-8-60W |
|---|---|
| 8Gbps of Non-Blocking Throughput | 8Gbps of Non-Blocking Throughput |
| 16Gbps Switching Capacity | 16Gbps Switching Capacity |
| 12W Power Consumption | 12W Power Consumption |
| Powered by PoE (Port 1) or AC/DC Power Adapter | Powered by AC/DC Power Adapter |
| 48V PoE Passthrough on Port 8 (Powered by PoE passthrough from Port 1, or DC Power Adapter) | 4 Auto-Sensing 802.3af PoE Ports (Ports 5-8) |
UniFi Controller Adoption
After plugging in the two switches, they instantly appeared in the UniFi controller and required a firmware update to adopt.
Adoption was easy, and I was ready to configure the devices! Click on the images to view the screenshots.
Configuration and Setup
I went ahead and configured the management VLANs, along with the required VLAN and switch port profiles on the applicable ports.
One of these switches were going in my furnace room which has a direct link (VLAN trunk) from my server room. The other switch is going on my office desk, which will connect back to the furnace room (VLAN trunk). The switch on my desk will provide native access to one of my main VLANs.
I also planed on powering a UniFi nanoHD on my main floor with the PoE passthrough port, so I also enabled that on the switch residing in my furnace room.
Configuration was easy and took minutes. I then installed the switches physically in their designated place.
One things I want to note that I found really handy was the ability to restart and reset PoE devices via the UniFi Controller web interface. I’ve never had to reset any of my nanoHDs, but it’s handy to know I have the ability.
Everything worked perfectly once the switches were configured, setup, and implemented.
Overall Review
These are great little switches, however the price point can be a bit much when compared to the new UniFi USW-Flex-Mini switches. I’d still highly recommend this switch, especially if you have an end-to-end UniFi setup.
Use Cases:
- Small Network Switch
- Patch Panel Switch
- Desktop Switch to connect to core switches
- Network switch to power Wireless Access Points
What I liked the most:
- Easy to setup
- Visually attractive hardware
- Uniform management with other UniFi devices
- No fan, silent running
- PoE Passthrough even on the Non-PoE version
What could be improved:
- Price
Additional Resources and Blog Posts:
- Ubiquiti UniFi Review
- Going 10Gig with the Ubiquiti UniFi US-16-XG Switch
- Change management VLAN on Ubiquiti UniFi Hardware and Controller
- The Best UniFi Device Adoption Method
Manufacturer Product Links
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I’d like them come out with a 2.5 or 5GbE switch in the same form factor. Or a “copy” of the Zyxel 10 port just with 4 or 8 POE ports.