Setup Process

The setup process is similar to other UniFi devices, and can be done through the web GUI or their smartphone app. The UDM-Pro’s default IP is 192.168.1.1

To setup the UDM-Pro using the web interface:

-Power on the UDM-Pro, and connect your internet connection to one of the WAN ports

-Connect your computer to one of the 8 Ethernet LAN ports, and assign yourself an IP in the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet (not 192.168.1.1)

-Navigate to 192.168.1.1 in a web browser

-If you are using the Ethernet WAN 1 port and DHCP, the UDM-Pro will grab an IP automatically

-If you are not using WAN 1 and DHCP, click on advanced setup to assign the WAN port and IP address you want to use

-Name the device

-Login to your UI.com account, or create one. An account is required, and you must have internet connectivity

-Pick update schedule

-Pick auto optimize and run speed tests, or specify your ISP’s speed

-Choose to send analytics or not

-Use the local portal to setup users and admin access

-Install the applications you need (Protect, Talk, Access)

-Launch the UniFi software to configure your network.

The steps to setup the device through the app are similar, just make sure you have Bluetooth enabled and you are connected to the UDM-Pro in your Bluetooth settings.

Remote Management and UniFi OS: It’s Complicated

Researching this section wasn’t easy, but I wanted to gather everything I could find and put it all in one place. I’ll try to keep it simple. (Ubiquiti gurus: Please let me know if you find anything incorrect.)

In a lot of ways, the controller built in to the UDM and UDM-Pro acts like any other UniFi controller. The network management software is the same whether you run it from the UDM, on a Cloud Key, or installed on your own hardware. However, the UDM-Pro runs the new UniFi OS, which changes a few things.

Things that are the same between the Cloud Key and UDM lines:

-Ubiquiti allows remote management through their own cloud management solution, which they provide for free. Here are more details on Ubiquiti’s site

-You can still setup site-to-site VPNs between UniFi networks

Things that are different with the UDM line:

-For now, UDMs do not support multi-site management

-The UDM-Pro is not capable of being managed by your own externally hosted controller, you must use Ubiquiti’s cloud management

-The UDM-Pro cannot be managed by a Cloud Key

-You can access the UDM’s controller by WAN IP or Hostname

-There are differences in how you setup site-to-site VPNs, and different types are supported

So what is UniFi OS? There aren’t a lot of details out there, but from what I can tell, it’s a new way to brand the controller software + cloud management that Ubiquiti provides. I have not seen any details about whether UniFi OS is going to be released in a future update for the existing Cloud Keys. Judging by the “currently” in this help article, UniFi OS may be coming to their Cloud Keys eventually. It could also mean that a 3rd generation Cloud Key is in development.

For UniFi Network Controllers running UniFi OS (currently only running on UDM-Pro) please access the remote access portal at https://unifi.ui.com/. For all other UniFi Network Controller software running on Cloud Keys, computers or other hosts, please use https://network.unifi.ui.com/.

If you’re interested, I have a lot more details on UniFi OS in my UXG-Pro Preview.

Additional Applications: Protect, Access and Talk

Depending on what you want from your security gateway, these additional features may be handy or not. Ubiquiti seems to be integrating more functionality into their equipment. The UniFi Dream Machine combines a security gateway, UniFi controller, access point, and a 4-port switch into one device. This makes it more like a typical all-in-one home router, but removes a lot of the flexibility that the UniFi line typically has. The UDM-Pro removes the Wi-Fi, but also integrates security cameras, VoIP phones and access control, with the possibility for additional applications to be supported over time.

With the convenience of an integrated solution comes some compromises. First, you are stuck with Ubiquiti’s solutions if you want to use those features. You can’t control other brands of video cameras, phones or access control devices. You are also limited to what’s in the UDM-Pro for both performance and capacity. There is only one hard drive slot, with no option of RAID arrays or adding additional drives for extra recording capacity. I don’t know much about the access control or VoIP software, but I’m sure it will come with limitations as well. The UDM-Pro trades flexibility for easy integration.

Ubiquiti will be coming out with an external NVR rackmount appliance if you are interested in diving deep into UniFi Protect. The Protect software is really good from what I have seen. It’s up to you whether that seems like something you want to rely on. In my opinion, these additional applications are more value-adds than anything else. Even if you don’t use them, you are still getting a good deal on a 10 Gbps-capable security gateway.

Threat Management

Both the USG and UDM lines of security gateways provide a lot of built-in features to protect your network. With the slower USG and USG-Pro, enabling too many of these features drastically reduced WAN throughput. The UDM line features more powerful processors which allow you to have these features enabled, without slowing down your internet connection. If you want more details on these features and how to configure them, you can find that on Ubiquiti’s website.