Foreword

My first impressions are incredibly bright because it really is a powerful device with a modern interface, controls, an intuitive configuration tool!

Unboxing

Box in a minimalist design in beige cardboard. The size of the box has significantly increased to 175 x 160 x 80 mm. On the back of the box, on the lower left, there is a label pasted with information about the country of manufacture, the address and a hologram that the product is certified and authentic. As in the previous version, the box is opened by pulling on a special opening tab. After opening the box, as in the previous version, there is a bright blue qr-code in the center, which leads to the instructions for the first connection. That is, at the first stage

After turning this side of the box in the center, the router itself is flaunted in a matte factory film. Under the router, after removing the white tab, in the plastic section there is a 5V 3A charger, a short 15 cm patch cord, legs in the form of a sticker, and a very small paper instruction is inserted into the side pocket. I took a photo of each element separately and larger. Everything was placed compactly and competently, I liked it.

In order to understand the difference in size and number of ports, the location of elements, I decided to physically compare the two models UXG-Lite and UCG Ultra, see how incredible the difference is.

Settings and Speed test

After waiting for the router to fully load, which is about 2-3 minutes, I saw an animated recommendation to continue setting up on the display. The display displays information clearly and interactively, it’s just great!

When accessing the Internet, the setting takes place through the UniFi application via Bluetooth. I made the settings through a Samsung Android smartphone. After opening the application, literally in a few seconds a message appears that a new Cloud Gateway Ultra device has been found with an offer to continue the configuration. The first setup can take from 4 to 20 minutes, so it is better to have the smartphone charged.

Also, the speed is displayed on the display of the router itself

Since this security gateway already has a built-in UniFi controller, there is no need for separate local services or a hardware Cloud Key device.

If you have any questions, ask in the comments, I will be happy to share my experience in using this router!

Each device has both its advantages and disadvantages:

• If you have one ISP and there is limited space to install the gateway, and this gateway will always be behind a closed door of the distribution box, then Gateway Lite is the choice.
• If you need uninterrupted Internet, namely the ability to control two WAN ports, the device will be in an open place, then Cloud Gateway can be the choice.

Let’s now look at the basic comparison table of the main characteristics of these two Unifi security gateways

Features	UXG Lite	UCG-Ultra
Processor	Dual-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 at 1 GHz	Quad-core ARM® Cortex®-A53 at 1.5 GHz
Memory	1 GB DDR3L	3 GB DDR4
On-board storage	–	16 GB eMMC
Management	Ethernet Bluetooth 5.1	Ethernet Bluetooth
Networking	LAN: (1) GbE RJ45 port WAN: (1) GbE RJ45 port	LAN: (4) GbE RJ45 ports WAN: (1) 1/2.5 GbE RJ45 port
IDS/IPS throughput	–	1 Gbps
Power consumption	3.83W	6.2W
Display	LED	LCM 0.96″ status display
Dimensions	98 x 98 x 30 mm (3.9 x 3.9 x 1.2″)	141.8 x 127.6 x 30 mm (5.6 x 5 x 1.2″)
Weight	320 g (11.3 oz)	520 g (1.1 lb)
Enclosure material	Polycarbonate	Polycarbonate
Power	USB type C (5V/3A)	USB type C (5V DC/3A)
Performance	WiFi QoS with UniFi APs Application, domain, and country-based QoS Application and device type identification Additional internet failover with LTE Backup Internet quality and outage reporting	WiFi QoS with UniFi APs Application, domain, and country-based QoS Application and device type identification Additional internet failover with LTE Backup Internet quality and outage reporting Redundant WAN with failover and load balancing
Next-generation security	Application-aware firewall rules Signature-based IPS/IDS threat detection Content, country, domain, and ad filtering VLAN/subnet-based traffic segmentation Full stateful firewall	Application-aware firewall rules Signature-based IPS/IDS threat detection Content, country, domain, and ad filtering VLAN/subnet-based traffic segmentation Full stateful firewall
Advanced networking	License-free SD-WAN* WireGuard, L2TP and OpenVPN server OpenVPN client OpenVPN and IPsec site-to-site VPN One-click Teleport* and Identity Enterprise VPN** Policy-based WAN and VPN routing DHCP relay Customizable DHCP server IPv6 ISP support	License-free SD-WAN WireGuard, L2TP and OpenVPN server OpenVPN client OpenVPN and IPsec site-to-site VPN One-click Teleport and Identity VPN Policy-based WAN and VPN routing DHCP relay Customizable DHCP server IGMP proxy IPv6 ISP support
Application Requirements	UniFi Network Version 8.0.7 and later	Mobile app UniFi iOS: Version 10.12.0 and later UniFi Android: Version 10.11.2 and later

In this case, the main advantage of UCG-Ultra over UXG Lite is the presence of a large number of ports, namely the possibility of configuring one LAN port in the WAN, which allows you to connect a second provider. This is very useful when used in a small office. The second advantage is the built-in management controller, which makes it possible to forget about an external server or CloudKey.

If you find additional differences, then join the discussion in the comments.

I was interested in the UCG Ultra router because of its advantages over the UXG Lite, namely:

• Ability to use 2 WAN ports with balancing
• Management with UniFi Site Manager, eliminating the need to purchase a CloudKey
• Additional LAN ports
• Compact size

I managed to order it on the first day of release!

I hope to receive it in two weeks and will be happy to review it and compare it to the UXG Lite!