The UXG-Pro was finally added to general access in March 2022, after spending nearly 2 years in the Early Access store. The UXG-Pro is not a UniFi OS Console, meaning it can be used with self or cloud-hosted UniFi Network controllers, like the USG line could. The UXG-Pro doesn’t run any UniFi applications, making it a standalone router just like a USG or USG-Pro. I think long term, it will be better to move away from that system. It's poorly documented and your changes can be removed with firmware updates. Ubiquiti has promised full feature parity (and more!), but we will see. It will take a lot of development work just to get parity with the officially supported USG features. Due to its unusually long time in beta, many people assumed the company had abandoned the project, instead focusing on its Dream Machine line of devices, with the UDM Pro, UDM, UDM-SE and the upcoming UDR. Over the years, Ubiquiti have changed their naming conventions. Currently, the UXG-Lite and UXG-Pro are “ UniFi Gateways” while the UDR, UDM-Pro, UDM-SE, and UDW are “ UniFi Cloud Gateways”. Previously, the UXG-Pro was “Routing Offload”, and the Cloud Gateways were “UniFi OS Consoles” or “Gateway Consoles”.

Networking interface LAN:(1) 1 GbE RJ45 port(1) 10G SFP+ portWAN:(1) 1 GbE RJ45 port(1) 10G SFP+ port UniFi gateway routers, like the Dream Machine or next-gen Gateway Lite, appear simple until you dig below the surface. There are two categories and a few models in each. Ubiquiti also have UISP Routers and EdgeRouters, which may be a better option for more advanced networks. UniFi is separate from UISP, and this guide focuses on UniFi.The UDM is an all-in-one UniFi OS Console, or UniFi Cloud Gateway. It acts as a firewall/router, switch, and wireless access point. It also runs the UniFi Network application. Standalone is my term, but these gateways require the UniFi Network application to be run on another piece of hardware such as a Cloud Key, local PC/server, or cloud service. The USG models are nearing the end of their useful life, while the UXG models are current. Cloud Gateways — Dream MAchines

The 4th chart shows the Dream Machines. These have been called UniFi OS Consoles, Gateway Consoles, and now Cloud Gateways. They act as routers or firewalls, and also run the UniFi software applications like Network and Protect. These can’t be used with Cloud Keys, cloud services, or a self-hosted UniFi Network application. All of the Dream Machines and UniFi OS Consoles are based on modern ARM processors and Ubiquiti's new UniFi OS software platform. You can’t create custom JSON config files for them, but a limited set of manual configuration changes and Linux commands can be run via SSH, if you know what you’re doing. None of these can be adopted to an external UniFi Network controller besides the UXG-Pro. Gigabit routing is no issue, but firewall and encryption speeds are limited, with slightly higher limits than the USG. Here’s a good example of how to configure an USG to route traffic over an OpenVPN tunnel. If this type of configuration is intimidating to you, take a hard look at what is officially supported. You will be limited to the settings in the web interface unless you are willing to create custom, breakable configurations on old hardware.UniFi OS Console - Can run all UniFi applications (Network, Protect, Talk, Connect, Access, and UID) The UDM and UXG run a different operating system than the USG. The CPU is an easy way to tell. MIPS based devices like EdgeRouters and USG run EdgeOS. ARM based devices like the UDM and UXG run UniFi OS. An ARM port of EdgeOS is unlikely. UniFi OS is a custom Linux distribution made with Buildroot Linux that mostly follows Debian standards. In their announcement, Ubiquiti said this about UniFi OS: Ubiquiti launched the USG line of UniFi firewalls quite a while ago, such that they have been kind of replaced with the new UDM line, but there are still some use cases for a single purpose device. With a UDM or UDM Pro, it is not possible to adopt them to a cloud hosted UniFi server or a Cloud Key. If the device needs to be replaced for any reason it can then be hot swapped out with minimal downtime or in some cases cost to the user too. In the case of the UDM, the model with the WiFi AP integrated, the cost of upgrading it to WiFi 6 for example, is more than if you had a separate UniFi AP.

Worst of all is Ubiquiti’s record on software development and abandoning promising hardware, leaving it with rough edges. Ubiquiti promised to add the multiple WAN IPs feature "soon" to the USG-Pro, but that was years ago. The UniFi Dream Machine gives you everything you need for an UniFi network in one device. It looks like a normal all-in-one home router. In UniFi terms, it is a UniFi OS Console, router, switch, and wireless access point. Judging by Ubiquiti’s actions and the hardware and software they’ve released, creating a new standalone gateway for USG customers wasn’t a priority. Power redundancy when connected to the UniFi SmartPower RPS (sold separately, see accessories tab). All UniFi Gateways, Cloud Gateways, and UniFi OS Consoles, as of November 2023. See my UniFi Router Comparison for more details. For clarity I've separated them into categories based on their role.This underlying OS difference causes some other differences. The UDM and UXG lines do not support editing the config.gateway.json file. By editing the configuration file manually, you were able to access features that Ubiquiti doesn’t put in the controller GUI. It also let you access hidden settings, and tweak features to work how you want. Normally, behind the scenes, the UniFi controller edits your configuration files for you. That only works with the features that Ubiquiti officially supports. If you’ve ever had to deploy a UniFi network, you know there are a many features not in the GUI. Unfortunately there is nothing like this going forward, and you are limited to what Ubiquiti shows in the controller. The XG 16 has twelve 10 Gbps SFP+ slots and four 10 Gbps RJ45 Ethernet. The 2nd generation Aggregation, XG, or Enterprise models may be better options.

The slower CPU makes it a bit of a step down in raw computational power, but the addition of PoE out, storage, and support for one other UniFi application makes it a bit more powerful than the UDM. The UDR will work well for a small network with a few switches, APs, or cameras. It would not be a good solution for a large network with a lot of clients. For most, the slower CPU will just lead to slower performance loading videos from Protect, or loading the UniFi Network application interface. For others, it makes the UDR not able to handle their needs. We are very excited to announceUniFi OS- a shared platform for all UniFi Controllers. Key features: The UDM and UniFi OS Consoles in general were a big change in the UniFi line. Before, it was easy to run the UniFi Network application anywhere, and add any devices you wanted. With the UDM, you’re forced to use the built-in Network application, meaning you can’t add a UDM to a Cloud Key or self-hosted UniFi Network controller. Note: The UXG-Pro will be adoptable to an external controller and will not host any controllers on it. Essentially, for a few of the newest and fanciest features, self-hosted controllers aren’t included. These limitations make some sense, but calling it out on the spec sheet makes it feel like a purposeful design choice and business decision. Maybe there is a technical challenge I’m not seeing, but it feels like a subtle way to encourage hardware sales. At best, it is disappointing. At worst, it’s a sign that self-hosted controllers are becoming second class citizens. A Question of Priorities

Enterprise models have higher PoE budgets, faster interfaces such as 2.5 Gbps RJ45 Ethernet, and the features available in the Pro models One potential problem with the UXG-Pro is the current state of the UDM-Pro and UniFi OS. Some features on the UDM-Pro are not working, incomplete, buggy, or just missing. Development for the Dream Machines has been steady, but after 9 months, the UXG is still on on beta firmware version 0.5.0. The main way to differentiate UniFi switches is that the 1st generation model names begin with "US-" and the 2nd generation model names begin with "USW-". See UniFi Switches Comparison and Buyers Guide to compare all available models. New Desktop/Small Switches