Updates:
1/23/2022 – Dream Machine Special Edition is now in public release.
UniFi dream machine pro has been a flagship router/controller of UniFi network system. The upgraded version, special edition has just been out from early access to public release recently.
If you are considering rack mountable Dream Machine purchase, which one is better choice for you? Is it worth upgrade if you already have Dream Machine Pro?
Let’s take a close look.
UniFi dream machine series are not just router but controllers for UniFi network I.e. the brain of the UniFi ecosystem.
The special edition costs $120 more than Dream Machine Pro. CPU and memory are the same. Both have the same maximum advertised throughput and capable of acting as all in one UniFi controller. Neither has built in Wireless access point.
So where is the $120 difference coming from?
There are 3 areas of upgrades where this price difference went in.
- LAN ports are now PoE (802.3af) compatible
- Ethernet WAN port is now 2.5Gbps compatible
- Built-in 128GB SSD drive
Given modularity/scalability of UniFi products, one practically make UDM Pro to match Special edition with purchase of additional components with one ve ry rare circumstance.
However, when you were to buy each upgraded spec equivalent components, it would cost more than $120.
PoE capable
If you are looking for PoE capable switch, Pro needs additional switch component.
8 port UniFi PoE switch alone costs $109. However, this is not a direct comparison because amongst 8 ports on SE version, only 2 are capable of PoE+ power and rest are regular PoE (af).
What this means is that UniFi protect cameras and smaller access points like U6 Lite can be supplied by regular PoE but higher throughput access points like U6 LR or U6 Pro need PoE+. So SE can only drive only couple of such APs. Perhaps, you may want to have 10 Gbps switches like Flex XG. It will also require PoE+ supply. If you were to purchase, Switch Lite 8 PoE, it has 4 ports with PoE+ supply.
Therefore, if you have multiple other UniFi Network products that require PoE+, you may still need to purchase dedicated switch.
2.5 GbE WAN port
Both Pro and SE comes with dual WAN ports, but the difference is SE has 2.5GbE while Pro has 1 GbE. If you have a modem and internet service that is beyond 1Gbps, you could certainly see the benefit from this additional port.
However, UDM Pro can actually provide the same performance when 10GBase-T transceiver is used on its SFP+ port.
In fact, this is my exact setup. On the 10Gbps capable SFP+ WAN port, I am currently using SFP+ 10GBase-T Transceiver connecting to SURFboard S33 modem 2.5 Gbps port.
On this setup with ISP serving 1.4 Gbps down/35 Mbps, I am getting full 1.4Gbps/40 Mbps internet speed test results on wired clients. The extra SFP+ transceiver cost about $45.
Built in SSD
Internal storage on UDM Pro is utilized for Network Video Recorder (NVR) functionality i.e. UniFi Protect video storage. Regular UDM Pro can take SSD in its single HDD slot. So I have mine with 1TB NAS grade SSD and working seamlessly.
In SE, there is a built in second slot with 128GB SSD. Although I am not sure what specific brand of SSD they are using here, certain brands of 120GB SSD can be purchased for $21 at the time of this recording.
So overall, for the $120 more, special edition gives about $170 worth of additional components in a convenient single unit package when compared to the Pro version. So it is a good value.
Should I buy UDM Pro or Special edition?
The main benefit here really comes in a setup where there is beyond gigabit internet support with 2.5Gbps WAN. If you do not have/anticipate beyond gigabit internet speed anytime soon, these points may not be relevant.
PoE ports are great for UniFi Protect camera and some of Access points; however, certain access points and switches require higher than regular PoE power supply e.g. U6-LR, U6-Pro, UAP-AC-HD etc. So if you plan to use these access points and still needing those level of PoE supply, you will need separate switch unit. At which point, PoE Ports on UDM Pro SE may no longer be relevant.
If you do not see yourself needing better switch capability than built in 8 PoE anytime soon and foresee using beyond gigabit WAN soon, SE is better value.
If you see yourself need better switch than what comes with UDM Pro SE right away, or looking for the absolutel best performance, you are looking for dedicated switch unit. The best would be using 10G SFP+ LAN. At which point, built in PoE on SE likely to become irrelevant. So in such case, you could perhaps purchase Pro and spend the $120 toward the dedicated switch.
If you want to save money, and just consider slow expansion later, Pro may still be better option. With saved $120, you could perhaps buy U6 Lite access point, and just power it with regular power cable.
Should you upgrade UDM Pro to Special Edition?
I personally do not see a reason for upgrade because I won’t see any performance gain with it myself.
In my set up, I have 1TB NAS grade SSD installed on Pro. I use USW-24-Pro Gen 2 switch with 24 PoE ports including some PoE+ as well as PoE++. I use SFP+ transceiver and I have no problem getting full 1.4 Gbps download from internet service provider.
Power of Dual beyond gigabit WAN
The one situation that my Pro set up cannot do that SE can is dual WAN with both having beyond a full gigabit speed. I don’t even have dual WAN setup but even if I did, I doubt myself paying premium price for both lines as a home network user in any foreseeable future.
Summary
In summary, UDM SE is superior to UDM Pro for hardware specification wise.
It is a good option for many users especially for those who plan to start small UniFI network. The question is how you spend the extra $120. If you use all of SE upgrade, it is a great value over Pro. However, there are circumstances, $120 may be better spent for new UDM purchaser.
I personally don’t see any convincing reason for existing UDM Pro users to upgrade to UDM SE. It is probably better to forget the hustle of selling on Ebay and just purchase add-on components. After all, one of the benefit of UniFi system is its modularity and scalability.