Ubiquiti - Dream Machine (UDM)

I'm curious about this too. I have the old UDM-Base and when i'm maxing out just a 220Mbps internet connection for any period of time then the fan noise is noticeable. I'm considering replacing it soon (should hopefully be getting gigabit internet in the next few months and I also want to move to 2.5Gbps for my LAN) and the UX7 is catching my eye over the UDR7 with it being passively cooled (and what little i've seen so far suggests it doesn't get red-hot under load) and I have little interest in apps besides Network.

Unifi UDM. Just note that between the WAN and 8 ports of 1Gbps it only has 3.5Gbps of switching bandwidth. Through the Copper WAN & SFP ports are switch in hardware at the full 10Gbps (noting that the copper WAN is still a 1Gbps port or a 2.5Gbps port on the newer UDM models).

I bought the original UDM & now have the UDM 7. Love it. I want a UDM but can’t justify the jump when this thing kicks ass as is.

I am in the minority here: but I'm super disappointed in mine. Coming from Eero Max 7. Best speeds I can get from it are 850/800. Eero maxes out my gigabit connection. And the range comparatively is also bad. Upstairs on my eero with my laptop on wifi 700 I can still damn near max out my gigabit. The dream machine itself barely gives me 300. So I thought: ok, 4x4 on 6ghz isn't fair vs 2x2. So I direct wired an Wall AP7 upstairs in the same room I test from... and at best I can get 650/600 on 6ghx/Wifi 7. I think I'm giving up and returning the Unifi equipment. I ABSOLUTELY HATE the eero and that I'm limited to an app for it and no real control. But I can't give up 30% performance even with dedicated AP's upstairs and downstairs. :(

Buy a decent router and get the pppoe settings from Sky. Connect that router directly to the Openreach modem. I use a Unifi Dream Machine as I have IP cameras.

I’d just get a dream machine for the base station. E7 is pretty overkill it’s for enterprise. Also you probably don’t have any devices that support Wifi7 but I understand if you want to future proof.

You can use UniFi either with their router (Cloud Gateways or Dream Machines) or with their controller (Cloud Key) and let your ISP Router manage the routing part. The Cloud Key can manage the network (switches, APs), the surveillance (acts as a camera recorder) and the door access control (can open doors remotely, through rfid tags, cell phone, QR code, local face recognition, license plate, etc. ). All the Cloud Gateways give you full control of the network and can take over your ISP routing functions by putting the ISP router in bridge mode. The most advanced Cloud Gateways, like the UCG-Max and the UCG-Fiber, and the Dream Machines can also do what the Cloud Key does plus acting as a router. Once you try an wireless distribution system like UniFi’s, you’ll never want to revert to single center point systems.

Dream machine should be able to cover everything. Maybe an express can as well and they can be had used for $80

The question comes down to how much you want to mess with your router? Personally I don't want to mess with it at all, so I went with the Dream Machine along with UniFi access points and switches. It took me 20 hours or so to learn how to set it up correctly and now it has been running for 7 years or so. I have a pair of Raspberry Pis running Ad Guard and act as my network's DNS. Another Pi running Home Assistant with a lot of radios and such plugged into it. Other than keeping them up to date with the latest firmware and software I don't really think about my network at all anymore. Until I want to that is.

Ubiquiti. It is well worth the investment. You need a Dream Machine and then a handful of access points depending on house size.