UniFi Mini 2.5G Switch | Why $49 Ubiquiti USW Flex Mini 2.5 GbE?

Do you need the new UniFi Flex Mini 2.5 gigabit switch?

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🛒 SHOP UniFi ------------------------------------

🎬 CHAPTERS ---------------------------------
0:00 Intro
0:11 Mini vs. Full-Size
1:05 Flex Mini 2.5G vs Flex Mini
4:12 Do you need 2.5G networking?
9:41 Should you buy it?

📲 CONNECT ----------------------------------------

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[ITSolutionsNetwork]

I didn't play with that switch yet, and I didn't expect it to have custom vlans, that's really nice!

[tac]

If you need VLAN tagging (as I do), then the $29 flex mini won't cut it. But the $49 one does

[musicman]

Great video, thank you. I decided to skip 2.5 and go straight to 10Gbe. I'd like to go with the Ubiquiti UniFi Flex XG 10Gbe switch for my home use, but with only 4 ports and what appears to be slower and less features than TP-Link JetStream TL-SX3206HPP 10G Managed Switch, I may have to go with TP Link. I wish Ubiquiti made a 10Gbe switch for home with more than 4 ports.

[scottscopters]

I went with the Flex Mini 2.5G. only $20 more and I already have 2 devices that could use it, and surely more in the future

[ChrisDoutre]

Thanks to your video, I learned several useful things. First, while I really wanted an unmanaged switch, I do run a VOIP intercom on my net, and it does sound choppy sometimes. Based on your video, I am now looking forward to tagging my voice ports and seeing what happens. If the audio quality improves, that would be an unexpected bonus. Second, both my wife and I have 2.5 NICs in our desktop machines, and we use each other's SSD drives as a poor man's NAS, but over a 1 Gbe LAN. So, my birthday is coming up and I gave my wife a hint that I need three of these switches; one for the utility room where the Internet router and main distribution switch live, and one for each of our two desktops. These three switches would replace part of my existing 1 Gbe LAN infrastructure. The idea is, as you showed in your video, to create a 2.5 Gbe LAN, even though our WAN is only 500 Mbps. I am so happy that I found your channel.

[TomasVillegas]

Great breakdown man, keep up the awesome work 👍

[pbrigham]

For 20 bucks more, is a no brainer, even if you don't take full advantage now is only a matter of time you will, all major NAS are now 2.5 ( except the obsolete machines from sinology ), all new motherboards and mini pcs are almost all 2.5, yeah is time we leave the 30 years old 1GB technology behind.

[MrKmarken]

Thanks for the great review! What is the software that you use when showing the different scenarios during this video. IE: showing the network devices and labeling the speed of the link, etc?

[Lukeb]

Another point you didn't cover is that if you have the cloud gateway max, you could put a 2.5g server and pc directly on that and your other devices like AP's on a regular flex mini eliminating the need for the 2.5g. The only reason I plan to get it is for future proofing as I plan to add more devices to my network that can capitalize on it and the max doesn't have enough ports

[fatjoze]

Great video. I have tplink omada setup but like the flex mini for it's POE in so I can power field devices from main POE switch in comms cupboard. Problem is tplink don't have any 4port POE IN switch 😮 they only have a 5port POE out, with DC power in. Really unusual. Would like to switch all unifi but total hardware cost is about 20% more than tplink. Might endup with just a unifi flex mini switch and rest stay omada lol

[EsotericArctos]

The 2.5GB Switch does have a couple of extra features over the original Flex Mini. If you want 2.5GB, then the Mini 2.5G is a good option and at a good price. It depends on what your use case is. It's the incremental progression of the original Flex Mini.

[iankester-haney]

I loved Unifi when I first setup my home network. A nice option for the prosumer market. But frankly, their switch lineup needs a conplete overhaul. The pricing and features just haven't keot up and the offerings are a bit eclectic given the dearth of higher speed ports. Fancy lights on a 1G switch while the market is moving towards 2.5/5/10G is a little late. And the gateway lineup is similarly stunted by mixxingimited 2.5G ports and 1G ports.

[prongATO]

as someone who just got a UCG Max and a Pro Max 16, I can tell you even if you have 1g internet, you'll benefit with 2.5g ports. Grated I also have a 10GbE aggregator but my internet speeds went from 900ish to 1250ish with the 2.5GbE ports on the gateway and switch.

[chrishammers]

I am still doing the 1G just because I am using it for 3 100mb connections to energy monitor sensors. But for my kids rooms why not.

[r.d.]

Thank you for all your examples. I wonder why didn’t you recommend to skip the switch at all and connect all devices directly into the gateway? Especially when it is the Gateway Max. There are enough free Ethernet ports in all your examples in the gateway.

[gligoran]

Great video.I love your diagrams, what's the tool you're using? Regarding connecting gateways and switches and how that affects speeds. Let's say I get UCG Max and connect 4 2.5g devices to it, device 1 and 2 can talk to each other at 2.5g and device 3 and 4 at the same speed at the same time, right? That's a total of 5gbps. Let's now move devices 2 and 4 to a Flex Mini 2.5G that's connected to the UCG Max via a single port. Now 1 and 2, and 3 and 4 can talk to each other at a total 2.5gbps, right? What happens if we move all 4 devices to the Flex Mini 2.5G? Does the total go back up to 5Gbps or does it stay at 2.5Gbps, because everything needs to go through a router?

[hamzasheikh]

Bogdan the questions is for the Unifi 2.5G flex mini with the USB C adpater what is the PoE budget for output and what can it power up using that??

[Bambo-DN]

Nice review differant angle from other reviewers

[yakidd]

I wish i had bought a second 2.5 instead of the standard flex mini. I have the mini as a sub device of the 2.5, and now i cant vlan tag properly 😭 luckily i can tag the port on the parent device (everything in the flex mini belongs in the same category anyway)

[MegaJohansi]

Hi, I watched your Vid before istalling my UNIFI Network. And the biggest difference betwen 1G and 2.5G Flex mini is, you can´t deploy multiple networks on the 1G