UniFi Dream Wall Full Review and Setup

The UniFi Dream Wall was just released! The Dream Wall is an all-in-one firewall, access point, switch, and video surveillance system in a completely different form factor. In this video, I unbox and install the UniFi Dream Wall and discuss its pros and cons.

#unifi #dreamwall #networking #tech #ubiquiti #router #wifi #wifi6
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[ParkerTyler]

The design actually makes a ton of sense to me. My parents run a bed and breakfast and the low voltage installer brough all of the ethernet cables in through a hole in the ceiling. So having the switch ports coming out of the top would make hooking it in super easy.

[drivingpsyche]

This is perfect for all-in-one solution for townhouse/small house wiring. I've seen many new constructions which a small wall panel in some closet or basement with all wires tucked in, and this unit would perfectly fit in such places. Also MANY owners do not want bulky wall mount racks which are ugly.

[PiecesAcoustic]

I think the split outlet design makes perfect sense: Most medium businesses or small offices have a false ceiling that runs all the wiring to the entire space. Plug in power and the modem from a coax box on the bottom of a wall. Why use a patch box when you can just plug in all the Ethernet cables from the ceiling to their respecting ports. Just use tidy white cables and the cable branch looks clean and awesome!

[xcalybur]

This design makes a lot of sense to my small businesses, especially for companies in strip malls. They have little space for a rack and the cables coming from the top make sense also. You could route the cables straight up and into a drop ceiling or bring them through a hold just above the dream wall and cover it up with a conduit. My problem with this device is that everything is all in one. If something fails what do you do? Get a whole new dream wall? Also, Ubiquiti's router functions are simple at best. They need to beef them up to be competitive.

[RaeWilliams]

Love the design with the ports. It actually fits quite well with all the the cables coming into the mechanical room from all over the house thru the ceiling of the mechanical room, this is spot on.

[blamb]

i actually am on team like the design. I had our electrician run everything down to our utility closet. the top design makes it super easy to then run the wires anyway i want, including straight down from the ceiling. for me, it eliminates the need for a rack, which is awesome. then if i need more ports, i can add the much much smaller switches in the rooms instead of running more home runs down to the closet

[MrMolchester]

In the uk, most new-build housing has a cupboard/closet with the main consumer unit/breaker panel and pre-wired ethernet faceplates. Many homes are being built with solar PV now so the inverter and breaker for it is often there too. This product makes sense to me for install into somewhere like that. Home users don't want or need a server rack, but may want multi-AP Wi-Fi with wired backhaul and PoE cameras etc.

[aednichols]

I think the community will invent some nice install methods over time. Especially if wire routing starts being done with UDW in mind.

[DillonB]

I think this is a great option for people with limited space and can be a lot cleaner looking if someone can't hide a rack away. I do agree WAN ports on the bottom and switches on the top is a little odd choice though. I would be interested in seeing all the ports on one side but designing the mount so that the unit can mounted either up or down. The screen could easily be set up to rotate for whatever direction and the cover could be designed to clip in either way if you don't want your Ubiquiti logo upside down.

[alfish]

I totally agree. If you've already invested in a nice rack, this is not the device you want. However, if you were doing new construction, you could probably make this look pretty good on a basement wall. I think the higher price is a potential barrier to adoption here as well.

[JamfSlayer]

The 8-bit guy absolutely needs this device for his studio network wall 😂

[cosmoanderson]

As I moved into my new house I noticed the “smart panel” they installed matches up pretty perfectly to the dream wall cabling wise. Depending on the dimensions if this could mount inside of the panel this would be the best home option. I opted for the traditional rack/dream machine SE though

Edit: I just measured the panel and it would fit inside perfectly. I’m confident this is what ubiquiti was trying to accomplish.

[chublez]

While it's also not for me personally. I think you may be to deep into the profession to see who it is for. Wan in from bottom makes perfect sense as you're likely going to have a cable modem plugged in down there somewhere. Lan out the top...if you're going to wire up your single family dwelling the attic is going to be the easiest route and it's up. So you end up with a device(probably on the back wall of a closet) with power and WAN in the bottom and Lan out the top to the attic without taking up the entire closet. I know and you know this is sub optimal for cooling stuffing gear in a closet but most people don't care they're going to do it and they have other stuff they want in that closet not just a rack. This is perfect for that Prosumer that wants a good network solution but not a rack imho.

[spartan]

I think this is perfect for small business. Most networking closets i have seen have all the network cables coming from the ceiling. So having those cables go right into the Dream Wall would be perfect.

[mikelovesbacon]

Switch at the top and WAN/power at the bottom makes perfect sense. In most homes, power outlets and external telecoms ports are usually on a low level not far above the skirting boards. If structured data cabling is installed it's usually run through ceilings, not under the floor.

[MikeWagoner]

As an MSP for small businesses I see this useful. Many times their cables aren't done all pretty and put into a patch bay. Just terminated wires coming down from the ceiling. Even if they were, I'd just mount this right under a wall mount 1 U and use 1 ft cords. And below this would be the cable modem or whatever from the ISP. My changes would be a battery in place of the 2nd power supply and a harddrive slot for the camera's.

[anthonyrogers]

I like it for certain use cases, a house with everything coming to a smart panel, or some small businesses that dont already have a rack. I work for an ISP and we have a lot of small businesses with no rack, minimal space in their "telco" rooms and often a bunch of cables just poking through a hole in the ceiling.

I will definitely be trying out given the correct circumstances.

What I really dislike, is the lack of DC power. I use DC power where ever possible, which mostly means I am using Edge gear instead of Unifi in those cases. I would love to see all of their products become more standardized and have AC / DC options.

[rogejedib]

I think it would be great for a restaurant or retail. Every small business I have seen does not use patch panels, so that would not be an issue. The slim profile would allow the unit to be placed in a secure hallway. Built-in support for Unifi access may make that an easy upsell. I would love to see an integrated battery so an external UPS is not needed or better storage for cameras. Overall, I don't think this will have as wide of an appeal as the rackmount products, but I believe it has definite applications.

[PWingert]

In my house the network closet has a hole with a collar sleeve where all my network cables come out of. Having the ports on the top makes perfect sense in that scenario which is the intended design. Power outlets are typically at floor level and the WAN equipment supplied by the ISP are typically wall mounted lower as well at tabletop height. So, this set-up makes sense forthis scenario.

[MrRovingshoe]

A lot of new housing in Florida put all the network and Cable TV into a wall mounted enclosure. I think this will be ideal to mount within this enclosure - it least that is my plan.