ISP equipment
Bridge mode vs IP passthrough
What bridge mode and IP passthrough do, which providers support each, and what you give up.
Topic
Prosumer and small-office networking
Gateways, PoE switches and wired access points: more control and capacity, in exchange for more setup.
Prosumer systems split the jobs a consumer router does into separate boxes: a gateway that routes and firewalls, a PoE switch that powers devices over Ethernet, and ceiling or wall access points managed together from one controller. Each part can be upgraded on its own, and each access point gets its own wired link instead of sharing a wireless one.
The trade-offs are setup time, cabling, and some networking knowledge. Security features cost processing power too: makers that publish throughput with intrusion detection and prevention (IDS/IPS) on usually list a lower figure than with it off.
The decisions that matter
- 1 Size the gateway for your plan with security on If you'll use IDS/IPS, compare its published throughput with your internet plan, not the port speed. The table below lists every current gateway and router in our catalog whose maker publishes it.
- 2 Budget PoE power, not just ports Add up what the switch allocates for each access point and camera (15.4 W, 30 W or 60 W by PoE class) against its PoE budget, and check whether that budget needs a separately sold power supply. The planner does this for you.
- 3 Plan the controller UniFi consoles run their own controller; other UniFi gateways need one elsewhere, as software or hardware. Omada gateways and access points can run standalone, but central management needs an Omada controller (software, cloud or hardware; some Omada gateways include one).
From the catalog
Published IDS/IPS throughput
Manufacturer figures under the manufacturer's test conditions (see each product page); RouterHaus hasn't measured them. A figure above the internet port's speed means the maker measured traffic across several ports: your connection to the provider is still limited by the internet port.
| Model | With IDS/IPS on | Routing | Internet port | Manufacturer price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Firewalla Gold Pro | 10 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $999 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber (UCG-Fiber) | 5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $307 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Gateway Fiber (UXG-Fiber) | 5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $307 |
| Firewalla Gold Plus | 5 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $649 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max) | 5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $660 |
| Firewalla Gold Plus SFP | 5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $829 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro) | 3.5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $417 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE) | 3.5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $549 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Wall (UDW) | 3.5 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $1,100 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Express 7 (UX7) | 2.3 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $219 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max) | 2.3 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $219 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Gateway Max (UXG-Max) | 2.3 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $219 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Router 7 (UDR7) | 2.3 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $307 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Router 5G Max (UDR-5G-Max) | 2.3 Gbps | Not published | 10 Gbps | $549 |
| Firewalla Orange | 2 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $429 |
| Firewalla Gold SE | 2 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $529 |
| TP-Link Omada ER707-M2 | 1.6 Gbps | 2.4 Gbps | 2.5 Gbps | $119.99 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Gateway Lite (UXG-Lite) | 1 Gbps | Not published | 1 Gbps | $89 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra (UCG-Ultra) | 1 Gbps | Not published | 2.5 Gbps | $142 |
| Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Router (UDR) | 1 Gbps | Not published | 1 Gbps | $199 |
| Firewalla Purple SE | 500 Mbps | Not published | 1 Gbps | $289 |
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Buying advice
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Being researched
Planned for this topic. Each article is published only after it has been fact-checked and approved.
- Which UniFi Gateway for a Home? Every Cloud Gateway and Dream Machine Compared
- Prosumer Home Networking: Going Beyond Consumer Mesh
- VLANs Explained for Home Networks: Tags, Trunks and Switches
- Remote Access to Your Home Network: WireGuard, Tailscale and Router VPN Servers
- Setting Up VLANs and Firewall Zones on UniFi
- Managed vs Unmanaged Switches: Do You Need One?