Unifi Switch Flex | USW-Flex

Product Information

USW-Flex — When using PoE passthrough ( Note: this was upgraded to 802.3at PoE+ in a firmware update)

Please Note: If you are using the Flex 5-Port outside, you may require a USW-Flex Outdoor Weatherproof Enclosure. Ubiquiti UniFi Switch Flex 5-Port Layer 2 Gigabit with PoE Support (USW-FLEX) One limitation of the regular second generation switches is their limited PoE budget. PoE budget refers to the total amount of power available for all PoE devices. Since the non-pro 2nd generation models are fanless, they also have smaller power supplies, and a smaller PoE budget. PoE passthrough is when a PoE device can receive power and also pass PoE to another downstream device. A common example would be a 24 port PoE switch, feeding an In-Wall-HD access point, with a video camera connected to the In-Wall-HD. The key part is that all three devices are drawing their power from the 24-port PoE switch. In situations like that, you need to be especially careful about what PoE support your switch or voltage and amperage of your PoE injector. The USW-Flex can be installed horizontally or vertically making it ideal for desktop, magnetic wall-mount, and pole-mount installations.Do not have a serial console port. All management has to be done over Ethernet in-band. (EdgeSwitches still have console ports!) The UbiquitiUniFi Switch USW-FLEXis a configurable Layer 2 Gigabit switch with auto-sensing 802.3af PoE. It offers five RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports, providing 1 PoE input and 4 PoE output links to your devices. NOTE: For outdoor installations, please install the Port Cover prior to connecting your Ethernet cables. See Outdoor Installation.

Have a small touchscreen on the left side of the device, like the UDM-Pro. This screen shows stats and info about the device, and the network it is on. They also integrate with the UniFi AR feature, which lets you use a phone to virtually see what is connected to each port. The USW-Flex switch from Ubiquiti has the capacity to provide a total PoE power budget of 46W but this will vary depending on how you power the device. These total power output breakdowns are as follows: Ubiquiti calls them “Gen2” but I am going to call them 2nd generation. Whatever you call them, Ubiquiti’s newer UniFi switches split things into a few tiers. There are models which replace the 1st generation switches, and the higher pro and enterprise tiers. A common complaint with the first generation models are their loud fans. It is possible to replace them with quieter Noctua fans, or you can throw it in a network closet and forget about it. If you just need basic L2 switching and PoE, the first generation models are still worth considering, especially if budget and availability are more important than future software support.It’s also worth pointing out that PoE devices don’t always consume their maximum rated power draw. The spec sheet will specify the maximum amount the device can use, but during normal operation they won’t use that much. For example, the U6-Pro requires 802.at PoE+ or 48V passive, and maxes out at 13W. During normal use it usually consumes around 5 to 7 watts of power. I’ll use the PoE, PoE+, PoE++ names as shorthand. It is important to consider the type of PoE you need for your devices, and to make sure that you have enough PoE budget on your switch to power all your devices. Otherwise, you will need to rely on separate power injectors. PoE Passthrough If you are planning on using PoE passthrough on switches like the USW-Flex, or access points like the In-Wall-HD, you should supply them with the higher-wattage PoE+ or PoE++. Devices with PoE passthrough will usually function when fed with standard 15W PoE, but will not reliably power downstream devices unless they receive their maximum rated power input. For example, the USW-Flex can provide 8W with PoE in, 20W with PoE+ in, and 46W with PoE++ in. EdgeMAX products are managed with a per-device web interface, or via SSH. These web interfaces are not as polished or pretty as UniFi, but they expose more advanced features than UniFi does. EdgeSwitches also have the full EdgeOS CLI for configuration. If you’re familiar with JunOS or IOS, you’ll be able to figure out your way around. See Ubiquiti’s CLI Command Reference user guide for more details. EdgeSwitches are older, more traditional managed switches, with command line (CLI) and individual web interfaces for configuration. EdgeSwitches also have optional integration with the UISP software controller. The newer UISP-branded switches are tied closely to the UISP software, have no web interface, but still offer a CLI for manual configuration. I cover EdgeSwitch and UISP hardware briefly below, but I cover them in more detail in my UISP Switch review.