For many years, I’ve used UniFi switches in my Home Lab – everything from their Flex models to rack-mount devices. While the UniFi Pro XG 24 PoE was admittedly overkill for my setup, it gave me the opportunity to test a device that’s better suited for large-scale or professional deployments. Positioned just below UniFi’s Enterprise lineup, this switch is built for environments where 10GbE is needed and pairs great with their Pro XG access points.
First Impressions & Configuration
As with all UniFi hardware, it’s as premium as it comes, and since this is a fairly heavy Switch, it comes with rack rails that were some of the easiest I’ve installed (which is really something to say, as rails can be annoying to install).
I installed the Switch in my rack, adopted it into my UniFi network, and plugged in a bunch of my devices. This included a Flex 2.5G PoE (which we’ll talk about soon) and a U7 Pro XGS, both with 10 Gb uplink ports.
Features & Functionality
The Switch Pro XG 24 PoE has Etherlighting on all twenty-four ports, which ends up being one of those features that you didn’t know you needed. It makes finding ports easy and allows you to display which VLAN each port is using, or the network speed that the port is functioning at. Both are helpful, but I prefer knowing which VLAN each port is using, and it’s come in handy more than once.
I connected it to my USW Pro Aggregation Switch using a Ubiquiti SFP28 Uplink Cable. This highlights its next feature, which is two 25 Gb uplink ports. With sixteen 10 GbE (10/5/2.5/1) ports and eight 2.5 GbE ports, this is the type of Switch you will grow into. 2.5GbE is mainstream already, and the next stop will be 10 GbE (which has been mainstream in the Enterprise/Home Lab space for years) as more and more devices are coming with 10 GbE ports.
Power-over-Ethernet (PoE+++)
From a power perspective, it’s pretty crazy to be honest. There are twenty-four PoE+++ ports, which means that each port can power devices up to 90 watts, and the device supports 720W of power in total.
That’s where the Flex 2.5G 8 PoE comes in, because I am powering that with a PoE+++ port. By using PoE+++, the Flex 2.5G 8 PoE has 76W of total power that it can use for its PoE++ ports, which is absolutely crazy. One port that can power multiple other devices, totaling 76W.
UniFi Pro XG 24 PoE Switch Review
I waited on this review as I wanted to make it more of a “long-term” review rather than an “initial thoughts” review. I wanted to see how it did powering the USW Flex 2.5G 8 PoE, the type of throughput I received, if I had any problems, etc. Overall, it’s been flawless.
I monitor all of my hardware and services with Uptime Kuma, and immediately added the USW Pro XG 24 PoE and USW Flex 2.5G to it to ensure that if either went down, I’d know about it immediately. I wasn’t super worried about the Pro XG, but more on the Flex 2.5G side because powering a device with PoE+++ (which is then powering two access points), can lead to problems if consistent power isn’t provided, but seriously, it was flawless, and I can’t recommend it enough.
From a throughput perspective, the performance has been great as I’ve added more devices to it since I started writing this review. Just about everything I own is currently running through this Switch, with great performance and reliability.
Who is the UniFi Pro XG 24 PoE for?
While I understand that the price tag can be high for some, this is one of the few Switches that you can buy that will last you for close to a decade (maybe even longer) from a technological perspective.
The sixteen 10GbE ports, paired with the PoE+++ power delivery, provide a device that’s premium and built to last from a feature perspective. It’s not crazy to say that I’ll be using this Switch ten years from now, which is something I can’t say with most of my other hardware.
I tend to think of things from a “buy nice or buy twice” perspective, and if you’re someone who can justify actually using what this device is capable of, you can’t go wrong, and you won’t be disappointed. Overall, I’ve been super happy with it!
