UniFi Dream Router 7 vs Asus RT-BE88U

[NS156]

Keep the "want" and "need" in balance. Prioritize reliability over speed.

If the Wi-Fi environment is challenging I would look at products like U6 In-Wall. This is a wall plate style AP with 4x extra LAN ports for wired devices. One AP may cover a room or two for Wi-Fi and provide wired connection to local devices. It has GbE ports, but nothing beats the wire for reliability.

Gigabit network will bring down the costs significantly. Matching gateway is £79.00 only (UCG-Ultra), matching 8-port switch with PoE good for 4x APs is £85.00 (USW-Lite-8-POE). If you don't need LAN ports APs start from £79.00 (U6-Plus). If you do need LAN ports the in-wall APs are £140.00 (U6-IW).

Good luck!

Thanks, will do some thinking. I do need LAN ports, but only for one room and I've already set all that to go into the nearby closet where the little 'network cabinet' (A slim wall mounted BESTA with a glass door) resides. I've got a modem and the ASUS router in there. TBH one of the reasons I liked the BE88U was all the 2.5Gb ports because that would save me from also getting a switch for things like transfers between my PC and NAS. Of course, I'll have to split all that up now.

 

[NS156]

I already mentioned this upthread, but: UniFi APs are pretty sweet as long as you can run ethernet cables to all of them. If you have to rely on wireless backhaul then they are less attractive, because they are not optimized for that. They can do it, but performance is not stellar.

I hear you about plaster walls and suchlike, but the truth of the matter there is that all wifi manufacturers are limited by the exact same laws of physics and FCC regulations. It's not the case that one make is going to be a lot better than another at punching through a wall. You're better off going for more APs with smaller coverage areas if you have that problem. If you do follow that advice, UniFi has two advantages over ASUS and other consumer gear: first, they get this idea and are happy to sell you small cheap APs (the $129 U6+ is widely recommended), and second they make it easy to tune the APs' transmit power down to appropriate levels for small-coverage-area usage. Nothing turns your wifi experience into crap faster than an AP blasting out a 30dBm signal when the clients can only answer back at 12-15dBm.

As a real use-case, I currently use 3 UniFi APs running at pretty low Tx power to cover a long narrow apartment, about 85ft x 25ft. I initially tried just two near the ends, but had some poor coverage in the middle; three work better. I don't have plaster interior walls to cope with, just drywall --- but I do have an elevator shaft and some concrete pillars within the floorplan, so it's not exactly wide open. With 3 APs I have solid-as-a-rock service everywhere.

I'm in the UK so not sure what transmit power regulations are like here compared to the US. I can wire them all up no problem. From the cursory reading I am doing, it seems throughput and range are generally better if you can ceiling mount with the dish models compared to the others. If so, that's something I can also do. I imagine one per floor in a central location is probably going to do the trick - like I said, UK. Our houses aren't massive like the US in the first place. They just typically have the additional problems of walls that like to neuter higher frequency signals.

 

[Crimliar]

FYI, most Unifi APs can be set up as Mesh units if needed. I've almost certainly said this many times but I bought my GT-AX6000 dirt dirt cheap, but I'd planned to buy a Mikrotik RB5009UG+S+IN and APs - looking at issues people have with that setup I may have dodged a bullet! If I were buying tomorrow, it'd either be a powerfull ARM OpenWrt box, or a Ubiquity Cloud Gateway Fibre and APs - to keep family happy, probably the latter!

 

[Tech9]

I'm in the UK so not sure what transmit power regulations are like here

2.4GHz up to 20dBm (100mW), 5GHz non-DFS up to 23dBm (200mW), 5GHz DFS up to 30dBm (1000mW), 6GHz up to 24dBm (250mW).

 

[Aiadi]

I might have gone mad, but I’ve just completed installing the following home network setup after many trials and errors.

My budget is modest, and I needed 2.5Gbps speeds to access my main NAS and media server. However, I can’t run cables across the property—there are eight rooms and lots of thick brick walls—so I'm limited to wiring only a couple of meters from the main router.

Here’s what I ended up with:

• Main router: An RT-BE88U running AsusMerlin (in wireless mode with the Wi-Fi radios turned off). It handles all the heavy lifting and gives me access to AsusMerlin’s excellent features and configurability.
• IoT Wi-Fi: Connected to a single UniFi U6-LR AP that serves all my 2.4GHz IoT devices. It covers the entire property with a stable signal and doesn't require high data rates.
• Primary Wi-Fi for clients: I also connected the Asus to a Deco BE65 mesh system, which handles all 5GHz and 6GHz devices. I placed mesh nodes closer to the important clients—laptops, phones, tablets, and streaming devices—to ensure strong speeds and signal quality. This also keeps them separate from the IoT network as a bonus.

So far, everything seems to be working perfectly for my needs. I feel like I’ve managed to combine the best of all worlds:

• AsusMerlin’s rich features and flexibility
• UniFi’s legendary rock-solid WiFi performance
• Deco’s excellent reach and high-speed mesh

It’s definitely a somewhat convoluted setup—but it works. I’d love to hear what others think!

 

[Tech9]

Whatever makes you happy. This mix and match system has limited or harder to achieve configuration options. I would go with cheaper (compared to RT-BE88U) UCG-Max + U6-LR for a complete UniFi system first (Gateway, Controller, Switch and Access Point) plus whatever works for additional wireless after. This will allow better future expansion and UniFi OS has majority of Asuswrt-Merlin + popular scripts features built-in in overall easier to use single control screen. Surprised single U6-LR covers the needs of all your IoT's.

 

[Aiadi]

Whatever makes you happy. This mix and match system has limited or harder to achieve configuration options. I would go with cheaper (compared to RT-BE88U) UCG-Max + U6-LR for a complete UniFi system first (Gateway, Controller, Switch and Access Point) plus whatever works for additional wireless after. This will allow better future expansion and UniFi OS has majority of Asuswrt-Merlin + popular scripts features built-in in overall easier to use single control screen. Surprised single U6-LR covers the needs of all your IoT's.

Tried your suggestion (albeit with the UCG-Ultra) paired with my UR-LR. I know—this thing is practically nuclear in its reach, though unfortunately not so much when it comes to data transfer speeds.

Even after adding a Unifi Express as an AP in wireless mode, my transfer speeds dropped significantly whenever I moved away from the Unifi APs.

I also immediately missed the great features on Asus gear—things like the excellent script support, VPN Director, flexible VPN policies with support for commercial providers (it took me ages to get Windscribe WireGuard working on Unifi), and the effortless setup of DNS-over-TLS and DNS Director. Not to mention the super-easy DHCP reservation backup and restore. I know many of these can probably be done on Unifi, but setting them up can be a real PITA.

The lack of a dedicated wireless backhaul band on the Unifi APs (and the impracticality of using Ethernet in my setup) unfortunately makes it necessary for me to rely on another mesh system.

Unifi ecosystem has a great deal going on for it but I needed some Merlin magic in my life still!

 

[Tech9]

Not to mention the super-easy DHCP reservation backup and restore.

Yes, with Asus you have to be reboot and reset ready.

I know many of these can probably be done on Unifi, but setting them up can be a real PITA.

Some are actually few clicks in the UI. VPN Director is called Policy-Based Routes in Routing (plus Kill Switch on interface down), DNS Director interception and redirection is automatic when filtering is enabled, DNS encryption is using DNS-over-HTTPS in Security (with available presets), AiProtection is Suricata IDS/IPS (no 3rd party data sharing) with custom settings, AdaptiveQoS is App/Category Prioritizing in Routing (no 3rd party data sharing), TraditionalQoS is Smart Queues in Internet (uses FQ-CoDeL AQM), AdBlocking is one click in Security (uses local filters based on AdGuard), Parental Controls is Content Filtering in Networks (uses CleanBrowsing filters), Skynet is in IDS/IPS options with GeoBlocking, etc. Just different structure UI. Asus is also moving in this direction with ExpertWiFi UI.

 

[Aiadi]

Some are actually few clicks in the UI

You’re rekindling my love for the Unifi system. However, trying to get features like parental controls or encrypted DNS working alongside an always-on VPN client on the router, for example, is just a bit beyond my current abilities. It’s these kinds of fine-grained capabilities and super easy tweaks that make me really appreciate AsusMerlin and the great work of its script developers. I think the fine line between a home user and a prosumer definitely applies in my case.

 

[degrub]

Only way to do it is to get your feet wet. You can always run in parallel while you learn and get it setup the way you want.

 

[Tech9]

easy tweaks

Use whatever you are more comfortable with. People go to SMB hardware and software when they have enough of consumer experience. You already think about the potential need to reset and restore your router at some point. This comes from past Asus experience.

 

[Tomo]

always fascinated by the unifi ecosystem, can you tell me if there is the possibility of using qos-Cake as the merlin firmware and installing adguard home?

 

[Tech9]

No. Available QoS options are global per WAN interface in form of FQ-CoDeL AQM similar to Traditional QoS or per Network (VLAN) in form of App/Category prioritizing similar to Adaptive QoS. There are manual settings in case someone wants to tinker. Unifi OS allows multiple interfaces and networks and they can be linked upstream to other networks in different physical locations. It's more complex, adding something to it is not as easy and in general is not allowed with some exceptions. You perhaps realize custom scripts in home routers running modified firmware is a form of hack. In Asus case ASD is modified to allow it.

 

[rudoyeugene]

If anyone has some questions:
Moved from ZenWiFi Pro ET12 to Unifi Dream Router 7.

The things that you see from the first minute after Asus:

• IPS/IDS - it is blocking something, at least I see those in logs and notifications.
• Speeds are comparable, maybe UDR7 is slightly slower (ISP provides 1 Gbps/1 Gbps).
• Size, design, external screen - I like it.
• SFP - nice option, if I move to optical connection, then I do not need to change the router, just the module.
• All ports are 2.5 Gbit.
• Mobile App and the settings - well, a complete level-up, pretty complicated after Asus, I can say (during first setup I had to factory reset 4 times before I got how to deal with it), but they cover many more things you even need at home.
• Channel reservation - hah, it works! Finally, I know why on Asus switching was broken, just because of the reserved 4G device. Changed that to another and now all good, finally!

About BE88u - its setup is in progress at the parents' home, I can provide a short review after. It will replace a set of 2 AC68u's, they seem to old to do their job well nowadays.

 

[Tech9]

but they cover many more things you even need at home

Because UDR, UX, and perhaps UCG are targeted at home users devices (shape, size, price), but they run similar software like bigger UDM rack mounted brothers. This is not an issue, just use whatever applies to your network and needs.

 

[Aiadi]

About BE88u - its setup is in progress at the parents' home, I can provide a short review after

Yes, please do as I love by BE88U and still cannot get on well with my UCG-Ultra despite all my attempts mostly due to difficulties with the various DNS settings that I would like to use. Never been able to get VPN client to use router's own DNS and never been able to create policies to bypass DoT DNS and the whole thing just completely breaks parental controls. Easy Tailscale settings and management using the great TAILMON Script is also something that I could not do without. I think that you parents (or you) will love the RT-BE88U.

 

[Tech9]

You've got lost in "security and privacy" ideas. Keep it simple.

 

[Aiadi]

You've got lost in "security and privacy" ideas. Keep it simple.

You are spot on there. Just can't help it, I guess.

 

[Tech9]

UCG-Ultra is not the best device for network-wide VPN anyway. It can do ~150Mbps on OpenVPN and ~500Mbps on WireGuard in ideal conditions. For your requirements you perhaps need something better than 6W mostly power efficiency oriented hardware.

 

[Digilog]

IPS/IDS - it is blocking something, at least I see those in logs and notifications.

Then what is the message?
I imagine it's Windows netbios since that should be disabled on modern router systems.

As far as the Ubiquity gear, its better to log into the router from a computer to set them up. I don't use phone apps nor recommend anything you are forced to use one.