Ubiquiti UniFi Holiday Sale: More Deals on Cloud Gateways, Access Points, Switches, and Security Cameras

UniFi console in a nutshell

A UniFi console always runs the UniFi OS plus one or more UniFi applications, with Network being the most significant—it’s the primary app.

However, not every UniFi console is equipped with this app, and those that do are called UniFi “Cloud Gateways” (UCGs), including the UniFi “Dream” series, such as Dream Machine (UDM) or Dream Wall (UDW)—they are all UniFi “routers” if you prefer to call them that way.

A few UCGs have just this Network app—they are Network-only UniFi consoles. Most UCGs can host additional applications to qualify as a multi-app, Network UniFi consoles.

All Network UniFi consoles share the same basic features and settings. However, their capacities—specifically the number, breadth, and depth of UniFi applications they can handle simultaneously—vary depending on the hardware specifications.

The following are the current UniFi applications, with the first six belonging to the original UniFi Application Suite:

1. Network (primary): This application enables the hardware to function as an advanced router, thereby qualifying it as a “UniFi Cloud Gateway”. This app handles all network-related aspects, including security, firewall, access points, Wi-Fi system management, and much more. On a UCG, the Network app is the default and can’t be uninstalled.
2. Protect: The support for IP cameras as an advanced surveillance system, including a built-in UniFi Network Video Recorder (UNVR) of a UniFi console. Protect is the default app of a standalone UNVR. Generally, a standalone UNVR is a multi-app, non-Network console that can also host the Access and InnerSpace applications, but it’s often classified as a “Protect-only UniFi console”.
3. Talk: A locally hosted Voice-over-IP system.
4. Access: A “platform designed for Access Control Systems”—per Ubiquiti. Examples include door-related security IoT devices, such as doorbells, key fobs, locks, etc.
5. Connect: Application that manages digital signage and EV Stations 
6. InnerSpace: A visualization tool that allows users to map out their UniFi network by uploading floor plans, drawing walls, etc., for the deployment of UniFi devices.
7. Drive: The latest app that turns a UniFi console into a UniFi network-attached storage (NAS) server, known as a UNAS. Generally, a UNAS server is a single-app non-Network UniFi console—it’s a “Drive-only UniFi console”.

Each of these applications is a world in itself, with various in-depth customizations, and some require UniFi devices to deliver their intended purposes.