✔ Pros:Compact 1RU form factor for branch and mid-size deployments; Choice of FTD (NGFW) or ASA software images; 800 maximum VPN peers; 8x GbE copper plus 2x SFP ports for flexible connectivity; Supported by Cisco Firepower Management Center and Cisco Defense Orchestrator
✘ Cons:Throughput is modest compared with newer Cisco firewall platforms; Published figures vary by source and test profile, and the cited Cisco datasheet appears dated; Price per unit of throughput is high relative to mid-range competitors; Limited port density for large or high-speed uplink designs; Replacement and successor models should be checked before purchase
Est. Price:
$8,898 - $17,406
Compare Against
Ubiquiti UniFi Cloud Gateway Max (UCG-Max)
★ 4.9 Value Score
Technical Specifications
Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti in the sources reviewed
Threat Prevention Throughput: 2.3 Gbps IDS/IPS per Ubiquiti spec page (older listings show 1.5 Gbps)
IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti; third-party reviews report about 800-1,000 Mbps for WireGuard and 300-400 Mbps for OpenVPN
Max Sessions: Not published in the sources reviewed
New Sessions/sec: Not published in the sources reviewed
Interfaces: 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN, 4x GbE RJ45 LAN (one LAN port can be reconfigured as a second WAN for multi-WAN)
Form Factor: Compact desktop; UCG-Max-NS variant includes 512GB NVMe storage
Curation Review
✔ Pros:Low entry price at $199 MSRP; Compact desktop form factor; Five-port layout with multi-WAN support via a reconfigurable LAN port; Runs UniFi OS with integrated IDS/IPS, site-to-site and remote VPN options (IPsec, WireGuard, OpenVPN, L2TP); Manages 30+ UniFi devices and 300+ clients per Ubiquiti listing
✘ Cons:Routing and IPS throughput (2.3 Gbps) is modest for multi-gigabit WANs with inspection enabled; Published throughput figures conflict across sources (1.5 vs 2.3 Gbps IPS, varying VPN numbers); Only one 2.5GbE port, with the remaining ports at 1GbE; Vendor does not publish IPsec tunnel, session, or new-connection limits; Some resellers list prices well above MSRP (one US listing at $394.79)