10 Gbit/s Speed: UXG-Pro with Fiber7-X

Patrick Huber -

Introduction & Main Upgrade Goal

Upgrade your internet speed affordably by switching to a lightning-fast 10 Gbit/s connection with Fiber7 from Init7. The main goal was to bid farewell to the aging UniFi Security Gateway (USG) and embrace the superior performance and advanced security features of the UniFi Gateway Pro (UXG-Pro). This upgrade ensures not just faster downloads but also a smarter, safer internet experience, aligning with evolving security needs. Thanks to Fiber7, achieving high-speed connectivity with our Ubiquiti UniFi gear is now cost-effective. It's like upgrading to the fastest internet without burning a big hole in our pockets! 🚀💻

Equipment

Gateway Pro

  • UXG-Pro

SFP Module

  • UACC-OM-SM-10G-S-2 (Link Ubiquiti EU Store)
    • The Specs are important:
      • BiDi (Bidirectional): Yes
      • Wavelengths:
        • TX wavelength:
          • Blue latch: 1270 nm
          • Red latch: 1330 nm
        • RX wavelength:
          • Blue latch: 1330 nm
          • Red latch: 1270 nm
⚠️
Note: The specifications of the SFP+ modules depend on your ISP's setup and configuration.

Speed Tests and Results

The built-in Speedtest feature in UXG-Pro lacks the ability to change the speed test server, unlike some users with UDM Pros who claim success using the Wifiman app to switch servers. However, the UXG-Pro, with its current version "3.2.17", does not exhibit this functionality. Additionally, there are indications of CPU reaching maximum utilization during download tests.

UXG-Pro Built-in speedtest with very high CPU load for the download test

Numerous posts about UXG-Pro highlight concerns that the Speedtest results may significantly deviate from the accurate ISP speed, a discrepancy believed to be influenced by the location of the Speedtest servers.

UXG-Pro articles about built-in speedtest issues:

Update from Init7

Init7 has announced the setup of their own speed test server for Ubiquiti UniFi devices. According to this tweet on X.com, Init7 now offers a dedicated speed test server for UniFi users 👏.

My speed test results have slightly improved with the new Init7 UniFi speed test server. However, the CPU on my UXG-Pro still reaches 100% during download tests.

Ubiquiti Unifi Speedtest-Server from Init7 on a UXG-Pro with Fiber7-X 10 Gbit/s (download/upload)

Iperf3

When directly employing iperf3 in the UXG-Pro console (via ssh), impressive speeds approaching 9.2 Gbps are achieved, aligning closely with the real-world maximum of approximately 9.4 Gbps. It's essential to emphasize that the iperf3 server you connect to must support a minimum of 10 Gbps and be in close proximity to accurately reflect the true speed offered by your ISP.

iperf3 commands for speedtests using the Init7 iperf3 server:

iperf3 -c speedtest.init7.net

# -R => run in reverse mode (server sends, client receives)
iperf3 -R -c speedtest.init7.net

# Three speedtests in a loop with random sleep between 10-40 seconds:
for i in {0..2}; do echo "> $i"; iperf3 -c speedtest.init7.net; sleep $((RANDOM % 41 + 10)); done

Real-world Performance

Example results with iperf3 using my ISP (Init7) iperf3 server which should support 20Gbps:

for i in {0..2}; do echo "> $i"; iperf3 -c speedtest.init7.net; sleep $((RANDOM % 41 + 10)); done
> 0
Connecting to host speedtest.init7.net, port 5201
[  5] local 77.109.189.134 port 59600 connected to 77.109.175.63 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  1.02 GBytes  8.79 Gbits/sec   41   1.12 MBytes
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.32 Gbits/sec  216   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.30 Gbits/sec  124   1.09 MBytes
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.26 Gbits/sec  216   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  1.07 GBytes  9.19 Gbits/sec   80   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.38 Gbits/sec    0   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec  1.07 GBytes  9.18 Gbits/sec    0   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec  1.05 GBytes  8.99 Gbits/sec    0   1.15 MBytes
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.24 Gbits/sec    0   1.15 MBytes
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  1.08 GBytes  9.26 Gbits/sec    0   1.19 MBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  10.7 GBytes  9.19 Gbits/sec  677             sender
[  5]   0.00-10.05  sec  10.7 GBytes  9.14 Gbits/sec                  receiver

iperf Done.
> 1
Connecting to host speedtest.init7.net, port 5201
[  5] local 77.109.189.134 port 59802 connected to 77.109.175.63 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  1.03 GBytes  8.82 Gbits/sec   16   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.31 Gbits/sec  189   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.35 Gbits/sec    0   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.34 Gbits/sec    0   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  1.10 GBytes  9.42 Gbits/sec    0   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.25 Gbits/sec    0   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec  1.07 GBytes  9.19 Gbits/sec  159   1.09 MBytes
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.36 Gbits/sec    0   1.16 MBytes
[  5]   8.00-9.00   sec  1.05 GBytes  9.06 Gbits/sec   95    984 KBytes
[  5]   9.00-10.00  sec  1.08 GBytes  9.27 Gbits/sec  109   1.11 MBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  10.8 GBytes  9.24 Gbits/sec  568             sender
[  5]   0.00-10.05  sec  10.8 GBytes  9.19 Gbits/sec                  receiver

iperf Done.
> 2
Connecting to host speedtest.init7.net, port 5201
[  5] local 77.109.189.134 port 60300 connected to 77.109.175.63 port 5201
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr  Cwnd
[  5]   0.00-1.00   sec  1.04 GBytes  8.97 Gbits/sec   32   1.13 MBytes
[  5]   1.00-2.00   sec  1.06 GBytes  9.07 Gbits/sec    0   1.13 MBytes
[  5]   2.00-3.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.41 Gbits/sec   45   1.14 MBytes
[  5]   3.00-4.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.32 Gbits/sec    0   1.19 MBytes
[  5]   4.00-5.00   sec  1.07 GBytes  9.15 Gbits/sec    0   1.21 MBytes
[  5]   5.00-6.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.32 Gbits/sec    0   1.21 MBytes
[  5]   6.00-7.00   sec  1.08 GBytes  9.26 Gbits/sec    0   1.22 MBytes
[  5]   7.00-8.00   sec  1.09 GBytes  9.41 Gbits/sec    0   1.22 MBytes
[  5]   8.00-9.01   sec  1.06 GBytes  9.04 Gbits/sec    0   1.28 MBytes
[  5]   9.01-10.00  sec  1.02 GBytes  8.85 Gbits/sec    0   1.36 MBytes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate         Retr
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec  10.7 GBytes  9.18 Gbits/sec   77             sender
[  5]   0.00-10.05  sec  10.7 GBytes  9.14 Gbits/sec                  receiver

iperf Done.