Remember the USP RPS that we saw in the new 6U rack last month? Well, it has hit the beta store and additional product photos shown with it reveal yet another new device likely surrounding the (still-being-revamped) Unifi Protect product line.
A device labeled as the UNVR 4 is shown in a diagram alongside the USP RPS. Notably, the UNVR 4 looks exactly like the UNAS 4 shown with the 6U rack.
It is a 1U device that appears to have four 3.5″ bays on the front. The diagram shows it connected to a USW Pro 48-port switch via an SFP port, presumably on the back of the UNVR 4. We don’t have any indication of what the back of the device looks like or the type of SFP or RJ45 ports on the back.
I’m wondering whether Ubiquiti is changing the product naming and/or functionality or whether it is building out two separate products.
- the UNVR 4 for a standalone NVR option for more commercial-oriented installs
- the UNAS 4 for expansion of the UDM Pro
The two product lines probably make more sense – even if they do share the same physical housing. Not every install of Unifi Protect necessarily calls for a UDM Pro to serve as a gateway device. If anything, commercial installs want to move away from the Cloud Key experience for Unifi Protect. While a white box experience is often ideal, I have a feeling that Ubiquiti will sell truckloads of UNVR 4 devices (and 8- or 16-bay devices) to customers who want a streamlined experience.
As far as the UNAS device, give us some virtualization capabilities on the platform and those will fly off the shelves as well. Even serving as a companion to the UDM Pro looks like they would be a big hit.
Of course, we’re probably months away (into 2020) before these devices are available to all users and maybe before even beta users see them…