Ubiquiti Enterprise Firewall Core (EF-Core): ports, specs and rack guide
The EF-Core is a 1U UniFi firewall for large sites, with eighteen network ports on the front from 1 GbE to 100G, and management, fans and two hot-swappable power supplies on the back. Click any port on the panels below to see what it does.
- 1U rack mount
- 8 x 10 GbE RJ45
- 4 x 25G SFP28
- 4 x 100G QSFP28
- 79 Gbps IDS/IPS
- 2 x 550 W hot-swap PSU
EF-Core specifications
| Model | EF-Core (Enterprise Firewall Core) |
| Form factor | 1U rackmount |
| Front ports | 2 x 1 GbE RJ45, 8 x 10 GbE RJ45, 4 x 25G SFP28, 4 x 100G QSFP28 |
| Default WAN ports | 1 x 100G QSFP28, 1 x 25G SFP28, 1 x 10 GbE RJ45 |
| Max. WAN ports | 8 |
| Rear ports | 1 GbE management, console |
| IDS/IPS throughput | 79 Gbps |
| Sessions | 10 million concurrent, 120,000 new per second, 10,000 SSL/TLS inspection |
| Managed UniFi devices / users | 2,250+ devices, 22,500+ users |
| Processor / memory / storage | 24-core ARM v9 at 2.5 GHz, 32 GB, integrated 128 GB SSD |
| Power | 2 x hot-swappable 550 W AC/DC CRPS, 100 to 240 V AC, 7.5 A max., 50/60 Hz |
| Max. power consumption | 171 W (585 BTU/hr) |
| Cooling | 5 hot-swappable fan modules |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 442.4 x 43.7 x 400 mm (17.4 x 1.7 x 15.8 in.) |
| Weight | 7.85 kg (17.31 lb) |
| Operating temperature | 32 to 104 F (0 to 40 C) |
Every port on the EF-Core, explained
Click a card to light up those ports on the panels above.
1 GbE and 10 GbE ports9 on the panel
Ports 1 and 2 are 1 GbE (1G/100M/10M). Port 2 is marked Shadow Mode, the link used to pair two EF-Core units for gateway failover.
Ports 3 to 10 are 10 GbE RJ45 (10G/5G/2.5G/1G/100M) for LAN and extra WAN links.
10 GbE WAN1 on the panel
Port 9 is the default 10 GbE RJ45 WAN, marked with a globe icon on the panel.
4 x 25G SFP284 on the panel
Ports 11 to 14 take 25G, 10G or 1G modules. Port 13 is the default 25G WAN.
4 x 100G QSFP284 on the panel
Ports 15 to 18 run at 100G or 40G, usually to the core switches. Port 17 is the default 100G WAN.
Management port1 on the panel
A 1 GbE management port on the back, for an out-of-band management network.
Console port1 on the panel
An RJ45 console port below the management port, for local serial access.
2 hot-swappable power supplies2 on the panel
Two 550 W CRPS modules on the back, each with its own power input and a safety latch. Either one can be swapped while the other keeps the firewall running.
Up to 8 WAN links. Three ports are WAN by default (17, 13 and 9), and you can assign more for a total of eight.
What else is on the front
- 1.3 in. touchscreen on the left for status at the rack.
- Integrated 128 GB SSD, so there is no drive bay to fill.
- Reset button below the QSFP28 ports at the far right.
The back panel
- Management and console ports at the far left.
- 5 hot-swappable fan modules across the middle.
- 2 hot-swappable 550 W CRPS at the right, each with a power input and a safety latch.
Capacity and features
- IDS/IPS throughput
- 79 Gbps
- Concurrent sessions
- 10 million
- New sessions per second
- 120,000
- IDS/IPS signatures
- 95,000+ with CyberSecure Enterprise
- MAC address table
- 130,000
Routing and security features include a zone-based firewall, an application-aware Layer 7 firewall, SSL inspection and URL filtering, IPS/IDS, OSPF and BGP, LACP, multi-WAN load balancing, policy-based routing, license-free SD-WAN and site-to-site VPN (Site Magic, IPsec, OpenVPN), plus WireGuard, OpenVPN and L2TP VPN servers.
Planning the rack space
The EF-Core is 1U and 400 mm (15.8 in.) deep, and weighs 7.85 kg (17.31 lb). Network cabling is all at the front. Leave room at the back to reach the fans, the power supplies and the management ports, since all of them are serviced from that side.
For redundancy, feed the two power supplies from separate circuits. For gateway failover, pair two EF-Core units in Shadow Mode (VRRP) over port 2.
Frequently asked questions
Which ports are WAN on the EF-Core?+
By default, port 17 (100G QSFP28), port 13 (25G SFP28) and port 9 (10 GbE RJ45). You can use up to 8 WAN ports in total.
What is port 2 marked Shadow Mode for?+
It links two EF-Core units for Shadow Mode (VRRP) gateway failover, so the second unit takes over if the first one fails.
Does the EF-Core have redundant power?+
Yes. It has two hot-swappable 550 W CRPS power supplies on the back, with a universal 100 to 240 V AC input.
What is the IDS/IPS throughput of the EF-Core?+
79 Gbps, with up to 10 million concurrent sessions.
Can I replace the fans without shutting it down?+
The five fan modules on the back are hot-swappable.
Where is the management port?+
On the back, at the far left, above the console port.
How deep is the EF-Core?+
400 mm (15.8 in.), in a 1U chassis 442.4 mm wide.
Plan this firewall in your rack
The EF-Core is in the Ubiquiti library for DaMatrix, with every port mapped so you can drag it into a rack, patch it and print the documentation.
Related Ubiquiti devices
- U7-Pro-Max
- Ubiquiti Aggregation (USW-Aggregation)
- Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro)
- Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro Max (UDM-Pro-Max)
- Ubiquiti Dream Machine Special Edition (UDM-SE)
- Ubiquiti Enterprise Firewall (EFG)
- Ubiquiti Pro Max 16 (USW-Pro-Max-16)
- Ubiquiti Pro Max 24 PoE (USW-Pro-Max-24-PoE)
- Ubiquiti Pro Max 48 PoE (USW-Pro-Max-48-PoE)
- Ubiquiti Pro XG 48 PoE (USW-Pro-XG-48-PoE)
- Ubiquiti Standard 16 PoE (USW-16-PoE)
- Ubiquiti Standard 24 PoE (USW-24-PoE)
- Ubiquiti Standard 48 (USW-48)
- Ubiquiti WAN Switch (USW-WAN)
Summarized from the Ubiquiti UniFi Enterprise Firewall Core Tech Specs. This page is a quick reference; check the full manual for safety warnings and model-specific limits.