Glasgow were aiming to make amends for last season's defeat by the same opponents - but again they couldn't find the firepower when it mattered.
Glasgow enjoyed the bulk of possession in the first half but couldn't find the cutting edge to convert pressure into points, and they were punished when Ryan Constable finished off a break from the Ulster twenty-two, although the Australian centre was helped by some poor tackling from the Glasgow backline.
Dan Parks opened Glasgow's account with a penalty, but Ulster quickly restored their advantage when Glasgow were penalised for offside. A Dan Parks drop-goal narrowed the gap again but Glasgow must have been worried that they weren't converting possession and pressure into points.
Ulster upped the pace after the break and laid seige to the Glasgow line for most of the second half. Unlike Glasgow their efforts were rewarded as the home side conceded a succession of penalties. Larkin increased the Ulster lead when he slotted a penalty from close-range after Glasgow failed to roll clear in the wake of a tackle.
Welsh referee Huw Watkins incurred the wrath of the home fans again five minutes later when he penalised Andy Hall for offside at a ruck when the ball appeared to be out and free to be played. To increase Glasgow's frustrations, he then ordered Hall to the sin-bin.
Glasgow couldn't lift the Ulster pressure and when they did manage to find field position it was invariably lost due to basic handling errors or infringements.
Larkin was off-target with a penalty from 50 metres, but he rediscovered his touch with another penalty and a drop-goal to give Ulster an 11-point cushion.
Only then did Glasgow find the key to unlock the defence when Graeme Morrison powered over for a try, goaled by sub Calvin Howarth.
But it was too late to turn the tide, and Larkin had the last word with penalty number four to send the large and noisy Ulster support home happy.
For Glasgow it was a gutsy display with some good performances particularly from Scott Lawson and man-of-the match Cammy Mather, but the disappointment was clear to see on the faces of the Glasgow players, officials, and supporters. Coach Hugh Campbell said: "They were allowed to kill the ball at every turn and that just stopped us playing.
"Ulster seemed to cheat better than us and it made all the difference. The scoreline flattered Ulster for most of the game because their try had come against the run of play. Later on, they did get a stranglehold and their tactics made it very hard for us."