Ubiquiti releases new Dream Machine Pro Max

When released a few years ago, the Dream Machine Pro became a popular device for small and medium-sized businesses. I’ve deployed and managed a handful of them in various environments and found them to be a great device. It’s a really easy and affordable way to get started, especially when you want to use various UniFi apps (camera, network, etc). Today, Ubiquiti is releasing the new Dream Machine Pro Max, bringing that same all-in-one approach to larger deployments with more demanding needs.

Here’s what’s new: Ubiquiti significantly upgraded its computing performance with the Dream Machine Pro Max to handle large-scale UniFi deployments seamlessly, capable of supporting thousands of client devices. This makes it possible to simplify the network deployment process.

In the Dream Machine Pro Max, Ubiquiti also added an extra NVR drive bay, enabling true RAID storage for heightened data protection in your Protect camera security setup. UniFi Protect, in my opinion, is one of the best enterprise camera solutions on the market for those looking to avoid a per-camera subscription fee.

The networking capabilities have been enhanced by upgrading to a 2.5 gigabit Ethernet port, complementing the existing 10 gigabit Ethernet interfaces. All ports are fully customizable for flexible WAN load balancing.

The UDM Pro Max is now equipped with an advanced application-aware firewall and boasts a routing capability of over 5 gigabits per second, even with full deep packet inspection and intrusion prevention systems active.

Eliminating one of the past complaints about Ubiquiti products in larger enterprises, you can access 24-hour professional support team of experts that are specially trained to manage large-scale networks.

Key Highlights of the Dream Machine Pro Max

• The UDM Pro Max has significantly more computing power than the UDM Pro/SE, anticipated to support approximately twice as many Ubiquiti and endpoint devices.
• Enhanced routing performance: UDM Pro Max achieves line rates on its 10G SFP+ WAN interface with its smart firewall, managing over 4.3 Gbps (should be 5Gbps) with full DPI and IPS (a step up from 3.5 Gbps in UDM Pro/SE).
• Adding a second NVR drive bay ensures robust data protection with RAID1. The UniFi NVR supports RAID1 as RAID0 doesn’t protect in case a single HDD fails.
• The networking upgrade includes an enhanced 2.5 GbE RJ45 WAN port.
• The upcoming UniFi OS 4.0 will introduce an improved Shadow Mode with automatic failover to reduce network downtime, building on the existing functionality where the Shadow gateway operates as a “warm spare.” UniFi OS 4.0 is set to enter Early Access concurrently with the launch of UDM Pro Max.
• Dream Machine Pro Max can route at 5 Gbps with full DPI and IPS security enabled (compared to 3.5 for UDM Pro/SE)

Ubiquiti Network 8.1

Ubiquiti’s Network 8.1 rolls out new features aimed at enhancing the management of large-scale networks, which are particularly relevant for UDM Pro Max deployments:

• A new Network Viewer provides a unified overview of your Wi-Fi, virtual networks, ISP connection, VPNs, and more.
• Dynamic Routing now includes OSPF, with BGP coming soon
• NAT pooling allows for significantly scaling up the number of concurrent external connections by distributing traffic across a pool of public IP addresses.
• New switch isolation settings enhance security: L3 Network Isolation prevents traffic between devices on different virtual networks, while Device Isolation restricts traffic between devices on the same virtual network.

Wrap up on the Dream Machine Pro Max

The big question, of course, is what the damage will be money-wise. The Dream Machine Pro Max MSRP will be $599. It’s an incredible product that packs a lot of power for something under $600. Ubiquiti continues to expand its product line to higher-end and more demanding use cases, which are at price points other networking vendors cannot match.

A $599 device can route at 5 Gbps speed with full DPI and IPS security enabled, which is quite amazing. If you’re looking to simplify the core of your network with Ubiquiti, the Dream Machine Pro Max looks to be the product built for scale and high availability.

I have the device in hand but haven’t had enough time to put it through the paces for a more detailed review. I plan to spend a lot more time with it the coming weeks, though. I was a huge fan of the original Dream Machine Pro, and the Dream Machine Pro Max solves almost all of the reasons you wouldn’t want to deploy it for larger environments.

You can buy the Dream Machine Pro Max from Ubiquiti for $599.