I’m very interested in using the MAX HD1 Dome pro unit mounted on a sailboat mast spreader around 35 ft high off the deck. I would use the dome to provide two WAN sources, 5G cellular and WiFi 6. I would utlize a SIM injetor with POE and an AP One AX access point in the boat cabin. I would also like to add a Starlink flat HP unit as a third WAN source. To do this, what additional equipment would I need? Would I need a router to act as a central management hub? If so, which would be the best fit? What are the pros and cons of this configuration versus using a MAX BR1 Pro router and Marine 40G antennas? My primary concern I’m hoping to address is the loss coming from the cable length between the router and the antenna which would likely be over 40 feet. All advice welcome!
If you are going to add additional WAN sources then you may want to consider HD1 Dome Pro and Balance Two as your primary router.
With Synergy mode enabled on the Balance Two you’d have full control over the Dome’s WANs.
Thanks Eric. So you’d add the HD Dome Pro to one of the WAN ports on the Balance Two and the HD Dome Pro to the other WAN port and from there you could manage all 3 WAN’s (5G, Wifi, Starlink) inclusive of bonding and speed fusion support? Also, is this a recommended approach over having Maritime 40G/20G antennas connected to a MAX BR1 Pro 5G when the antenna cable would likely be over 40 feet?
Thats right.
HD1 Dome Pro into WAN1
Starlink ethernet into WAN2
All of the WAN’s of the HD1 Dome Pro would synergize directly onto the Balance Two. You would have full functionality and direct access to each interface of the Dome such that you can assign unique failovers, load-balance across LTE, WiFI-WAN and Starlink simultaneously.
Regarding approach - I think that overcoming cable loss is one of the reasons why someone would use a Dome. One of the things that held people back was the difficulty of maintaining multiple devices. Synergy mode should lighten the load and make this type of configuration easier/better to use.
Having starlink as a WAN will ultimately be the solution to overcome difficulties with LTE.
Thanks again Eric. One last question … is the HD Dome Pro + Balance Two configuration recommended over the antenna cable losses incurred when using the separated MAX BR1 Pro 5G + Maritime 40G/20G antennas … assuming the antenna cable is estimated to be 35-40 ft?
I am only a enthusiast - not a pro - but my guess is that dome would be recommended vs 40ft cables.
I think it would perform better and would have simpler installation with a single cable that can go up to 300ft (the ethernet cable maximum).
You just need to activate a Virtual WAN license (LIC-VWAN) on the HD1 dome Pro. You might need to add a switch in between to tag a vlan on the Starlink. I’m not sure you can configure one of the LAN into accesss port for that VLAN, don’t think the adapter is smart enough for this. Unless you don’t plan to use the LAN ethernet and only the Wifi, then access mode is the way to go.
With this method you can even add multiple Starlinks. Starlink will appear as a new WAN on your HD1 dome interface.
Thanks for the advice Eric! I agree. I like the simplicity of having just one Cat 6 cable run down the mast. Looks like I could also add a second dome in the future and just daisy chain it using the 2 port switch in the base.
Thanks for the information Venn. I appreciate it. Looks like I can add the Balance Two router to get two WAN ports, one for the Dome and one for Starlink. I will use a separate AP One AX access point for the onboard WiFi LAn.
higher up is no always better. higher up means if boat is pitching/rocking/rolling, you may have connectivity issues. Look at the antenna polarization on the Dome too.
with Virtual WANs, you don’t need the balance Two anymore.
Interesting. So if I understand you correctly, I can use the HD1 Dome Pro for the 5G and WiFi WANs. Connect the dome ethernet cable to a SIM injector port which provides SIM, PoE and trunk access. Then I would configure a port on the SIM injector as VWAN and assign it to the Starlink dish? I could then use one of the remaining LAN ports on the SIM injector for the AP One AX access port and use PoE for that device also. Is this a correct assumption? Would this setup also allow me to utilize SpeedFusion and bandwith bonding ?
Thanks. Great insight. I wasn’t planning on putting the dome at the top of the mast. I was going to use a spreader halfway up, say at about 35 feet, so that I could clear obstacles like other boats at the marina. This is where I believe Peplink is suggesting based on their marketing video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWKdv9x_P2I
The good news is this is a catamaran so it’s more stable than a monohull and shouldn’t pitch and roll as much at anchor.
Yup,
HD1 5G Dome Pro has Speedfusion 
Thank you for the help!
I have a similar yet, different setup. Im hoping peplink products like these can solve my issues.
I have a sailboat and installed Glomex WeBBoat dome just above my Radar dome, about 35 feet up the mast. I have had lots of issues with the Glomex, and looking to possibly replace it with peplink.
I have installed a Ubiquiti Flex POE switch inside the Glomex dome, as well as a POE splitter to power the Glomex dual LTE router (Telonika RUT 950). Mounted adjacent to the dome I have two Ubiquiti POE security cameras, connected to the Flex switch.
Down in the cabin, I have Ubiquiti switchgear, providing POE power up the mast.
The major drawback to my setup is the sim chips live up the mast in the Glomex dome. The sim injector is a godsend and exactly what I’m looking for.
However…
The question I have is, will peplink sim injector → HD dome pro work with (through) 3rd party UI switches?
Id like to know if I can plug the sim injector into the UI cabin main switch and then have 2 local hops to the peplink Dome router. Are there any caveats, limitations, or considerations?
Thanks
Hi Drew,
Peplink SIM Injector or SIM Injector Mini will work through a 3rd party switches as long as Dome and SIM Injector are in the same physical network. So all should be fine.
is the virtual wan license included? i dont see option listed under addons on product page to buy…
Hi Bob,
products which support virtual WAN license are listed in the 8.3.0 release notes (link). You can find it on page 4&5, in section [Virtual WAN on VLAN].
The virtual license should be available at estore. If you can find it there, then please contact your Peplink reseller for a help.
Is one virtual wan included at no charge?