Question 1

Can this connect directly to a home ISP router via a straight cable is does it need a cross connect?

Accepted Answer

You can connect a Ubiquiti Dream Machine Pro directly to a home ISP (cable, DSL, fiber) using a Cat6 (or better) normal ethernet cable.  It plugs in to a WAN port on the UDM Pro.

Question 2

why is this unit overpriced?

Accepted Answer

I am a network administrator who has deployed one of these in a school.
For what this does, it is absolutely, categorically, *not* overpriced.

Here are some reasons why I say this:

It is a network gateway / router that can handle like 3.5GB/s internet
  access from your ISP.
It is an access point controller / updater for all Ubiquiti access points, both
  inside & outside your buildings.
It is a controller for all Ubiquiti security cameras, including pan-tilt-zoom &
  2K & 4K resolution cameras, some of which have optical zoom capabilities.
It is a network video recorder that can use standard 3.5" surveillance hard
  drives to record on site, then recall video footage remotely via a phone app
  (or watch it live on your phone in real time while it's recording locally).
It is a controller for Ubiquiti output devices that you plug into any of your
  PoE ethernet ports on your network and output via HDMI to a security camera
  monitor located anywhere in your facility.
It is an entrance device controller that can process who comes into your
  buildings & where, including via Ubiquiti key fobs & two-way video & audio
  interaction with the person trying to enter.  Swipe a phone to allow them in,
  or automate the process.
It is a controller for additional network video recorders with more hard drives,
  including ones that hold 4x or 7x 3.5" standard SATA surveillance drives.
It has 10G backbone connection capability to switches in your network (if they
  can do 10G connections).
It has all this (& more) running in a set of apps on this device with a common
  interface & easy-to-use permissions that you can set for different users.

For around four hundred bucks, it's an incredible device.
It is unbeatable in the market for its ease of use, and for its price.

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