Dual Wan Routers ?

[paul1970]

I currently have 2 ADSL lines coming into my office, 8Mb True and 6Mb TOT.

The True line I use on my laptop and the TOT line on my desktop. I mainly use my laptop for work and the desktop for P2P and if my laptop connection dies I physically swap over the LAN cables so that the TOT line becomes mu backup.

What I wan't to do is install a dual WAN router so that the lines do load balancing and also automatic fail over. I believe some routers can also send an email in the event of a line becoming disconnected (that would be neat).

Does anyone on here have any experience of using a dual WAN router and how was your experience ? What model would you suggest and where to find ?

I was trying to find a Syswan Duolinks SW24 as they seem to be getting good reviews but haven't been able to source any in Thailand. The other make I was looking at is Draytek but their products are way overpriced in Thailand compared to the prices they go for in the US or UK.

The ones I have been able to locate is the D-link LB604 LB604 at InvadeIT and also the TP link RT488T Quad Wan router at almost 10k baht but neither of these models seem to have good reviews.

The other question is how easy are dual wan routers to use, do you need to be a network wizard to get them to work ?

[Supernova]

Linksys RV042

Easy to setup, never had any problems with it.

[joncl]

Linksys RV042

Easy to setup, never had any problems with it.

agreed 100% been using several of them here for years ..

[RedCardinal]

I use a Draytek 2920n wifi router. Dual WAN + USB which supports Cat CDMA.

Very impressed, and the n wifi makes a great difference when pushing/streaming files between workgroup computers.

Only downside is that their Thai reseller refused to offer me any support as product was purchased in UK. UK support only offered to residents of UK. Darytek corporate said they'd help but never did.

If you're not looking for a wireless router, but want one of the best load balancers then try Peplink. Only bad news is that their Thai reseller knows how to charge. Better to get it from EU or US and get someone to carry in if possible. Only a small fella, but very powerful punch.

Lots of entry level dual-wan routers appearing these days also, but you should check to see what sort of load balancing algos these employ.

[mahjongguy]

I just got a Syswan SW24 and I am very happy with it.

[filingaccount]

Linksys RV042

Easy to setup, never had any problems with it.

It does have issues though that are only visible when you load balance with 2 different ISP's and use ISP DNS servers.

It works quite well when you do fallover when one link fails, but doesn't "combine" bandwidth as most people would expect it to.

It's a good starter hardware though, and I think it would fit the OP's requirements as per his post if paired with alternative non ISP DNS servers (eg. google DNS or Open DNS).

[Naam]

Linksys RV042

Easy to setup, never had any problems with it.

never managed the setup of my RV042

[Supernova]

Linksys RV042

Easy to setup, never had any problems with it.

It does have issues though that are only visible when you load balance with 2 different ISP's and use ISP DNS servers.

Interesting... Can't say I've ran into issues you pointed out though -- probably due to having multiple links from the same ISP.

Thanks for the heads up!

It works quite well when you do fallover when one link fails, but doesn't "combine" bandwidth as most people would expect it to.

Agreed -- The RV042 doesn't combine bandwidth (e.g. 2 x 4Mbps lines for overall speed of 8Mbps). To do so would require sophisticated equipment and the ISP would have to support this function as well.

[mahjongguy]

Agreed -- The RV042 doesn't combine bandwidth (e.g. 2 x 4Mbps lines for overall speed of 8Mbps). To do so would require sophisticated equipment and the ISP would have to support this function as well.

Correct, but a good load balancing router can achieve the same desired effect (faster speeds) in the case where "the file" is actually multiple files. Best example is a torrent, which sets up dozens or hundreds of connections. These will be spread across the multiple Internet connections and result in quicker completion.

I can observe this effect directly: one of my speedtest sites uses multiple files to perform its tests. Most often I get d/l and u/l speeds that exceed both of my two ISPs. To wit, with my 10MB/512k and 4MB/512k lines I consistently get around 13MB down and 850k up.

So, if your Dual WAN router is set up properly, you will quite often get the combined effect of your Internet links. The one case where this certainly will not be true is where you are downloading a single large file.

NOTE: If at all possible, do not get two links from the same supplier. Surely, if one fails they both will.

NOTE: Do not use Google DNS nor OpenDNS. They are too far away. Using the freeware utility NameBench, I found three DNS servers in Thailand that are consistently 4 times faster. This has a huge impact, not on downloads but definitely on surfing.

Edited October 26, 2010 by mahjongguy

[filingaccount]

NOTE: Do not use Google DNS nor OpenDNS. They are too far away. Using the freeware utility NameBench, I found three DNS servers in Thailand that are consistently 4 times faster. This has a huge impact, not on downloads but definitely on surfing.

Quite a strong statement.

I agree that OpenDNS is a bit slow on responses from Thailand, but Google DNS' certainly are not.

On my connection Google's DNS is only a slight smidgen slower (few ms, confirmed by Namebench) on average than the secondary ISP DNS server. The ISP primary DNS is SLOWER than Google's DNS by nearly double.

The added benefit with Google's DNS is that they are actively being supported and maintained. They are probably much more secure than any DNS server in Thailand.

Conclusion? Every user must draw his own, but the loose consensus is that Google is the dogs <deleted> overall right now.

[mahjongguy]

I accept that Google's servers are better updated, etc. Still, I have to go by NameBench and the surprisingly noticeable improvement in surfing.

My NameBench results:

Google avg = 221.84ms min = 158.4ms

TrueInternet-3 TH avg = 56.64ms min = 9.1ms

TOT-2 TH avg = 138.61ms min = 8.5ms

[mahjongguy]

I have run NameBench again and this time Google was ahead by a nose. OpenDNS remained far back in the pack.

So, strong statement amended. Forget OpenDNS but definitely keep Google 8.8.8.8 on your DNS list.

[bkksw]

Another vote for the RVO42 Linksys.. rock solid. I used one with two lines for years without issue.

Easy to set up.. its like setting up two connection screens instead of one. The load balancing choices are few and easy to understand.