sundance-communications.com/forum Forums VOIP Phones & IP PBX Networking Dual WAN Router?

Can any of you router guys point me in the right direction?

I have a customer that has two locations. They are connected thru a Point to Point T1. I would like for site B to have a DSL connection as a back up with a VPN connection thru the internet to site A..

Can this be done to where the router senses the primary (p2p) connection severed it will automatically send data traffic to the VPN connection thru the DSL?

Look at the Adtran 3305's. I used them at two car dealerships a few years back. Once the P2P connection was severed, there was 1-2 dropped packets while it failed over to the VPN.

I believe the Watchguard Firebox Edge series should do this. They do have dual WAN ports. Whether the VPN will flop to the other interface, I am not sure, as I haven't had to setup a dual connection yet with them. I would assume it would do that however. I also believe you can customize the firewall to put traffic over whichever interface you want.

If you like having options you can look into PFSense or Untangle... I've worked with both and they have varying levels of usefulness. If you want simple plug-n-play set-up the Linksys RV-042 I have used before. The failover had to detect link loss though.

I'd look at an Adtran 3430 or a small Cisco - like an 1841 or similar. The capability that you're looking for is called BGP.

BGP isn't really needed in a situation like this. Even two static routes will work. Just set the route across the VPN with a higher AD/Metric and it will take the secondary path when the primary fails.

The bigger question is the method the router uses for loss of link detection. Most of the lesser-capable routers detect it at Layer-2 or less, which means you have to physically unplug a cable.

Ask whatever manufacturer if the router will detect loss of Layer-3/4 connectivity to the endpoints (simple ping tests) and failover on that.

And I agree with Keith-C, you do not need or really want BGP for this. That'd be like using a 18-wheeler to go pick up a 6-pack and carton of cigarettes at the store. While it can be done, and you can haul it back, the process of getting there will drive you insane and be cumbersome.