Re: [OT] ADSL Failover

["patrick_o_matic" <patrick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, Phil Dye <phil@...> wrote:
>
> Does anyone here have a working setup to provide automatic (ideally,
> although some minimal manual intervention is acceptable) failover in
the
> event of an ADSL connection going down? I know that some of the
Vigor's have
> ISDN backup ability, but keeping an ISDN line installed "just in
case" isn't
> a cheap option; PSTN fallback is enough, although given the prices
of ADSL
> nowadays, having two ADSL lines (to different providers) is an option.
>

I've set up solutions like this in the past, although I don't
currently bother on my own setup. In either case - ADSL failover or
dialup failover, the answer is pretty trivial if you have a linux
based firewall. You can automate the whole thing, using a simple cron
based script to detect failure on the primary circuit, optionally dial
and then bring up the new route. Make sure you include some kind of
automatic notification, and perhaps also limit the number of the
connection attempts if using dialup (each connection attempt costs 5p
typically, and if there is a fault on the line, the modem may not
train) - otherwise it's the road to financial ruin. It was also
possible at one time to buy routers with analogue dial failover (I
*think* there was a version of the Vigor that did this, and perhaps
also a variant of the firebrick and maybe a D-link router too?) - it
might be worth a dig on e-bay.

Patrick