Setting up a router for eir Fibre with a 4G failover option.

ItHurtsWhenIP

Hi Folks - looking for any thoughts on setting up a router/modem to provide a failover from a standard eir Fibre connection to a 4G connection (probably Vodafone).

I have read:
Internet load balancing advice (2 x vdsl connections)
Speedify - combine ISP connections
but these seem more focussed on load balancing. I really just want something that will use eir Fibre all the time, until it stops working and then switch to 4G until the primary link comes back.

I'm helping out a community organisation which recently upgraded to 50/20 eir Fibre. After the upgrade they also replaced their aging PBX with a VoIP solution and everything has been going swimmingly.

However concerns have been raised that they now have too much of a dependency on their single internet connection, particularly with respect to the phones, with it's domestic level of SLA. Even paying extra for a business SLA does not guarantee an adequate repair time (I think the domestic SLA was 3 days and the business was 1 day).

I priced up a few Wireless ISPs that cover the area to see what they could offer for something like a 3Mbps up & down, but the prices were pretty tasty working out more expensive than the eir Fibre! :eek: So I think it would be much cheaper to have a 4G backup. I got a speed test of 30/20 from Vodafone there.

So somebody mentioned Netcelero was an ideal solution, but this seems to be a connection bonding service (and there's a charge for that).

Is there anything that we could plug in a SIM in one side and the eir Fibre in the other and just have the SIM pick up when the eir Fibre dies?

Jayop

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

Hi Folks - looking for any thoughts on setting up a router/modem to provide a failover from a standard eir Fibre connection to a 4G connection (probably Vodafone).

I have read:
Internet load balancing advice (2 x vdsl connections)
Speedify - combine ISP connections
but these seem more focussed on load balancing. I really just want something that will use eir Fibre all the time, until it stops working and then switch to 4G until the primary link comes back.

I'm helping out a community organisation which recently upgraded to 50/20 eir Fibre. After the upgrade they also replaced their aging PBX with a VoIP solution and everything has been going swimmingly.

However concerns have been raised that they now have too much of a dependency on their single internet connection, particularly with respect to the phones, with it's domestic level of SLA. Even paying extra for a business SLA does not guarantee an adequate repair time (I think the domestic SLA was 3 days and the business was 1 day).

I priced up a few Wireless ISPs that cover the area to see what they could offer for something like a 3Mbps up & down, but the prices were pretty tasty working out more expensive than the eir Fibre! :eek: So I think it would be much cheaper to have a 4G backup. I got a speed test of 30/20 from Vodafone there.

So somebody mentioned Netcelero was an ideal solution, but this seems to be a connection bonding service (and there's a charge for that).

Is there anything that we could plug in a SIM in one side and the eir Fibre in the other and just have the SIM pick up when the eir Fibre dies?

This is the vodafone router and I remembered having seen this pic before when I googled it so it may or may not be relevent here.

As you can see there's a dongle plugged into the USB connection on the router. I'm guessing/assuming that that's a wireless dongle used to back up the wired connection or even purely in place of the wired connection and just using the router to distribute the signal.

Maybe that's a route you could investigate?

ED E

Re SLAs:

Residental / SME is 3-4 Working Days. That means you go down Friday afternoon you're off until Thursday of the next week. Not ideal. In Dublin it can be more like 2-3 days during the summer time.

You can pay for 4hr and 8hr SLAs if you want, its a product they offer but expect to pay significantly more.

For failover:

A. Ensure your 4G connection has a real IP address, no CGN or your SIP may just die.

B. You can either go with a residential grade all in one unit or go for a SOHO/Prosumer setup. Something like the HG658/659 are ok entry level and will support a dongle style LTE modem.

Going more serious:
Draytek (***If vectoring works***)
http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/business/vigor-2860l

Or you can go with a multi device setup:
A. Failover router eg. Netgear SOHO
B. eir F2000 acting as a modem
C. LTE Modem (whatever you want here)

The nice part of a multi device setup would be that if you want to change to FTTH or LTE-A at some point most of the setup remains identical.

Happy_Harry

MMFITWGDV wrote: »

Is there anything that we could plug in a SIM in one side and the eir Fibre in the other and just have the SIM pick up when the eir Fibre dies?

Yes.

A TP Link MR3220 should do the trick. See attached picture. This is from the V1 model ( I have had it for about 6 years). V2 is out now and supports 4G modems and I guess wil have similar options. They are around €40 on amazon.

You need this and a 4G dongle/modem that is supported by the MR 3220, the list of supported modems that TP Link has will probably not be complete, as mine supports all sorts of modems that are not on the list, but you may want to google or ask on a forum if your dongle/modem will work on the router

Plug ethernet cable from Eir modem/router into the internet port, the dongle/modem in the USB port, log into the router and choose the option WAN preferred. Not sure how many clients can log on at the same time, but again I am sure you can find that somewhere

Only thing I would be worried about is using 4G for voice, but I am sure you can or have tested that already.

Happy_Harry

And.. You may well find that the current 4G routers that are sold with the MBB packages ( Huawei B593/B315) also have this feature and without the need for a separate dongle. But I don't have one yet, so maybe someone here who does have one can confirm ?

rolion

Hi,

How do you plan in using the 4G connection if no static IP address can be allocated AND no NAT features are been allowed/enabled by the 4g network provider !?

Thanks

ED E

rolion wrote: »

Hi,

How do you plan in using the 4G connection if no static IP address can be allocated AND no NAT features are been allowed/enabled by the 4g network provider !?

Thanks

It wouldn't necessarily be an issue if the VOIP solution is externally hosted but would require a static if not.