Need help with multiple WAN failover

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lassiterb

[H]ard|DCer of the Month - June 2009
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I have a customer that is wanting a 3 way redundant link between private sites. The primary connection will be via T1/E1, the the second will be via a microwave link, the third will also be over a microwave link.

If the first link fails then it should switch over to the second link and if the first and second fails then it should failover to the 3rd link.

All three links will be configured as an ethernet bridge so we will have an ethernet connection from each link to work with. There is no Internet connectivity across the links, only private traffic.

Does anyone here have any experience with configuring something such as this or can you recommend a vendor that has experience that I could work with?
 
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Your going to need to get something along the lines of a Cisco ASA for this.
It would require you to understand how to program such a router.
I would recommend calling a Cisco or network vendor in your area to set this up.
Its above my head.
 
it's not really a WAN failover if there is no internet connectivity....

more like PtP failover... w/ this kind of freedom why not just route all 3 and let your routing technology find the best route each time... ?
 
There's also a low cost solution ( which, from a business perspective I would absolutely recommend against, but it's fun to think about none the less ): linux router with 4 interfaces at each site.

Then it's just a simple matter of detecting a 'fail' condition and changing default routes if such a condition exists.

Again; bad idea in a business environment. But fun to think about none the less.
 
You could route all three on the same router, but maybe give priority to the "main" connection by changing it's priority/administrative distance, and then change the other two accordingly. Let the routing table decide what route to take like goodcooper said.
 
pfSense can do this- even load-balance while providing fail-over. You would need a device on each separate path capable of responding to pings. One of the nice things I like about pfSense is it can even fail a link based on packet loss/delay.
 
Thanks for the suggestions everyone, these have given me some ideas that I will setup a lab to try out.

I have been eyeing the Peplink Balance 310 as a possible solution. Has anyone had any experience with their equipment?
 
powertower said:
So you have 3 connections with a single point of failure, the router.
Click to expand...

There are plenty of other points of failure for this system also, however the links themselves are the primary concern since they will be more subject to conditions out of our control.
 
Why not just use OSPF or even spanning tree if they are simple bridges between buildings.
 
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