LTE internet connection as a backup for cable internet

[Adles]

Hi guys,

 

I have a broadband cable internet which is my primary internet connection. Unfortunately, it has been unstable recently; sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes it goes down a few times a day. I also have LTE router with SIM card and data plan I got from my mobile network operator as a part of a mobile service package. The LTE router is wireless and has some ethernet ports, so it may easily substitute my cable router (I would be able to hook up my desktop via ethernet and other devices via Wi-Fi).

 

Now, I wonder if it is possible to set things up in a such a way that cable router would work as a primary internet connection and LTE router would act as a backup, in case cable internet is down. It would be ideally if the internet connection would switch automatically from cable to LTE, in case the former is down. I found on the Internet there is a solution offered by SimplyFailover, but it is not available in my country and besides seems costly.  The other solution would be some kind of manual switch which would allow me to conveniently select between cable internet connection and LTE internet connection (something more convenient than unplugging ethernet cable from cable router and plugging it into the LTE router). It sounds quite simple, however I do not know if and what hardware would be needed for this and how to set up the two routers.

 

Any ideas?

[Skiiwee29]

You can yes. Best way to do is it to get a central router and hook both connections into it. You then setup routing on it with administrative distances to tell it which route to use first unless its unavailable. We do this all the time with hotel networks I support for VOIP services. We have 2 providers, a fiber connection, and a LTE connection and hook them into a PF Sense server or similar router and setup the routes to prefer the fiber connection over the LTE unless the Fiber is down. 

[Adles]

4 hours ago, Skiiwee29 said:

You can yes. Best way to do is it to get a central router and hook both connections into it. You then setup routing on it with administrative distances to tell it which route to use first unless its unavailable. We do this all the time with hotel networks I support for VOIP services. We have 2 providers, a fiber connection, and a LTE connection and hook them into a PF Sense server or similar router and setup the routes to prefer the fiber connection over the LTE unless the Fiber is down. 

Thanks Skiiwee29,

Are there any specific requirements for that central router? Can you reccomend any?

[Donut417]

8 hours ago, Adles said:

Thanks Skiiwee29,

Are there any specific requirements for that central router? Can you reccomend any?

The Synology RT2600AC will allow you to connect two modems to it. So if you got a Cable modem and 4G modem with Ethernet you can do it. You can also hook a USB LTE dongle to the router as well, though Im not sure if it supports two connections in that config. 

[Adles]

18 hours ago, Donut417 said:

The Synology RT2600AC will allow you to connect two modems to it. So if you got a Cable modem and 4G modem with Ethernet you can do it. You can also hook a USB LTE dongle to the router as well, though Im not sure if it supports two connections in that config. 

Thanks Donut417.

 

I did some research and it looks like I need a dual WAN router (with 2 RJ-45 WAN ports) in order to hook up cable router and LTE router to it. The cable router would need to be configured as primary WAN and the LTE router as secondary WAN. Then I would need to configure dual WAN router to work in failover mode, so that LTE router will kick in in case cable internet connection is down. Simple as that. The only drawback is that dual WAN routers are not the cheapest piece of hardware :/

[Adles]

14 minutes ago, Adles said:

Thanks Donut417.

 

I did some research and it looks like I need a dual WAN router (with 2 RJ-45 WAN ports) in order to hook up cable router and LTE router to it. The cable router would need to be configured as primary WAN and the LTE router as secondary WAN. Then I would need to configure dual WAN router to work in failover mode, so that LTE router will kick in in case cable internet connection is down. Simple as that. The only drawback is that dual WAN routers are not the cheapest piece of hardware

The low cost alternative can be manual network switch, something like this: https://www.delock.de/produkte/G_87673/merkmale.html?setLanguage=en

[Donut417]

15 minutes ago, Adles said:

Thanks Donut417.

 

I did some research and it looks like I need a dual WAN router (with 2 RJ-45 WAN ports) in order to hook up cable router and LTE router to it. The cable router would need to be configured as primary WAN and the LTE router as secondary WAN. Then I would need to configure dual WAN router to work in failover mode, so that LTE router will kick in in case cable internet connection is down. Simple as that. The only drawback is that dual WAN routers are not the cheapest piece of hardware

Like I said the router I suggested has that ability. I think its little brother also has the ability. When I bought this router I was more like YOLO. But Synology does have a cheaper one. It does dual WAN, you just loose out on a LAN port to make it happen. 

[Adles]

2 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Like I said the router I suggested has that ability. I think its little brother also has the ability. When I bought this router I was more like YOLO. But Synology does have a cheaper one. It does dual WAN, you just loose out on a LAN port to make it happen. 

OK. You're right. I haven't noticed that LAN port can work as second WAN port.

[Donut417]

4 minutes ago, Adles said:

OK. You're right. I haven't noticed that LAN port can work as second WAN port.

Another option for you is a Ubiquiti edge router, they also do dual WAN from what I have read, I think they do load balancing and fail over. The only issue is they are wired only, so you would need a AP or a second router used as an AP to give you wireless. 

[jacoporicci]

Also Asus RT-AC86U has a dual wan option where you can set the usb port or one lan port to be in failover mode.