Redundant Internet Connections
In today’s digital age, a stable and reliable internet connection is crucial for businesses. From communicating with patients and clients to accessing critical data and conducting online transactions, any downtime in internet connection can have significant losses. To ensure your business never loses internet connection again, you need to consider implementing redundant internet connections.
What is a Redundant Internet Connection?
A redundant internet connection is a backup internet connection that is automatically activated when the primary connection fails. This backup connection can be a different type of connection or provided by a different service provider. By having a redundant connection, you ensure that you always have an internet connection available, even when your primary connection goes down.
The Benefits of Redundant Internet Connections
Some of the benefits of redundant internet connections include:
Increased Reliability: By having a redundant internet connection, you can ensure that you always have an internet connection. This is particularly crucial for businesses that rely heavily on the internet to carry out their day-to-day operations.
Increased Productivity: Downtime can lead to lost productivity and revenue. With redundant internet connections, you can minimize the downtime and ensure your employees can continue working even when the primary connection fails.
Improved Customer Satisfaction: For businesses that offer online services or products, internet downtime can lead to customer frustration and lost revenue. By having a backup internet connection, you can ensure that your customers can access your services or products even when the primary connection fails.
Types of Routers That Can Handle Redundant Internet Connections
To implement redundant internet connections, you need a router/firewall that can handle it. There are a couple of common things to look out for to make sure your router that can handle redundant internet connections:
Dual-WAN: Routers with dual WAN capabilities are routers that have two dedicated WAN (Wide Area Network an older term for internet) ports that can connect to two different internet service providers (ISPs). With a dual-WAN router, if one connection fails, the router automatically switches to the other connection, ensuring you remain connected to the internet.
Load Balancing Routers: Load balancing routers are routers that can use multiple WAN connections at the same time. These routers can distribute the network traffic across multiple WAN connections, ensuring that if one connection fails, the others can pick up the slack. If a company needs both internet connections it should understand the impact to business if there is only one active at a time.
SD-WAN: SD Wan capabilities mean different things depending on who is using the term. However, at it’s core it needs two or more internet connections to work so you can be assured that the device more than likely supports multiple internet connections.
Options to Implement Redundant Internet Connections
There are multiple options to implement redundant internet connections in your business:
Multiple Internet Providers: Another option to consider is to subscribe to multiple internet service providers (ISPs). By using multiple ISPs with different network infrastructures, you can ensure that your internet connection stays up and running even if one ISP experiences an outage. The connections can be spec’d to ensure no loss of performance in the event of a failover. This is generally considered to be the most resilient but may be more expensive than other options.
Alternative Connections from the Same Provider: Many internet service providers offer multiple types of internet connections, such as fiber, cable, DSL, or satellite. By subscribing to multiple types of connections from the same provider, you can create redundant connections that can kick in if one connection goes down. For instance, if you have a fiber connection as your primary connection, you can subscribe to a cable or DSL connection as a backup. Since the connections are from the same companies there may be a little more risk but pricing is generally better for what you get.
Cellular Connections: Cellular connections provide an excellent backup option for individuals and businesses. 4G LTE and 5G networks are widely available across many regions and offer reliable internet speeds. By using a cellular modem, you can connect to the internet using a cellular data plan, and if your primary connection fails, you can switch to the cellular network. These are usually a little slower than mainstream connections and are heavily dependent on placement and signal strength.
Wireless Providers: Wireless internet providers that offer high-speed internet access using non cellular wireless technology. These providers use fixed wireless equipment to establish a direct wireless link between their customer’s location and the provider’s tower(s). One example of a WISP that offers high-speed wireless internet is LV.Net. By subscribing to a wireless high-speed internet provider, you can have a backup internet connection that can provide reliable and fast internet access in case your primary wired connection fails. Performance of these connections can be impacted by weather and line of site.
Double the Connection, Double the Confidence
Redundant internet connections are essential for businesses and individuals who rely heavily on the internet. By implementing redundant internet connections, you can ensure that you always have access to the internet, even when your primary connection fails. This can increase reliability, productivity, and customer satisfaction.
Routers/firewalls that support this are effective but can be expensive. There is still risk from the router/firewall failing though it is usually more uncommon. We can walk you through adding this additional redundancy level if needed as well as help weigh options for your internet connections.