2 DSL line question

[NL5]

Hopefully this is a pretty simple question. I am having a second DSL line installed. Telco can't bond the lines, so I am getting two modems and a load balancing dual WAN router. The problem is, most of the modems I have found come with a router with a single LAN port (like TP Link TD-8816). Can you shut off the router part of the modem, or will it not really be an issue? Since I will be connecting two of these to the WAN inputs on my router, I assume I don't want the modems to function as routers as well.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Most (?) DSL modems offer some sort of "bridge mode" feature, that would allow you to use your dual-WAN router, without the difficulty of dual-NAT.

 

[Gryz]

So there are 2 modems, both in bridge mode. So they won't do any NAT. And they are connected to one router, which does NAT. Which connected to your home LAN.

How is that supposed to use both DSL-lines ?
Can someone explain to me how all of this is supposed to work ? I understand routing very well. I might miss some new tricks or features that home-routers can do these days. But if you use ordinary routing on one router, with 2 DSL-modems in bridge mode, all packets leaving the router towards the Internet will get one and the same IP-address. And all servers (or other machines) on the Internet that will send traffic back to you, will all use that one same single IP address. And packets for that address will always get routed over 1 DSL-line. And therefor there will be no load-balancing.

What am I missing here ?

NL5, did you discuss your setup with 2 DSL-lines with your telco ? Did they tell you your traffic will be load-shared over both lines ? Did they tell you how to set up your side ? Did they acknowledge this will actually work as you expect it will ?

 

[NL5]

They are both connected to a dual WAN load balancing router. That will control where packets go. For the most part, it will not help with a single session. But it will split multiple users across the two lines. I wanted to get two bonded lines, but that requires equipment on my end and at the telco. I live in the sticks, so not only do I have really slow internet, the telco doesn't offer bonding. With bonding, the two modems would act like one, and would essentially double my speed. The only way to see double speed with the balancing is with multithreading (like a download manager). I went from pretty fast cable internet, to a super slow dsl, and will have to pay way more now for way less. Stupid thing is, I can see the last Comcast service from my house, but they won't extend it as of now.

 

[NL5]

Most (?) DSL modems offer some sort of "bridge mode" feature, that would allow you to use your dual-WAN router, without the difficulty of dual-NAT.

Thanks! That was exactly what I needed to know.

 

[NL5]

Just wanted to post an update (mostly for Gryz - or anyone looking to do the same) -

Got both modems set up in bridge mode (thanks VirtualLarry) and hooked up to a UTT AC750GW router. Everything works exactly as expected. Can't get double speed via speedtest.net, but with IDM, I do get double speed on large file downloads. Best I can get without bonding, which the telco doesn't offer.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've just been experimenting with Shibby Tomato MultiWAN builds on my Asus RT-N12/D1 router.

What gets really interesting is policy-based MultiWAN routing. Which can allow certain specific source IPs or MACs, or destination IPs or domains, or protocols/ports, etc, to be routed out over one or more WAN ports.

https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/tomato-1-28-shibby-build-138-multiwan.2485283/

It defaults to a weighted round-robin load balancing, but can be set for failover too.

 

[Gryz]

Thanks for the update, NL5. I'm aware of the potential problems when load-balancing over 2 separate lines to the Internet, without any special actions by your provider(s). (E.g. no bonding). Usually it won't do what people expect. But you mention the words "multiple users", and then yes, you can get double the bandwidth. But for residential use, it probably won't do what people expect. (E.g. you can't use higher NetFlix resolutions, etc). On the other hand, for things like torrents it probably won't matter much.

I wonder how well this works in real-life. I can see all kind of corner-cases where the result is sub-optimal. And then it just depends on how much extra you're willing to pay to get more bandwidth in some cases.

 

[JackMDS]

To get the full Speed of both line you the DSL service from an ISP that support it as a Bonded connection.

.

 

[NL5]

To get the full Speed of both line you the DSL service from an ISP that support it as a Bonded connection.

.

Yep. This is what I wanted, but my Telco doesn't support it.

Gryz - I am sure that a lot of people would be disappointed with my setup, as am I. But if you do any research before doing it, it should not be a surprise as to what it can and can't do. Unfortunately for me, this is literally the best I can get right now. Hoping the gfast technology gets adopted in my area, or Comcast extends service to me.