Is this homeplug/load balancer solution for 2 ISPs viable?

[J_J]

Hi,

Appreciate an answer to a solution we are considering.

I have two WIMAX ISPs with static IP addresses. My ethernet lines from the WIMAX masts are not close to my SmartTV and another 3 devices (a Nintendo Switch, a Mag IPTV box and an Android box), so we are using homeplugs.

Is this solution viable:

1. We want to run both WIMAX ethernet lines from the receivers on the roof into a double ethernet port homeplug, and attach POE to both lines to power them.

2. Then we plug in another single port homeplug next to our TV and run an ethernet line in to a TP Link R470T+ load balancer router to configure both ISPs. We plug the homeplug ethernet cable in to the WAN port of the R470T+ load balancer router and configure both WANs to use both ISPs based on their separately allocated IP addresses.

3. We now have 3 WAN/LAN ports and a single LAN port available on the R470T+ load balancer router.

4. We plug in our 3 devices to the 3 WAN/LAN ports on the R470T+ load balancer router.

5. We don't have WIFI yet, and we have no more WAN/LAN ports available, so we plug a separate TL-WR841N WIFI router in to the LAN port of the load balancer.

Would this solution be viable? We need to have WIFI and have our TV and other devices Internet accessible over a physical line as it is faster and more reliable.

Could we allocate one device to one ISPs network to "spread the load", so to speak? Are there other solutions even?

Thanks ever so much.

Mark

P.S. Simple network diagram attached of what i am trying to achieve.

 

[ColinTaylor]

2. Then we plug in another single port homeplug next to our TV and run an ethernet line in to a TP Link R470T+ load balancer router to configure both ISPs. We plug the homeplug ethernet cable in to the WAN port of the R470T+ load balancer router and configure both WANs to use both ISPs based on their separately allocated IP addresses.

A quick look at the manual here makes me think this won't work. The load balancing only works between physical ports not by IP address. Therefore you would need a separate Ethernet connection into the R470T+ for each of your WIMAX lines.

 

[kanewolf]

Mikrotik routers have a very large temperature tolerance and they make outdoor rated hardware. You could use a Mikrotik to load balance in the attic or outside, then go into powerline network for distribution.

 

[J_J]

Thanks for the replies. It's more the topology that I have problems understanding. Can anyone show me how my home network could work to allow my property to get Internet in to the house using homeplugs and with a wifi router also working?

At present our WIMAX lines feed two routers, and one of these plugs in to a home plug. The other just serves wifi. Both routers and all the cables are outside, and whilst they are covered in a box etc, are exposed to the elements more. I want to bring the equipment, or as much of it as possible, inside.

 

[degrub]

What issue are you trying to solve ?
A physical layout of your existing implementation would help.
Where are the masts ? on the roof or separate towers ?

Lightning protection is likely an issue as well.

 

[J_J]

What issue are you trying to solve ?
A physical layout of your existing implementation would help.
Where are the masts ? on the roof or separate towers ?
Lightning protection is likely an issue as well.

There are two poles with wimax receivers on the roof. These drop two ethernet lines. Both of these lines currently feed in to two TP-Link wifi routers. One of those routers feeds a ethernet cable to an outside homeplug in order to get Internet connectivity into the main house. The other router is just used as a backup - wifi access only. The issue I want to try and solve is to get as much of that hardware (preferably all of it) inside the house. I also wanted to try and use a load balancer to configure the two connections and have a fallover network for one ISP connection (hence the load balancer). Ideally one wifi router inside would be sufficient (as it would really have access to both networks). We don't own the property so we cannot drill holes in walls etc.

The real set-up is that the two ethernet lines from the rooftop WIMAX dishes actually go straight in to two separate wifi routers. One of those routers has an extra ethernet cable out to a plug to get Internet in to the house electrical system. The other router is for wifi only (a backup system). So we have two routers to maintain and all the extra wires etc. A new diagram of the current setup is attached.

 

[degrub]

Do you have access through a roof eave vent or gable end vent ?

 

[J_J]

Do you have access through a roof eave vent or gable end vent ?

Unfortunately not, and there are no eaves - it's a concrete roof

Anyone got any ideas on how to get the router(s) inside? I may need a bit of hardware outside to plug the endpoints in, but what if not a router?

 

[ColinTaylor]

It's difficult for us to recommend anything in particular because your problem appears to be constrained by your physical layout/restrictions.

Ideally you'd want both the Ethernet cables from both WIMAX devices run into your house to meet at a common location. I'm not sure from what you said whether that's not possible at all, or whether just one of the Ethernet cables can be re-routed.

What about power? One of the WIMAX router's is connected to a powerline adaptor, presumably the other one also has access to mains power because of its local router?

If you're saying that there is no way at all of feeding any type of Ethernet cable from the WIMAX locations into the house but each location does have mains power then that's what you'll have to use. You can setup two pairs of powerline adaptors so that each pair operates using it's own separate network (see the instruction manual). Bear in mind that even though the two powerline networks are logically separate they are both sharing the same physical medium (mains wiring) which may limit the maximum combined bandwidth.

So, having connected each of your WIMAX devices directly into their respective powerline adaptors you can now place the other two adpters in your house in a common location. You can then plug the two connections into your load balancing router.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[J_J]

Thanks f0r that.

Could I plug the two ethernet/POA cables that come down from the roof directly in to the load balancer, in failover mode, and then put the WAN ethernet line into a homeplug (outside)? I could then plug a wifi router into the second homeplug inside the house and use the LAN ports for my devices like IPTV etc. Would that work? I would then have one wifi router that can utilise both ISPs (one at a time) and also have directly linked devices (IPTV, Android box etc).

 

[ColinTaylor]

Yes that sounds like it should work. Obviously I'm not familiar with the specific equipment you are using so double check the manuals, but in principle it should work.

 

[J_J]

Yes that sounds like it should work. Obviously I'm not familiar with the specific equipment you are using so double check the manuals, but in principle it should work.

I forgot to say I don't really want to put the load balancer outside as it's a nice piece of equipment, so would a cheap unmanaged switch (20$) work, and then put the load balancer after the 2nd homeplug? So it would be:

WIMAX 1 + 2 -> cheap switch -> HOMEPLUG 1 [outside] -> HOMEPLUG 2 [inside] -> Load Balancer -> WIFI Router (via LAN port) + other devices (via LAN ports) .

Many thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

I forgot to say I don't really want to put the load balancer outside as it's a nice piece of equipment, so would a cheap unmanaged switch (20$) work, and then put the load balancer after the 2nd homeplug? So it would be:

WIMAX 1 + 2 -> cheap switch -> HOMEPLUG 1 [outside] -> HOMEPLUG 2 [inside] -> Load Balancer -> WIFI Router (via LAN port) + other devices (via LAN ports) .

No that won't work because it's essentially the same setup you initially proposed. Remember that the objective is to have two separate physical lines going into the load balancer.

You could have a managed switch between the WIMAX and HOMEPLUG 1, and another managed switch between HOMEPLUG 2 and the load balancer. Then create separate VLANs for each feed - but that's rather pointless as you can achieve the same thing by using two pairs of powerline adaptors as I described in post #9.

 

[J_J]

Ok thank you all. I'll report back when I get it working!