Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Hosting Security and Technology : Combine 2 ADSL line ?

[infantiablue]

I have a plan to build a small web-server for my website. I can not use leased line because it is too expensive. I intend to combine 2 ADSL line ( Up : 640 kbps / Down : 2 Mbps ) . I dont know that whether I need other devices ? Or just using 2 NIC is enough.

Thank you very much for your help !

[jamesyeeoc]

If you use 2 NICs in the server and each one has it's own IP, then your server will have 2 IPs. There will not be any load balancing or 'fail over' since each domain hosted will be associated with 1 IP (in DNS A record). If you just want to have 2 IPs on your server, then going with 2 NICs would (of course) be the cheapest/easiest.

I guess it all comes down to: What are you expecting to accomplish by 'combining' the 2 ADSL lines?

If you were to have 2 DNS servers for the hosted domains, and each DNS server were pointing each domain to different IPs, then there could *possibly* be some partial load balancing going on, as long as DNS2 were to answer requests at least part of the time....

I am assuming this is a small time operation (like at home) and you have a limited budget. You may want to look at the info for LinkSys Model RV082 (or whatever latest is). It is not designed for server use, but depending on how you set things up, may be of some use. Excerpt from their product literature:

But the unique dual Internet ports on the 10/100 8-Port VPN Router let you connect a second Internet line as a backup to insure that you're never disconnected. Or, use both Internet ports at the same time, and let the router balance your office's requirements between them for maximum bandwidth efficiency.

http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=29&prid=589
Note: even if you don't need VPN it should still work fine.

I am not saying this will necessarily work since I have no clue what you are hoping to accomplish, just giving a low cost option

[heymar]

Hi,
Two nic's would'nt be enough, the problem is in DNS. How you would make one connection go thru 1ip, other thru another? Linux has some tools to make 1 line from 2, but this will require additional configs from your provider.
Better purchase dedicated server, this will cost less and you will have no headdeck.

[jamesyeeoc]

heymar - your point about 'how to make one connection go thru 1 ip, other thru another' - that is one scenario where the LinkSys device *may* come in handy, assuming he were to have a 2nd nameserver registered on the 2nd ADSL IP and those zone files had the same domain(s) but different IP, then if ADSL-1 were to go down, then DNS requests would be handled by 2nd DNS server and give the 2nd IP (accessible by the 2nd ADSL line) or something like that. I'm so tired right now, I'm not even sure I'm typing properly.

I know I was able to do this strictly as a test for a client, using 2 T1 lines, but that was a while ago, but I was able to get it to work, but eventually sold that client a dual server fail-over auto-sync via separate private gigabit connection.

Anyways, sun's coming up, my eyelids are going down. Good luck, waiting to hear from infantiablue as to what the real objective is....

[heymar]

Originally posted by heymar
Hi,
Two nic's would'nt be enough, the problem is in DNS. How you would make one connection go thru 1ip, other thru another? Linux has some tools to make 1 line from 2, but this will require additional configs from your provider.
Better purchase dedicated server, this will cost less and you will have no headdeck.

I think he is trying to make 1line to double throughput.

By the way checkout post times
jamesyeeoc -- 07-10-2005 03:53 PM
heymar -- 07-10-2005 03:53 PM
But, you was first!

[heymar]

Originally posted by jamesyeeoc
heymar - your point about 'how to make one connection go thru 1 ip, other thru another' - that is one scenario where the LinkSys device *may* come in handy, assuming he were to have a 2nd nameserver registered on the 2nd ADSL IP and those zone files had the same domain(s) but different IP, then if ADSL-1 were to go down, then DNS requests would be handled by 2nd DNS server and give the 2nd IP (accessible by the 2nd ADSL line) or something like that.

This is not a good solution, if he is using lines from one provider. 80% if something will happend, they both will die.

[jamesyeeoc]

Yes, I realize that, but he did not specify if they were the same or different. There are many variables which would affect things, but he didn't post anything of much use. Using just his post, I was giving him different options for different scenarios. If he posts again with more information and what his objective is, then further (informed) discussion can then ensue. For example, if his objective is not realistic, then this entire thread becomes a moot point and should be deleted. We just have to wait and see.

[SROHost]

if he is using lines from one provider. 80% if something will happend, they both will die.

Not always true. While different providers would be optimal, the physical lines will still be separate and they could possibly be routing through different networks as well. I use dual Verizon DSL lines for my home office (one 'residential' and one 'business') and they are very close to independent. Only once in the last year have they both been down at the same time.

To the original poster: While it may be an educational experience hosting your own machine, dual DSL is not a cost effective setup for hosting. Yes, you can purchase a consumer dual WAN router which will load balance between two lines, but it will only balance INCOMMING traffic (as stated above, one site will still always send traffic out over one IP) and you still have at best a very small fraction of the bandwidth and reliability of a traditional host. If money is an issue, you are FAR better off just taking the $29->$59/mo the second DSL line will cost and use it toward a VPS in a real datacenter environment.