I just installed a second Internet for my home. I now have two providers. I was told that I could get a multi-WAN router that I could switch between the two providers and each has a different ISP to potentially avoid buffering, bans, etc. Any thoughts? And if so, suggested Router to get for this purpose. Thanks! I also wonder if installing a VPN directly on the router is a good idea?
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A multi-WAN router is a networking device that supports two or more Wide Area Network (WAN) connections, allowing it to link multiple ISPs through a single local gateway. These routers primarily provide load balancing to distribute traffic across connections for increased bandwidth, and failover to automatically switch to a backup connection if the primary internet service goes down, ensuring high availability.
Popular options for home and small business use include:
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Ubiquiti UniFi Gateways: Such as the Cloud Gateway Ultra, which is noted for its ease of setup and reliability for dual-WAN failover.
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TP-Link Omada Routers: Models like the ER605 V2 and ER707-M2 offer multi-WAN capabilities with load balancing and are popular for their affordability and Omada SDN integration.
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Peplink B One Series: Enterprise-grade routers like the Balance TWO or B One Gigabit that support SpeedFusion bonding and dual-WAN redundancy.
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DrayTek Vigor Series: Devices like the Vigor2927AX provide dual-WAN with Wi-Fi 6 and cellular failover options.
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Firewalla: A software/hardware solution that supports multiple WANs and allows users to define specific routing rules for different types of traffic.
These devices are essential for users requiring constant uptime, such as gamers or remote workers, by preventing downtime from ISP outages and optimizing network performance through traffic distribution.
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Thanks for the research, excellent info. Most of the good multi wan routers are priced pretty high, but a few are very economical. I found one review for such a model that had a surfshark vpn on it and he used it to get reliable consistent service without buffering. He set it up differently and if the one service failed, the router automatically used the other with almost no lag time. He did not use it for load balancing. Sounds like this would be a good hedge against throttling, etc. This router is the Cudy Gigabit Multi-WAN Router, very reasonably priced. Think I will order it and see how it goes. If it does what we all want, will review and add to this post.
If people want to try Multi-WAN, you’ll find that the TP-Link Omada ER605 can often be found going cheap on eBay. I bought a second hand one a while back and it’s a very versatile little unit.