Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Multi-Homing Your Home Network?

Posted by Cliff on from the load-balancing-and-failure-protection dept.

Jens asks: "For some time now, I have been looking for an affordable solution to multi-home my little network. I have both DSL and cable feeds and it would be nice to combine them with some basic load sharing but more importantly with some failure protection for both incoming and outgoing traffic. My DNS provider allows for round robin access to my two feeds for incoming traffic load sharing and to dynamically change my DNS entry which could be used for feed failure protection. Are there any Slashdot readers who have tackled this problem? Seems like there are quite a few people out there in my shoes but nobody seems to have found the magic solution."

2 of 22 comments (clear)

  1. Forget multihoming. Load balancing, but no BGP by BigJim.fr · · Score: 5, Informative

    Stop dreaming, no consumer ISP is going to let you send BGP annoucements into their network. Can't blame them though : BGP in novice hands is a very convenient way to fuck up spectacularily.

    Go for proxy-based load balancing for the HTTP traffic, go for TEQL (loadsharing over multiple interfaces queuing in order to split the rest, use RIP to announce availability of outbound connections. Basically, you can do almost anything you want with outgoing connections, but you're pretty much stuck if you want inbound failover.

    Give me a consumer DSL access provider that does BGP and I'll be a happy man ! Right now, no one gets it unless getting access through large-ish leased lines with lavish support and matching price tag.

  2. Forget it by ikekrull · · Score: 5, Informative

    You can't have inbound failover, the political structure of the those in control of the internet have deemed that you, as a small player, should not have the ability to do this.

    Theoretically, you could obtain a /18 or /19 block of routable IPs from InterNIC (or whatever they are called these days, or in your part of the world), and arrange to BGP peer with several local ISPs, which would give you exactly what you want.

    However, if you think you will actually be able to successfully do this, without licking ass, emptying your wallet and generally getting fucked around by all and sundry, forget it.

    The 'routable' internet is pretty much closed to new players, might as well get used to being 'just another host'

    --
    I gots ta ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long