Working With 2 ISPs For Home Networking?

An anonymous reader writes "This is, I think, a simple question — but one which I can't get the answer to. As a typical, but perhaps high-demand home user I would like to use 2 separate ISPs. ADSL is pretty cheap nowadays, and 2 x ADSL seems a better value than one fast one — especially in terms of reliability. If one breaks, at least the other will work. Using an old box as a router/firewall, how can I configure a system to use two completely separate ISPs in a sensible manner? Ideally, I'd like the load of my browsing to be balanced, but at the minimum, I'd want some kind of 'fail-over.' If I leave torrents running over night, I'd like the router to use whichever connection doesn't block the traffic — and preferably for it to reset the errant connection. Ideas?"

Comments

Re:Point of failure

[jettoblack]

You know, this is something I haven't been able to figure out. I live in Japan where we are hit by strong earthquakes at least a month, and typhoons (like hurricanes), thunderstorms, minor flooding, etc. almost every day during the rainy season. And no I don't live in central Tokyo, I live in the middle of a farming town and have to walk through flooded rice paddies to get from my apartment to the station. But my power and internet have NEVER gone out once in the 6 years I've lived here. We don't have anything special... the power and phone run on overhead lines on metal poles just like most places in the US.

Meanwhile, at my mom's house in the DC Metro area, USA, the power & internet go out every time there is anything more than a gentle breeze. What's going on?