Are you worried what would happen if you lost your Internet link for a few hours or days?
Below is a solution that a small business can implement to provide automatic link failover in the event that your fixed line Internet fails.
The below DrayTek router will allow multiple WAN connections. In this example we will use one WAN port for the primary ADSL link, and the USB port for the second WAN port with a 4G dongle.
DrayTek 2860 router $490
Optus Business E8372 4G USB WiFi Modem* $10/month
Options:
Optus static IP address bolt-on $5/month
MelbourneIT Premium DNS $30/month
The Optus modem can be purchased from an Optus shop or online for $72.
*Note this modem must be purchased from Optus as a business product. If you purchase it as a personal product you won’t have the option to bolt on a static IP address in the future.
The ongoing 4G wireless cost is $10 per month which includes 1.5GB of data with no contract. If the router fails over to the wireless service then Optus will charge $10 per gigabyte for the data over 1.5GB that is used.
Organisations that host their own services such as Exchange, remotely accessed terminal servers or other web services need to consider the option of staying online during a fixed line outage. Since the fixed line Internet link will have a static IP address(es) tied to it, if the link goes down then Exchange and other services will not be available to external users.
The solution to this problem is to have a static IP address allocated to the Optus 4G wireless service. All other 3G/4G providers only have dynamic IP addresses. An automatic failover to the Optus static IP address can be achieved by using the MelbourneIT Premium DNS service. Otherwise, the static IP address can be changed manually by a technician in the event of an outage.
If you have an existing DrayTek router and would like this configured, or if you would like to discuss how to have this solution setup please contact Rosh-Tech IT on 1300 666 040.