Technical help with Broadband

StayOrGo

Hi, I wonder if any of you techies out there could help me.

I have just ordered and installed another Broadband as a backup.

So my main Broadband is Virgin Media, for which I have a wireless hub and I am also connected directly via an ethernet cable.

I have a backup Broadband with SkyBroadband. I am automatically connected via the cable to VM and I am connected only wirelessly to Sky.

Which Broadband am I actually using?

The reason I ask this is that one of them crashed (pretty sure it was V-Media) and things took a while to re-connect.

So when VM crashed, Sky Broadband kicked in and SkyPoker was up and running after a few refresh attemps.

Does the fixed line connection always take precedent when both services are available? Also, is there a way to make the transition more seemless when one service does crash? Missed a few hands while trying to get SkyPoker going again.

OK, as I said earlier, I think to start with I was using VM, then that crashed and I moved to Sky, now VM is back and I am not sure if it switches back automatically to VM via the fixed line. So am I now using VM Broadband or Sky Broadband?

They both show as connected.

It would be handy to know, so I know where the problem may lie when I have connection issues.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Graham

markycash

There should be an icon on the bottom right of your screen that if you click on will show you which service you are connected to. There may be 2 (1 showing the one you are hardwired to and one that shows your wireless options).

Personally I would unplug the hardware connection and work wirelessly to simplify things...

That way you can click the icon on the bottom right of your screen (usually 2 mini screens I think) and it will show you which provider you are connected to. If you crash then click the icon and immediately click to connect to the other and you should be back very quickly. There should also be the option in the settings after you click the icon to make 1 of them the default and you can move the different possible connections up/down to arrange them in the order you want them to be prioritised.

Hope this helps a bit, would attempt a better reply but typing via my phone which is cumbersome with my big fingers...

Hope you get it sorted.

NoseyBonk

Hi Graham,

I can see what you're hoping to achieve BUT .. in this case I would stick to connecting to only one at a time.

So when you're on Virgin disable the wireless connection to Sky.

If Virgin goes bad then disable that connection and enable the Sky connection.

.. especially if you've just got the two routers and left them configured as they get supplied from the provider? In which case I can see a lot of mess when connected to both at the same time.

Doing it manually will provide the most seemless shift.

 

markycash

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband:

Hi Graham, I can see what you're hoping to achieve BUT .. in this case I would stick to connecting to only one at a time. So when you're on Virgin disable the wireless connection to Sky. If Virgin goes bad then disable that connection and enable the Sky connection. .. especially if you've just got the two routers and left them configured as they get supplied from the provider? In which case I can see a lot of mess when connected to both at the same time. Doing it manually will provide the most seemless shift.  
Posted by NoseyBonk

I don't think you can connect to 2 networks accessing the internet at once (I know you can connect to the internet and a local intranet but I don't think you can have 2 connections to the internet from 1 device at the same time). The line traffic would need to know a path to follow (1 connection). Having a 2nd connection as a backup would be little different than having access to your neighbour's wifi for back up and piggybacking that when your network crashed. Having that extra connection is a smart idea but only as a back up you can connect to if one of them fails. There shouldn't (as far as I am aware be a major advantage to the hardwire connection). As long as your device has wireless functionality which pretty much all do these days then just using them both wirelessly should be fine (I cannot see any major tangibile advantage to the hardwiring).

P.S. If you have a smartphone then you can use this device as a back up or you could create a wifi hotspot to create a backup network to connect to from you laptop/pc from your smartphone's network without having to sign up to another provider as a backup. This has the advantage of working off of the 3G or 4G mobile networks so if there is a problem with the hard lines in your area which would kill your internet regardless of whether you were with BT, VM, Sky etc (as they all use the hard lines connecting your street) then you can sidestep that problem using the mobile network to connect to the internet.

P.S. 4G speeds are usually faster than normal broadband as far as I know so this really could be a better option as a backup.

P.P.S. If you have never used your smartphone as a hotspot and are not sure how to do this... A quick browse of youtube videos is usually very helpful and easy to follow.

Phantom66

"(I cannot see any major tangibile advantage to the hardwiring)."

With a hardwired connection you are eliminating the risk of issues with the wifi connection. This can drop off or cause interruptions if for example there is  interference from other wireless devices nearby.

If the internet connection is down at your local cabinet or exchange then either having a separare provider that uses a different network  will give you a back up. E.g. VM and Sky or a good 4g connection are both viable.

In short I would recommend using hard wired by default. Disable wifi and then manually connect to your backup method if you lose connection. Switching will never be seemless as it will take time to connect to new ISP and then you will need to refresh tables and may need to kogin to skypoker again. 

CxE1

Hi Graham, I have vm and never have connection issues (at my end) on desktop but do have issues when using laptop. As i play more than 1 site at a time its an issue when only 1 says disconnected. The issue for me is not how many connections but how fast you can open a table again. Myself, as im useless on techy stuff, i always have an extra laptop nearby on standby just in case

markycash

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband:

"(I cannot see any major tangibile advantage to the hardwiring)." With a hardwired connection you are eliminating the risk of issues with the wifi connection. This can drop off or cause interruptions if for example there is  interference from other wireless devices nearby. If the internet connection is down at your local cabinet or exchange then either having a separare provider that uses a different network  will give you a back up. E.g. VM and Sky or a good 4g connection are both viable. In short I would recommend using hard wired by default. Disable wifi and then manually connect to your backup method if you lose connection. Switching will never be seemless as it will take time to connect to new ISP and then you will need to refresh tables and may need to kogin to skypoker again. 
Posted by Phantom66

I can only go from my experience, personally I never have issues with interference when using wifi. The non mobile providers  in my area (as far as I know) all use the same wires at the same exchange so being with multiple providers wouldn't correct problems if they arose at the local exchange.

I know all areas are different though so advice would depend on the set up in each persons area.

NoseyBonk

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband:

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband : I don't think you can connect to 2 networks accessing the internet at once (I know you can connect to the internet and a local intranet but I don't think you can have 2 connections to the internet from 1 device at the same time). The line traffic would need to know a path to follow (1 connection). 
Posted by markycash

(I didn't tell him to do that but..) it is doable but there are lots of ifs and buts - hence my suggestion to keep it simple.

Example setup - If I was doing what Graham is doing with two internet connections I'd have my local LAN on the 192.168.1.0/24 network, then have my first router on 192.168.1.254 and the second on 192.168.1.253 with my workstations on 192.168.1.1-252. If the .254 gateway goes down just manually switch to the .253 gateway (default gateway setting in TCPIP). You could have two default gateways and use Dead Gateway Detection but I don't think Windows desktop OS even does this properly (if at all), and even then it wouldn't be seemless. 

On top of that, the session with Sky Poker will always need breaking/re-establishing manually, as the public IPs will change mid-session and the previously established NAT translation tables will be missing (because we're on connection through a new router).

I'm guessing Graham's routers are 'factory settings' so are probably on different local networks/both doing DHCP/etc...etc... So all-in-all it's easier for Graham to just enable each as needed.

MrJoeBlogs

Graham, when you say you have a second connection, Is that on a second phone line or are they both connected to the same line?

NoseyBonk

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband:

Graham, when you say you have a second connection, Is that on a second phone line or are they both connected to the same line?
Posted by MrJoeBlogs

It can only be two seperate lines.

MrJoeBlogs

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband:

In Response to Re: Technical help with Broadband : It can only be two seperate lines.
Posted by NoseyBonk

Didn't VM use to use a seperate cabled connection rather than your phone line?

I know your line is tagged to a single ISP so you couldn't share 1 line.

I dont think you will ever get a seemless switch over no matter what.
As Marky said, A mobile hotspot as a backup isn't a bad call.

NoseyBonk

There is also the question as to why the original connection is so unreliable that it needs a backup connection (?)

How often does the original go down for so long that the backup connection needs to be used? 

If my primary internet connection went down say once a month - for just 5 minutes - I'd think there was something seriously wrong!

I run a second connection at work but that's only because IF the first one goes down AND they can't fix it in less than a few hours I can switch to the backup. It hasn't happened yet.

StayOrGo

Thanks for all the help.

I will connect just to VM and then use Sky if it crashes.

FYI, my VM is through Fibre Optic Cable and Sky through a phone line.

Appreciate all the feedback.

Cheers,

Graham