ISP multi homing

AstroCom Powerlink ISP failover appliance

Ok, so I was visiting a customer the other day and he tells me about a new box he just got in to solve his multi-homing problems for having redundant ISP connections. He has struggled with setup of an ARIN number, wrestled with BGP on a Cisco router and tackled hookup of satellite internet as a path of last resort in a disaster. In the course of switching providers for his satellite internet (he went with Skycasters because they support VPN over satellite) he somehow came across AstroCom and their PowerLink appliance.

Astrocom's PowerLink Pro™ is a family of multi-homing WAN link failover and Internet load-balancing appliances that provide Internet high availability. Astrocom claims that they do this at about one-third the total cost of ownership of other products.

The AstroCom PowerLink appliance sits between your LAN and WAN. It allows you to use multiple Internet connections for true network redundancy and ISP failover. Depending on the model, PowerLink™ products provide:

* WAN link redundancy for ISP failover and Internet high availability among as many as 15 links for important internal and customer applications.
* Traffic load balancing (both inbound and outbound) from your network for bandwidth aggregation of up to 500 Mbps.
* Point-to-point channel bonding among as many as 40 locations, providing uninterrupted Internet access for reliable performance of applications like VPN and VoIP.
* Redundant hardware failover and monitoring capabilities for mission-critical applications that eliminate all potential single points of WAN link failure.
* QoS capabilities for bandwidth management that guarantee your most critical applications get the bandwidth aggregation required for smooth and consistent performance.
* The best service and support in the industry, with 90 days of free service and support from U.S.-based factory technicians, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a three-year depot warranty.

Pricing for this device starts at $1,295 for the Pro50 and goes to $8,195 for the Pro250.

One comment that bears repeating is that AstroCom support has been "awesome", with late night and weekend calls being answered by knowledgeable support staff and easy access to engineers to help with configuration and troubleshooting. Not something I hear everyday from a customer so kudos to AstroCom.

If you're looking to bond a T1, cable, DSL and/or satellite internet connection into a single, redundant failover pipe, take a look at the AstroCom Powerlink Pro.