This might be a silly question...
We are looking for a Dual WAN Router for fail-over reasons, but since we pay for both connections anyway, we might as well take advantage of them. What confuses me, is that they all write, that you can use the router in EITHER fail-over or Load Balancing mode.
What does that mean if I run it in Load Balancing mode and one connection goes down?
Since we are at it, any device you can recommend (that supports vpn too)?
Multi-WAN routers have these two settings:
The first setting is the simpler of the two: the second WAN link is used only when the first is completely dead.
Load-balancing mode should theoretically include the same fail-over mechanisms, but adds more advanced functionality to use both links simultaneously, spreading traffic evenly across both. This is more complex however, as sometimes when a TCP connection is created across one WAN link, future packets for that connection may need to also travel via that same link, as such the router will store tables in its memory to track this kind of information.
It would make sense to use both connections if you're already paying for them. Just be aware that if one is a lot slower than the other, that some types of traffic that begin on the slower link might remain on the slower link until a new connection is made.
The TP-Link TL-R470T+ Router seems to have both of these features, and with good reviews too. I'd be keen to try one out.
(Thanks also to deveneyi who mentioned a similar thing in their comment.)
Have a look at the Draytek 2900 series, like this one that should do what you want.
