Load balancing accross multiple upstream providers

RouterOS General
1

Ok, I am probably not doing this correctly. So here is my problem:

I work for a small ISP and right now we only have one bandwidth provider. So, we just use a Cisco 3550 to run our network. Well, we ran out of bandwidth, so here in about three weeks we will have a second bandwidth provider. So we purchased a PowerRouter 732. The only thing we want to do with the 732 is take the two bandwidth providers streams, combine them together, then put them back out to the switch. We have an external DHCP server, and we still want the Cisco to handle everything else.

So, when we got the 732, I started playing with the configuration so I can make sure when it comes time to actually launch it in the network, it works.

I set up two Motorola Canopy SMs to connect to one of our towers. I plugged one of the SMs into eth1 and the other into eth2. I plugged a computer into eth7 (saving the other ports for future expansion). I configured it with a DHCP relay to our DHCP server, and added our two DNS servers. I then added Eth1 and Eth2 to a bonding interface (the DHCP relay is setup to go through eth1). On the bonding interface I set balance rr as the mode. I then added a bridge and added the bonding interface and eth7 to that bridge.

Success! Well, sort of. I get a valid IP address from the DHCP server, but the Internet goes so ridiculously slow that I can barely load Google. When I ping any web address or public IP address, I get about a 50% failure rates.

What am I doing wrong? Any help would be appreciated.

2

If you have 2 upstream providers you should be looking to either
a) setup BGP sessions with the 2 of them to advertise your routes.
b) if you don’t have any public ranges etc then you’ll be nat-ting your customers in which case PCC load balancing would be the way to go.

There’s a couple of good tutorials around on using PCC load balancing:
http://www.mikrotik-routeros.com/?p=12
http://gregsowell.com/?p=2395

http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Manual:PCC

3

I am doing something very similar.

Questions: I am using ATT T1s and Suddenlink cable combined for about 15MB of access. Do yall recommend a in-house DNS server for both providers? I have them setup for ATT, which was my original provider, but have wondered about whether it would help for the Suddenlink connection.

Thanks.

4

Anyone give advice on this?

5

DNS shouldn’t matter at all.
Ideally set up a caching resolver within your own network that queries everything directly, circumventing provider DNS entirely.