Cellular backup options
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What are some good options for a backup cellular connection for business internet? I have Comcast coax, and at times, it goes down for brief periods. I have an Edge Router 4 at this office and having a setup that automatically detects an outage and swaps over to a backup connection would be fantastic. There are a ton of them out there. Any recommendations here? I know Comcast also offers a backup lte solution as well.
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Comcast has "Connection Pro" which gives you a fully integrated 4G LTE backup built right in and transparent. I'm not a Comcast fan, but we use this a lot and it works great and if you are on Comcast already, nothing else will make sense. They use CradlePoint hardware.
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We use the Peplink MAX BR1 Mini LTE | Industrial-Grade 4G LTE Router | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-US-T at about 80 customers. We like it. It's easy, it works. Verizon charges anywhere from $10 to $20 per month depending on how you get them to include it.
The hardest part of any failover system (except the integrated solution from Comcast) is the router setup. We use all Sonicwall and it works perfect for FailOVER, but every once in a while it doesn't failBACK.
I even carry one of these with us on vacation when we travel to remote places where cellular IS available but decent copper broadband ISN'T.
This plugs into you network via ethernet, or it can be a WiFi router. (or both!)
Here's a link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR5YKF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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@scottalanmiller I’ll contact my rep. Is it unlimited data I assume? Any idea on cost?
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
@scottalanmiller I’ll contact my rep. Is it unlimited data I assume? Any idea on cost?
I assume so, since it's just an extension of your Comcast service.
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@JasGot said in Cellular backup options:
We use the Peplink MAX BR1 Mini LTE | Industrial-Grade 4G LTE Router | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-US-T at about 80 customers. We like it. It's easy, it works. Verizon charges anywhere from $10 to $20 per month depending on how you get them to include it.
The hardest part of any failover system (except the integrated solution from Comcast) is the router setup. We use all Sonicwall and it works perfect for FailOVER, but every once in a while it doesn't failBACK.
I even carry one of these with us on vacation when we travel to remote places where cellular IS available but decent copper broadband ISN'T.
This plugs into you network via ethernet, or it can be a WiFi router. (or both!)
Here's a link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR5YKF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That looks like a decent solution too. I like that you can go to other networks like Verizon, etc.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
@JasGot said in Cellular backup options:
We use the Peplink MAX BR1 Mini LTE | Industrial-Grade 4G LTE Router | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-US-T at about 80 customers. We like it. It's easy, it works. Verizon charges anywhere from $10 to $20 per month depending on how you get them to include it.
The hardest part of any failover system (except the integrated solution from Comcast) is the router setup. We use all Sonicwall and it works perfect for FailOVER, but every once in a while it doesn't failBACK.
I even carry one of these with us on vacation when we travel to remote places where cellular IS available but decent copper broadband ISN'T.
This plugs into you network via ethernet, or it can be a WiFi router. (or both!)
Here's a link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR5YKF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That looks like a decent solution too. I like that you can go to other networks like Verizon, etc.
It's always another network. 4G providers are almost never physical ISPs.
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@scottalanmiller said in Cellular backup options:
@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
@JasGot said in Cellular backup options:
We use the Peplink MAX BR1 Mini LTE | Industrial-Grade 4G LTE Router | MAX-BR1-MINI-LTE-US-T at about 80 customers. We like it. It's easy, it works. Verizon charges anywhere from $10 to $20 per month depending on how you get them to include it.
The hardest part of any failover system (except the integrated solution from Comcast) is the router setup. We use all Sonicwall and it works perfect for FailOVER, but every once in a while it doesn't failBACK.
I even carry one of these with us on vacation when we travel to remote places where cellular IS available but decent copper broadband ISN'T.
This plugs into you network via ethernet, or it can be a WiFi router. (or both!)
Here's a link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MR5YKF9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That looks like a decent solution too. I like that you can go to other networks like Verizon, etc.
It's always another network. 4G providers are almost never physical ISPs.
Right, but what I meant was that I didn't know if Comcast used their own cell network. However I think Comcast uses Verizon under the hood anyway for their cell network. Can anyone confirm that?
Another alternative would be to get a second physical connection in the building. However, the only other option is a super slow DSL connection. But as just a backup, that could works as well.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
However I think Comcast uses Verizon under the hood anyway for their cell network. Can anyone confirm that?
Comcast has agreements with all of the cellular networks. Who the underlying carrier is depends on your geo location. This is why they may send you a new sim card if you move to a new area that is serviced by another carrier.
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@scottalanmiller said in Cellular backup options:
e. They use CradlePoint hardware.
That is what we use a lot for this type of options. -
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
A previous employer of mine had a very large client that used Cradle Point as a backup for each location. The Cradle Point had static IPs as well, so we could set the VPNs to use either the main or Cradle Point IP.
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@travisdh1 said in Cellular backup options:
@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
A previous employer of mine had a very large client that used Cradle Point as a backup for each location. The Cradle Point had static IPs as well, so we could set the VPNs to use either the main or Cradle Point IP.
Did they use cradlepoint direct with their own LTE connection? Or did they use the Comcast connection pro solution?
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@dbeato said in Cellular backup options:
@scottalanmiller said in Cellular backup options:
e. They use CradlePoint hardware.
That is what we use a lot for this type of options.Do these devices get the same IP from the cellular carrier all the time? S2S VPNs or other things tied to IPs will be challenged if not.
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@JasGot said in Cellular backup options:
@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
However I think Comcast uses Verizon under the hood anyway for their cell network. Can anyone confirm that?
Comcast has agreements with all of the cellular networks. Who the underlying carrier is depends on your geo location. This is why they may send you a new sim card if you move to a new area that is serviced by another carrier.
Its' AT&T in most locations we have with them.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
I've not tested with static, but the assumption would be that the static would still work.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
We are a VoIP vendor and we often use this with clients for VoIP protection. We've never seen any double NATting issues.
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@Dashrender said in Cellular backup options:
@dbeato said in Cellular backup options:
@scottalanmiller said in Cellular backup options:
e. They use CradlePoint hardware.
That is what we use a lot for this type of options.Do these devices get the same IP from the cellular carrier all the time? S2S VPNs or other things tied to IPs will be challenged if not.
I believe that they do.
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@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
@travisdh1 said in Cellular backup options:
@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
A previous employer of mine had a very large client that used Cradle Point as a backup for each location. The Cradle Point had static IPs as well, so we could set the VPNs to use either the main or Cradle Point IP.
Did they use cradlepoint direct with their own LTE connection? Or did they use the Comcast connection pro solution?
They were all Verizon.
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@scottalanmiller said in Cellular backup options:
@AdamF said in Cellular backup options:
What is the physical connection layout for the Cradle point? I understand that the static IP block that I have from Comcast would NOT work during a failover scenario. I can deal with that. However, under normal operation (not in LTE failover), is this configured in such a way that creates double NATing? We have VoIP phones connecting to a cloud PBX, and I would not want to deal with double NAT.
I've not tested with static, but the assumption would be that the static would still work.
I just heard from my rep. Static IPs will not work during LTE backup. Once normal service is restored, the IPs are available again, but not during the LTE backup.
