Setting up dual WAN - are dual cable providers possible?

Question

I have been having trouble with the reliability of my current cable ISP. As I run a business from my home it is growing increasingly unacceptable. I could switch providers but I'd rather set up a second connection and use a dual-WAN router for failover.

The thing is, it seems the only other high speed option for my area is another cable provider. Is it possible to have two cable providers at the same physical residence (a house)? Also, is it wise, give that the're the same technology and therefore have the same failure points (not to mention the second cable ISP probably leases the first's lines)? I believe the issues I've been having are not directly related to the cable infrastructure but rather the ISP itself, but still, if there's a problem with the infrastructure then both ISPs go down.

My other options are Satellite (unacceptable due to latency) and 3G (not keen on the lack of speed). DSL is not available in my area, nor is fiber.

Answer 1

I doubt they would both be down at the same time. Unless it a severe storm. Connecting them to a wan is a problem.You could assign them different IPs and switch back and forth. To share you need a special router. Routing is difficult. Cisco makes one or you could build your own Linux router. Both require complex configuration. Load balancing is also required.

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