Dual WAN Guide

DD-WRT Dual Wan Guide v1.4.1


the following guides will show explain how to convert an ordinary linksys SOHO router into a powerful dual wan router/firewall with failover support, load balancing (download/upload), and a host of other features at the cost of next to nothing. other router manufacturers can be converted into dual wan like the linksys models but this guide currently only supports the models listed below. if u want to use a different router, verify that it is supported & visit this thread or this sites forum for possible help and assistance. remember to thank jbarbieri for all his hard work!

so what is a dual wan router & why is it so special? the idea is simple. its a router that allows the use of two seperate internet connections, thus doubling the available bandwidth while also providing a backup internet solution in case one connection dies. cool huh? so why doesnt everybody have dual wan routers, sounds easy? well its not, and because they cant but cost is factor one.

 *IMPORTANT* static wan ips are currently not supported but are possible. only wan ips acquired via dhcp are supported in the following guides. also, keep in mind you will not see any increase in speed if a typical speedtest is run or normal web browsing. you will only be able to fully utilize this type of dual wan when using a download managers, torrents, or similar method that uses multiple threads to download & upload data. while it is possible to "double" the bandwidth typical results will be around 15-25% less the maximum depending on method chosen. true dual wan or bonding can only be accomplished with assistance from your local isp.

Required Hardware & Software:

Setup The Hardware:

  • connect one modem to the internet port & the other modem to lan4
  • use the third cat5 cable in lan1 and the other end to your computer.
  • only power up the first modem thats connected to the internet port
  • leave second modem connected to lan4 off untill guide is complete.

Installation Methods & Iimitaions: [JFFS vs NVRAM]

  • NVRAM: this is a very quick and relatively easy method to enable dual wan but does not perferm as well as the JFFS method. you must first verify there is enough room in ur routers "nvram" to work correctly. telnet into ur router and enter "nvram show" then look at the last line. it needs to say atleast 6300 left.

  • JFFS: *dual wan kit required* this method does not use the routers nvram to store the scripts and instead stores the scripts in a jffs folder within the router itself. dual wan performance is much more stable and responsive using this method but its more difficult to setup and requires atleast 190kb of free jffs space to execute the dual wan scripts. many routers simply do not have enough memory to enable jffs and must resort to using the nvram method.

Choose Linksys Router:

Testing & Troubleshooting: