Hi all,

We use a 2860n at work and I'm considering a DrayTek Draytek Vigor 2925 router for home due to the multi-wan capabilities which many other manufacturers don't offer.

I'm moving to a property with a max ADSL down-speed of 4mpbs, however, EE 4G coverage is very good and tops out at about 31mbps.

That said I'm a heavy user and with EE charging a whopping £90 a month for 300GB per month, I don't think that cap will last long even with some changes to usage behaviour.

So I'm considering a setup whereby I feed ADSL and 4G with a lower data cap into one router and load balance it throughout the house.

Despite reading the documentation I'm not 100% sure how it works. My aim is to effectively improve the overall bandwidth in the house so browsing and gaming are more comfortable, without rinsing through all of the 4G data too quickly. I can't quite get my head around how to do this. What would be the most effective way to approach this situation? Is it worth the hassle?

Some use scenarios:

1. RDP + VPN for work, needs fast connection.
2. General web browsing and email needs fast connection but data use not a concern.
3. Gaming needs fast connection, but game updates and downloads need to be restricted as to not consume all of the 4G data so could benefit on being ADSL only with a long wait.
4. Netflix and others...4G would allow for better quality streaming BUT would rinse data quickly.

I guess what I'm hoping is that say if 50% of my bandwidth comes down the phone line and 50% comes from 4G then the data usage on the 4G network would be half what it would be if used solo...or does it not work like that?

Totally open to suggestions on this one and would greatly appreciate any advice. As you can see I'm very confused.

I have exactly the same setup and challenges.

I am using a 2860Ln.

The EE mobile SIM has been removed from the EE box and inserted into the Draytek.
The ADSL router is still being used and the cable (connected to the LAN port is plugged into the WAN2 on the Draytek.

By default everyone in the house is connected to the ADSL. Certain (VIP) user devices are then are given specific IP addresses within the x.x.x200 range. I have created a route police which then specifies devices within the IP range to use the EE mobile.

I have only been using for a couple of days... So far so good.

I have not been able to use application based routing. This is next on the list. Ideally what I would like to be able to do is send ALL you tube traffic and iTunes updates down the ADSL connection, even for VIP devices.

Andrew28 wrote: I have exactly the same setup and challenges.

I am using a 2860Ln.

The EE mobile SIM has been removed from the EE box and inserted into the Draytek.
The ADSL router is still being used and the cable (connected to the LAN port is plugged into the WAN2 on the Draytek.

By default everyone in the house is connected to the ADSL. Certain (VIP) user devices are then are given specific IP addresses within the x.x.x200 range. I have created a route police which then specifies devices within the IP range to use the EE mobile.

I have only been using for a couple of days... So far so good.

I have not been able to use application based routing. This is next on the list. Ideally what I would like to be able to do is send ALL you tube traffic and iTunes updates down the ADSL connection, even for VIP devices.

Good to know that it works ok. I guess the challenge really is setting up the complex use assignment. I'd have to restrict so many devices from using EE in order to preserve bandwidth, it's making me wonder what I really want the speed for. We'd like a faster connection to enjoy Netflix, Amazon Prime etc but in reality, we just can't due to the amount of data they'd use. Then I have to ask if it's worth the extra EE cost for a better browsing experience when we're a little patience would save a tonne of money.

I do know that latency over 4G is suitable for gaming and most multiplayer games do not transfer huge amounts of data, BUT spending all that money per month just so I can digitally murder people might not fly by my other half.

I had a real problem with uploads. My ADSL gives me about 4Mb down and about 1-200K up, which meant it was useless for emailing, CCTV etc. When I used the EE Mobile for streaming I got through 200Gb in just over a week. With the cost of Wireless Data it was cheaper to buy the Blue-Ray

Andrew28 wrote: I had a real problem with uploads. My ADSL gives me about 4Mb down and about 1-200K up, which meant it was useless for emailing, CCTV etc. When I used the EE Mobile for streaming I got through 200Gb in just over a week. With the cost of Wireless Data it was cheaper to buy the Blue-Ray

Yeah although I haven't moved into the new property, I've readied a new 4K Blu Ray Player just to fill the void that's inevitably coming. I don't mind going back to physical media but seems a shame to take a step back when we'd already moved so far forward (although 4K Blueray is better quality than a stream ever could be, it's going to be more costly).

Anyway do you know if the 2860Ln offers a redundant mode, whereby both connections are bonded to increase overall throughput? I think I'd rather do that and turn off all automatic updating network wide. I can block Netflix etc via my PiHole (easiest solution).

I know that it supports redundancy.

I have no idea how well bonding will work, particularly if you streaming.

Good luck.