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Planning ISA Server - Hardware Issue

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by faisal_pisces

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hi
i am looking for a solution to place ISA 2004 in my office. The requirement is to connect 6 Internet Connections to one ISA Machine but i cannot attach more than 3 NICs to my system as i only have 3 PCI slots available on my system. Can anyone please suggest a solution that would help me to connect 6 External Connections to 1 machine.
I've heard a little bit about router and i know this can help me but is every router manageable/configureable? is there any way that i can solve this issue without a router?

9 replies

by oh smeg

If you have 6 workstations that you want to connect to the Internet through a ISA Server all you need do is place a hub in the place with all workstations feeding the Hub and the other side of the Hub goes to the server and then the Internet. This only requires 2 NIC Connections and if one is built onto the M'Board 1 NIC Card.

If you want to have 6 separate ISP connections feed 1 computer that is slightly different and most unlikely for a Small Business so if you need an answer for the second option post back with a more specific question.

Col

by faisal_pisces

Second Option is what i'm looking for.
Ok i try to be more specific.
i've subscribed 6 separate DSL connections from local ISP. These 6 DSL Modems don't have USB port so the only way to connect them to a computer is Ethernet Port. So Ideally, i want to feed these 6 lines to 6 NICs plugged into 6 PCI Slots onto the M'Board and 1 NIC for my local network comming from HUB/Switch BUT hardware support doesn't allow me to have 7 NICs.

by torturednacho

Why would you have 6 different DSL subscriptions? ..Maybe im missing something but that doesnt sound logical OR cost effective.

by robo_dev

First of all, while Windows can do some basic routing, it cannot do bandwidth aggregation on a WAN port, nor can it even do simple failover. That simply will not work.

Even the most sophisticated bandwidth aggregation device (FatPipe Extreme, $10,000 USD) can only handle THREE WAN connections.
http://www.fatpipeinc.com/xtreme/index.html

You cannot just hook together multiple DSL connections....it introduces a horribly complex routing scenario that would require the use of high-level routing protocols and technologies such as BGP and/or NxT1.

A low-end (~$1500 USD) Cisco router could do failover and possibly some simple BGP bandwidth aggregation between two DSL lines.

I cannot think of any solution, regardless of cost, that could aggregate six DSL connnections together. The nearest thing to a workable solution would be the FatPipe device at around $10,000, and I'm sure that with a $30,000-$50,000 Cisco chassis-based router, you could maybe buy enough interfaces to hook up all the DSL modems.

If you need more bandwidth, it would make more sense, and probably be cheaper, to get a single fractional T-1 from one carrier and a DSL circuit to use as backup from another carrier. A low cost (~$1500) Cisco router could give you reasonable throughput for the T1 and also allow automatic failover to the DSL port.

by cg it

The cost of 6 DSL lines @ around $30.00 USD per line per month will run $180.00 per month. This depends upon the upload and download speed one gets. A T1 line can run about that much per month if you shop around. The problem with the T1 is that it's bandwidth is 1.5 mbps down 1.5 mps up. So your download speed will be less than you can get with DSL today which most have at 2799 to 3000 kbps 2.8 to 3.0 mbps, with upload speeds to 1.5 mbps.

If you need a really big pipe the only option would be a dedicated T1 [you get the whole bandwidth shebang and pay out the nose for it or go for a fractional T3 and pay the huge $$ for it or opt for fibre optic.

There are low cost dual WAN port routers available to consumers and some even have ISDN failover. Symantec makes some. Look on Newegg.com for dual WAN port consumer level routers.

Now if you can get the phone company to put in 6 phone lines and have DSL on all 6 lines, you can cluster ISA server and have the cluster handle the bandwidth aggregation of all the DSL lines. But this is a very costly setup and has an insane amount of administrative effort. you can't just setup and leave it.

by faisal_pisces

T1 or T3 lines are not available here.
Maximum available connection is DSL 2Mbps.
so i've 6 lines each of 2Mbps.
some old M'Boards support 6 PCI slots but i need 7. Latest Machines donot provide more than 3 PCI Slots and mine is also one of them.

by oh smeg

Well the cheapest option is Learn to live with what is available.

The next option is Move the business to a place that has a T1 connection or better still a T3.

You can not expect to have the same speed with several ADSL as you do with the higher transfer options that are available though not where you presently are located.

Failing that if you are willing to spend the money a Server Cluster would be the next step up as stated here

https://www.techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=101&threadID=262932&messageID=2493204

But the cost of the infrastructure is prohibitive.

Col

by Former member

And want to setup a big network from your computer. You can NOT put 6 dsl connections in ONE computer. You will have to get 6 routers (depending on the type of router) with say four Ethernet ports on each one totals to 24 available ports/connections to the internet and internal access to (if you piggy back these routers [say 256 max to each one] 24 x 256 =6144 devices, this is a Biiiig (big big) network indeed.
Tell me how you get on. :) :)

Please post back if you have any more problems or questions.

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