Bonded ADSL / MLPPP - Managed

MLPPP Internet access has been used for a long time, Managed Bonded ADSL is just the same. It was mainly used to channel bond multiple ISDN circuits to achieve greater throughput. However we have adapted this technology and made it operate similarly for ADSL and SDSL. ADSL and SDSL Lines are cheap compared with leased lines. By bonding these low cost circuits it gives customers an cost effective alternative to leased lines.

All our Managed ADSL Managed services are based on Cisco Integrated Service Routers. All 2-line Managed Bonded ADSL services are provided on a minumum of a Cisco 1841. Alternatively we can supply a router with expansion capacity for future growth.

Please also see our un-managed bonded ADSL pages here

We have three main operating modes.

- MLPPP (Multilink Point-to-Point Protocol) see wiki

- Per Packet Load Balancing (Cisco Hardware only, works well with unstable lines 5km +)

- Per Session Load Balancing (one connection can only achieve max speed of one line, ideal for multi-user systems)

Another advantage of bonding multiple lines together (MLPPP) is to achieve redundancy. If one of the lines fails, due to many affecting factors (DSLAM line card, copper fault) the circuit will still operate, but with a reduced throughput. We have over 5 years experience in Bonded ADSL and MLPPP technologies.

Remote Access - Out of Band

All of our MLPPP Managed Bonded ADSL services include a Out of Band Access modem. They are a simple dialup modem which allows our support team to connect remotely to you equipment in the event that the ADSL line(s) fail. We operate full pro-active testing on this, and every Sunday evening we have a script that dials all of the management numbers and ensures that the Cisco responds to the Out of Band access. This is normally connected to an ADSL microfilter connected to one of the PSTN lines.

Extensive Individual Line Monitoring

MLPPP Managed Bonded ADSL , the most important part of our management is line monitoring. Due to the nature of MLPPP Bonded ADSL if one line develops a quirk (partial fault) the speed of the MLPPP bundle will drop to the 'number of lines' x 'slowest line'. It is therefore very important with MLPPP Bonded ADSL that each line is monitored individually. Every 5 minutes our monitoring software cycles through all of our MLPPP Managed Bonded ADS L Routers and scrapes the Upstream and Downstream ATM syncronisation speeds. Our NOC is then informed of threashold breaches in these line. We can then take a course of action immedialtey (shutting down one of the lines, reporting a fault with BT) before the customer calls our support team. We will then inform the customer of what we are doing, and they will be kept updated through our support ticket system.

All circuits are provisioned on ADSL Max Premium Extreme (up to 8mbit downstream / 832kbit upstream) unless specified at time of order. We have done extensive trials of bonded ADSL MLPPP and have managed to work around the technical challenges imposed by Max ADSL. We have many customers that are satisfied with the throughput of multiple MLPPP Managed Bonded ADSL lines. Due to the nature of contention on the BT Network, we normally see customers achieve their full speed upstream, however downstream they normally see between 70% - 90% of the maximum throughput.

ADSL Enhanced Care

For only £11 per month can your business afford not to have it. This is a support option that we recommend for our critical business customers. 1 Hour response to your fault, and 16 working hours fault clear. Click here for more info