Bonding 2 T1 circuits

[jotabor]

I have 2 T1 circuits coming from the same ISP. Supposedly they are bonded for a 3Mb pipe. I currently have them connected to a Cisco 2621 Router, each in its own T1 WIC. They seem to load balance OK, but is there anything further I need to do at the router to bond the 2 interfaces for a single 3 Mb pipe?

[albert.remo]

Hi! I think you are talking about inverse multiplexing (IMA). IMA is a technology where you bond multiple T1s or E1s to act as a bigger pipe. (e.g. 2 x E1's act as a 4Mbps pipe) I'm just not familiar if this is supported by the T1 WICs on the Cisco 2600 series routers. Regards! - albert Ü

[albert.remo]

Hi! I think you'll be needing a different module for this but is compatible with your current router. Please see the link below. These are IMA network modules for Cisco 2600 series routers:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/partner/products/hw/routers/ps259/products_data_sheet09186a00801aa726.html

Hope this helps! - albert

[albert.remo]

Hi! I happened to bump into some information that could probably help. I think Multilink PPP or Multilink Frame Relay could be applicable for your problem. I'n not so familiar yet with this two. Let's try to do some research on Cisco.com. Regards - albert Ü

[albert.remo]

Hi! Check this link for Multilink PPP (MLP)

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk713/tk507/technologies_configuration_example09186a0080093d69.shtml

Regards - albert Ü

[mbjohnson]

You need to implement Multilink PPP on both routers to truly "bond" the 2 T-1s. I have implemented this at a branch office not too long ago and it works fine. You just have to make sure that your ISP supports it on their router. Let me know if you need a sample config.

Good luck!

[jotabor]

I will check to see if my ISP support sthis. Could you also send me a sample config?

Thank You SO much!

-Joe

[sspeak]

Yes, you may bond 2 T1s via multi-link PPP or multi-link frame relay with a 2621. The WICs work just fine. I would think that your service provider would've informed you of what method they are using to bond the T1s.

[elaird]

You would need the config to know for sure.

You may be load blanacing if you don't have IMA or MLPPP running. To run IMA with the WIC you would have had to install the AIM module and ATM has overhead that eats up 10%+.

Load balancing is either connection based where connections round robin between the circuits or packet based where packets round robin. Packet based is more processor intensive but connection based isn't truely balanced.

MLPPP would probably truely load balance.