New broadband new router - Solved...I hope!

With the problems I hve been experiencing with broadband lately, it was time to sort out a bit of fallover security. Looking around the different suppliers I decided to go with BT this time and get a new line installed and broadband together. I was amazed BT said this was going to be completed within 7 day, new line, new broadband and install.

Keeping my exisitng broadband with fixed IP addresses, the idea was to split the LAN with servers etc on the fixed IP's and the desktops using private IP addressing. The next task was to find a suitable router to achieve this. The router that was recommended was the Draytek 2820n Wireless router.

Now tis router is a remarkable bit of kit allowing a second ADSl connection to be added (this can even be a 3G wireless dongle). The router also offers static nat and a host of routing features that will suit me just fine. The best amazing thing about the Draytek 2020n is that it comes in at under £190.

Take a look at the Draytek 2820n

Crap service, Crap ISP's

Over the last few months I have spent weeks of it battling with an ISP about broadband connections so bad they were off for hours on end. My calls to support were met with, change router, change filter, time and time and time again. Whenthat failed  I am told it must be BT they supply the line, so I am left with the dilema of getting BT to check the line (at my cost) no problem found. I am advised to try a different brand of router, another £80 down the drain.

In the end I fire off an extreme email telling them how bad their service was and that paying £49.99 for business class broadband was a joke as my free Talk Talk broadband was faster and worked perfectly with no problems at all, I then concluded I was about to change another provider for our four sites.

Next day, I get an email from support telling me they changed my adsl profile and all will be fine now. (to which it has). All the b*****ks and then then put it right, not bad for something that they supposedly cannot do anything about.

This week, our email provided notified us the server had failed and there was no email server for a day, emails from two days had been lost and all archived email which some of my customers use via webmail system was also lost. I could have it back from backups but this will take days I am told and any email that come in meanwhile will be overwritten by the back up restore.

The email supplier also notified us they have no fall over system or backup email server. More absolute b*****ks.

Sometimes I wish some of these companys did not make it through the recession.