A load balancing router distributes network traffic across multiple servers to improve performance and reliability.
A load balancing router distributes network traffic across multiple servers to improve performance and reliability.
I purchased this router to link two ISP connections—one main and a backup (activated only when the primary fails). Now I understand how to set everything up, but I’m curious about 'load balancing.' If it’s turned on, will data flow through both WAN 1 and WAN 2? And if the IP address changes during an online transaction, would services like online banking be impacted?
Typically you can add firewall, NAT, or routing rules to control which services use specific WAN connections. For instance, a bank’s IP only connects via WAN1, preventing any traffic from WAN2. This approach was used in the devices I handled.
You can also split sessions between several WANs to balance the load. There are various approaches, some simple while others are more advanced. At least you avoid having to define strict traffic rules. You can also merge these techniques together.