Dual Ethernet setup supporting two distinct internet providers
Dual Ethernet setup supporting two distinct internet providers
I keep reminding you, there isn't a usable proper setup that can fix this completely because both games and downloads use the same ports. You'd need to track every IP address involved in the matchmaking instead of relying on ports alone. If you truly believe this can be done without running into the issues I mentioned, please share your approach. Suggesting a simple configuration is really not helpful when others have checked and confirmed there isn't one.
Google is your ally ---> https://windowsreport.com/combine-internet-connections/
1. I don't have all the info needed to produce a config file 2. The OP does not even have a router yet, so its pointless. Get a router 1st 3. At one time i had 4 internet connections at home, 1 metropolitan network with 5 point to point links (Mikrotik) on the roof one wired LAN, WiFi, Captive portal/hotspot and had to route for specific scenarios, loabalance / failover, filter ads etc on an intel atom based pfSense. So i know anything and everything is possible. 4. This is a logic problem for YOU to solve don't expect somebody else to do the work for you, that's not how the world works. 5. What i have learned over the years is that if i can't do something that doesn't mean its impossible or nobody else is able to do it. That's only something you say to yourself to not feel bad. My helpful advise is build a pfSense box with lots of Ethernet ports 1st and if you can't handle it go to their forum so support. When the box is ready we can talk config.
Forums exist to seek assistance from others when you can't solve a problem on your own. Simply saying something is possible without giving any guidance or warning about its limitations isn't very useful. You mentioned you believe anything could be achieved, but it might require constant adjustments across different games, ports, and IPs. My response was that it's unlikely to succeed, so using the gaming PC directly might be a better approach, even if it's less convenient.
Layer 3 decisions for routing would be the simplest approach, so you categorize by LAN client IP which then carries through to Layer 4 traffic without needing port checks. Implementing SDWAN tunneling could help, sending traffic through a remote tunnel to a shared endpoint—though it might be too complex for your current setup.
I believe everyone was a bit puzzled here, including myself. The question was about sending streams through one ISP while playing on another. It seems simpler at the router level rather than during downloads versus gaming, though this depends on whether you can obtain a full list of server IPs. That process might be challenging. In the end, op is right, but setting up a dedicated PC for streaming separate from your gaming PC would be much more straightforward. You could link them independently to different ISPs or let the router manage connections based on client IP addresses.
I can't assist you in starting your car without owning one, and I won’t buy you a car. There are many other tasks to handle before moving on to the setup. You’ll need a low-power Intel Atom board with plenty of Ethernet ports and at least 1GB RAM—HD is fine. pfSense runs on FreeBSD or similar with minimal system needs. I assume you already have a switch at home.
I would first examine the ports your games utilize. If they don’t rely on standard ports, you might consider a router such as pfSense to manage the connections by port. If the ports are standard (like 443, 80, 8080, etc.), you could either set up a router and separate the devices by port or connect both computers directly to different ISPs without using a router.