The Best Dual WAN Router For Your Business

Is your Internet connection very important for you and your business? Are you a little frustrated with Internet outage and don’t want to solely rely on just one ISP?

Well, if you want a backup internet connection should anything happen to your primary one, you should consider getting a dual WAN router. The BlueGadgetTooth team has taken a fine tooth comb through the many options claiming to be the best dual wan router available – but which ones actually stand up to the tests to come out shining? Our results are mentioned below – Read on to get a detailed review on each option.

What is a Dual WAN Router?

A dual Wan router is one that has and utilizes two internet ports to be able to be connected to two separate internet connections.

Who Should Use Dual Wan Router?

Not everyone enjoys a stable internet connection, and there can be instances where it can go down, leaving you disconnected from the online world and holding your work back from reaching important deadlines or keep you from being an active player on the winning team. For those who want to be connected with as little interruptions as possible, will want a dual WAN router.

Having the best dual WAN router can prevent dropped connections from happening, ensuring that you are always connected as it is highly unlikely that connections from two separate ISPs will go down simultaneously.

It is more likely to see a dual WAN router in an office space than a home setting, and as a result, many of the dual WAN routers are made targeting businesses. However, it is not unlikely for those who are avid gamers or work from home to buy the best dual Wan router in the market.

Once you get a dual WAN router, you can choose between two configuration settings:

1. Failover

This is where your backup internet connection will kick once your primary connection fails. As traffic consistently flows through one traffic pathway, your VPN or VoIP traffic will benefit from failover due to minimized downtime. Once your primary connection is fixed and is up and running, it will automatically take over as the primary connection.

While using your dual Wan router, it is important to get your internet failure detection options configured so that even when your internet connection fails, your dual Wan router won’t failover.

Other effective methods of failure detection are:

A) Pinging

B) creating a TCP connection to another server

The only disadvantage we can see in regards to the failover configuration setting is that more or less, one connection will lie dormant most of the time. So this potentially means that you could be paying for something you might not use. But this is a case of ‘Better Safe than Sorry’. Many businesses don’t want to take a chance with being offline for long as this could severely impact the business.

2. Load Balancing

When this setting is enabled, traffic is equally supplied over the two separate WAN connections. However, you have to make sure that your dual Wan router matches your internet connection’s speed for your dual Wan router to correctly supply the traffic load. The options of the Best Dual Wan Routers mentioned below have many choices for load balancing which will help you out should anything happen to one internet connection.

Just make sure to run an online speed test that will help you determine what is the actual internet speed you are receiving, preferably hard wiring your device to the router to get the most accurate results

1. Linksys Business Dual WAN Gigabit VPN Router (LRT224)

Best Dual Wan Router (Editor's Choice)

This compact sized dual wan router may seem very standard, but the simple design hides a very powerful and useful tool that will be an asset to your business or home network. The first thing that strikes you is the arresting black and blue box, with the company name emblazoned on one side. Easily placed on a desk top or on a shelf, the LRT224 has a sturdy construction.

When you manage to peel your eyes away from the box itself, and you begin the set up process, you’ll discover that the Quick start Guide really helps make the whole process easier so that you can complete the entire procedure in just a few minutes, with no headaches. (Trust us, that’s a huge plus point in our eyes.)

Performance

Our testing grounds was in a suburban home that didn’t have many options for ISPs, so having dual Wan ports actually did make a huge difference. Effectively, we doubled our bandwidth with the LRT224 and unlike many other routers we tested, this was loaded each page in a jiffy – in fact, the processing power between the LRT224 and other test routers had a significant difference.

We also noticed the marked difference in speeds between our various connected devices. At first we were concerned at how the LRT224 would allocate different clients to the right network, but there was no need to worry.

Features

The dual Wan ports anyways put the LRT224 in our favour, but we loved the advanced security features, such as minimal complexity for VPN and password keys. So we can see its quite user friendly.

All security configurations are fully supported with the LRT224 and it has a whole bunch of features such as a standard IPSec tunnel with AES-256 and SHA1 encryption, 5 VPN tunnels for simplified VPN configuration, a powerful firewall and much more.

The only thing we were wondering about is the absence of a DMZ port, but in the overall picture, the benefits of having a dual wan router is better than a simple router having a DMZ.

2. TP-Link SafeStream TL-ER604W Dual Wan Router

Low Budget Dual Wan Router

For internet users who don’t heavily use the internet and also are on a budget will love the TL-ER604W. Supporting wireless N standard, you can reach theoretical speeds up to 300Mbps, but as most speeds these days reach on average between 100 -176Mbps; this should do the job pretty well. We did test it out and in terms of affordability and budget; the TL-ER604 hit the mark. Speeds weren’t the best, as compared to our Editor’s choice or other dual wan routers on the list, but you do get your money’s worth with this one.

The guest network and the multiple SSIDs ensure that teams or information that you want confidential within a certain group can remain so. What we appreciated was the 4KV lightning protection should any freak storm hit your home and damage your device.

Performance

It didn’t take us long to configure the WAN ports because they didn’t any configuration done. After everything was set up, after a short while we noticed that the internet connection redundancy had improved. It can all seem well and good if you’re connected properly but we wanted to see if the connection wasn’t broken if something happened to one line, so we removed cables from one ISP, and then later from the other and there were no glitches whatsoever in the smooth transitioning of connectivity across two network connections from separate ISPs.

Features

Supports Wireless N standard and gigabit wired speeds as well, while special technology prevents lightning from damaging the router’s interior, should that ever occur. Apart from this the TL-ER604W also has advanced levels of defence against external threats and automatic protection to identify and prevent DoS attacks like TCP Scanning, Ping of Death, UDP/TCP/ ICMP Flooding and other similar threats. This also has multiple advanced VPN features to keep your network secure.

3. Synology RT2600AC Dual Wan Router

High Performance Dual Wan Router

It is 2017 and we expect super fast speeds from our ISP and expect our devices to be able to handle it. More than that, we have low tolerance for lags, lapses, slow response times and dropped connections, and rightly so. Synology has built quite the reputation in manufacturing NAS boxes, and this foray into the router world has resulted in its second router launch – the Synology RT2600AC.

Anyone can tell you, breaking into an already established market where the big players dominate is no easy feat, but Synology has done it – and the plethora of features it supports will tell you why.

This ‘smart’ router does happen to top our list as one of the best dual Wan routers that money can buy and in terms of performance, it’s a power house!

Design

Let’s start with the looks. Black and sleek, its design is not made to stand out, but created to blend in unobtrusively with your background. It has four removable antennas which definitely help in directing the connection to the connected devices. The impressive internal hardware upgrades will make you understand why this is our preferred best dual Wan router – 512MB RAM, and a trade up to a 1.7GHz dual-core processor.

Performance

When it came to performance, we were able to create a much customized business network as we had access to many advanced features. This is also great for home owners who want to give their home network that added boost. The 5GHz band was impressive, constantly reaching speeds over 400Mbps at a distance of 20 feet. The farther we got, the speed dropped marginally, but we don’t foresee working on heavy files on the edge of our property.

The range on the 2.4GHz was great, and the speeds average between 112Mbps and 135Mbps – these speeds may not seem breakneck, but this router can handle a lot – and we have nowhere to put the blame but on our ISP who doesn’t give us super high speeds.

As it is out winner for the best dual wan router, we wanted to really test the limits and we bombarded it with tons of heavy file transfers constantly for a week. No drops, no disconnects – perfect!

Set Up

The set up was different in the sense that it works like an OS instead of a primitive web page way like earlier. Now your web interface allows for opening multiple windows, search options and more – plus, this makes it easy for anyone who’s ever used a computer to figure it out on their own. A start button, desktop with shortcuts and a package center where applications can be installed which would enhance your router’s functions. If this is not for you – you can always use the free DS Router App to manage your network remotely.

In terms of functionality, the RT2600AC is one of the most advanced we’ve seen. In fact, it feels more like a computer than just a basic dual wan router. Advanced users will be able to get the most out of this router though. If you like basic plug and play routers, this may not be the one for you.

When it comes to parental control, you can block sites – even HTTPS sites effectively and browse ad free all day long. Although it has only one WAN port, you have the option to convert one of the 4 LAN ports into a second Wan port for a second connection – If you find you need more ports for hardwiring your devices, you can use a switch.

Features

The Synology RT2600AC has four Gigabit Ethernet ports and a Gigabit Wan port, and some users may be happy to learn that it also has an SD card reader for quick transfer of videos or photos to external USB connected drives. The 1.7GHz dual core processor will give your network a huge kick in the right direction for super fast performance while the 4x4 wave 2 radios with MU-MIMO technology will give you the possibility to theoretical speeds reaching 2.53Gbps. Have many devices, older and new? The Smart Connect feature will handle the distribution of the connectivity so that each device reached the maximum speeds it can and also improves the range for each.

4. UTT AC750W Dual Wan Wireless Router

Dual Wan Router For Small Office

Small businesses have their own set of requirements and it is better for business owners to get a router that specifically meets those said requirements instead of going in for a simple standard router to handle the traffic flow of your business. The load balancing feature is one that is highly appreciated by businesses, and we decided to put it to the test to see if this was indeed, our pick for the best dual wan router for small businesses.

Firstly, dual band is a given. You must have both bands of 2.4GHz and 5GHz on your dual wan router to be able to connect your older smart devices to the network, while providing your faster gadgets with a faster connection.

Design

The build of the UTT-AC750W is very sturdy and reliable, so you know it won’t suddenly flake out on you. The three antennas ensure that the range covers your office space, without having to us the ‘Turbo’ button for increasing transmission power.

We have to admit though, non tech users may get a little confused and you may need to Google some information to really access other features – but we expected that as this is geared towards small businesses, and therefore has more features that can be tweaked or customized for optimal performance.

Performance

Our business needs a stable connection, and the UTT-AC750W provides just that, without extra fluff. The interface doesn’t look the best, but it’s there for functionality and not to look pretty – so we have no problems with that. It can reach speeds up to 750Mbps, and in this day and age, that may not seem like much, especially considering that you can theoretically reach Gigabit speeds, but in all honesty, where do we actually get fiber speeds, unless if you actually get fiber by your ISP – in which case, you may probably not need this dual wan router... much.

This router managed to enhance our previously super slow connection. ISPs in our area supply speeds that are not over the moon, and we wanted to up our game, without buying an ISP and doing n overhaul just so we could get faster speeds. Since that option was out of the question, we had to settle for getting a dual wan route r- and this was a great decision.

Features

The intuitive GUI is easy to use and allows you to manage your troubleshooting remotely or locally if needed. It is VPN supported and has 4 configurable WAN ports. It has 3x7dBi antennas for boosting your range, especially in crowded, obstacle filled apartment complexes.

Final Words - Dual WAN Router

When you weigh in the pros and cons of each dual wan router, you will be able to better determine which one would suit your internet needs better. Whether it is tapping into a high performance model to enjoy seamless internet usage or a budget friendly option which will deliver on performance without breaking the bank, to having one specifically designed for businesses to getting one that is an overall best pick in terms of price, performance, features included and more – this guide should ease your way into purchasing the best dual wan router.

There are many reasons why each option in this guide caters to a different segment – ranging from user friendliness to advanced features that can make a difference, provided you know how to access those – If you’re wondering why you should invest in a dual wan router, remember, performance matters in this day and age and your business will thank you. Don’t think twice.