Can I get the LAN link to go offline when there is no connection via the WWAN?

Technical Support for Routers
1

Hi all,

I’m trying to set up failover (and ideally load-balancing) from my ViaSat satellite connection to my Android phone hotspot.
The network topology is basically as follows:

  1. ViaSat modem in bridge mode connected to first WAN port of ER605 tp-link router that provides DHCP services, which is connected to my LAN.
  2. TP-link router has another WAN port connected to a GL-MT1300.
  3. The GL-MT1300 uses my Android phone hotspot to provide failover (and ideally load balancing) to my LAN through the tp-link router.

This seems to work okay as long as my phone hotspot is actually turned on and in range. But when it is off or out of range, the tp-link router doesn’t seem to be able to detect this. That router is supposed to be able to ping the hotspot WAN link to check if it’s up, but I can’t get that to work; the ping always fails.

If I set the hotspot link to “always on” in the tp-link router, then the failover works if I physically disconnect the cable from the ViaSat modem to the tp-link router, assuming the hotspot is available.

Is there a way to make the LAN link from the MT-1300 go offline when the hotspot is not available to provide connectivity? Or is there some other way to make this work?

Thanks!

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2

No you cannot do this.

Instead, you should solve the problem on the failover device, i.e. tplink router for your setup.

But, why don’t you just use MT1300 as the failover device?

  1. Connect Modem to WAN of MT1300
  2. Connect phone, via usb to MT1300 as tethering

In this setup, MT1300 will try to use the WAN (modem) first. But you can change the priority so that it use the tethering first. This can be done by modifing the “metric” value of interfaces.

ssh to the router and modify this file /etc/config/network. A lower value mean priority.
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Also change the same in /etc/config/mwan3

After you chagne, reboot and do a test.

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