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Multi-WAN & routing

Your internet goes down, and nobody notices

One internet line is one point of failure. Firecradle can watch several lines at once, share the load between them, and send the right traffic down the right line — so an outage on one connection never has to mean an outage for your business.

Gateway groups · health monitoring · policy routing · FRR

Two internet lines, working together

Add a second connection and Firecradle decides how to use it: as a backup, as extra capacity, or both.

Tiered failover
Rank your internet lines. Firecradle uses your first choice, and only moves to the next one if it actually breaks.
Weighted load-balancing
Or use every line at once. Give a faster line more of the traffic and a slower one less, instead of leaving it idle.
Health checks that catch the quiet failures
Firecradle watches each line for lost packets and slow replies, not just whether the cable is plugged in.
Automatic switch-back
When the main line recovers, traffic moves back on its own. Nobody has to remember to flip it.
Firecradle multi-WAN screen showing two gateway groups, one set to tiered failover and one set to weighted load-balancing, with live status for each internet line
Rank your lines for failover, or weight them for load-balancing. Change your mind any time.

Pick how traffic is shared

Every network is different. Choose the mode that fits, and switch later if your setup changes.

Failover
One line does the work. If it drops, the next one takes over. Simple, and the right choice for most small offices.
Load-balancing
All your lines carry traffic together, weighted however you like. Good when every connection is being paid for anyway.
Policy-based
Rules decide which traffic goes where. Mix this with failover or load-balancing for fine control over the traffic that matters most.

Send the right traffic down the right line

Beyond failover, Firecradle can route traffic by rule, by app, or by talking to other routers directly.

Policy-based routing
Send specific traffic down a specific line. Card payments can always use your most reliable connection, no matter what else is busy.
Dynamic routing with FRR
Bigger networks can speak BGP and OSPF, plus RIP, using FRR. Routers share paths with each other instead of someone typing them in by hand.
App and domain-aware routing
SD-WAN-style routing picks the best line for each app, not just each device. Video calls and backups can take different paths automatically.
Site-to-site overlays
Join two offices into one virtual network using GRE or VXLAN, so devices at either end can reach each other directly.
Firecradle routing map showing gateways, static routes and a site-to-site overlay drawn as connected nodes across two office locations
See every route and every line on one map, instead of piecing it together from settings screens.

What it runs on

Tiered + weighted
Failover and load-balancing gateway groups
Loss & latency
Per-line health monitoring, not just link state
BGP · OSPF · RIP
Dynamic routing via FRR
GRE / VXLAN
Site-to-site overlays

How people actually use this

The internet goes down and nobody notices

The problem: A retail shop takes card payments over its internet line. One outage during a busy Saturday costs real sales and an angry queue.

What Firecradle does:
A second line from a different provider is added as backup
Firecradle watches both lines for loss and slow replies, not just whether they are up
The moment the main line struggles, payments move to the backup line
Staff keep ringing up sales without knowing anything happened

One slow app should not slow down everything

The problem: A branch office runs video calls and large file backups over the same connection. Calls freeze whenever a backup starts.

What Firecradle does:
Policy-based routing sends backup traffic over a secondary line
Video calls keep the primary, faster line to themselves
Nobody has to schedule backups around office hours anymore
The same rule works automatically for every new backup job

Everything here is included

No add-on licence, no extra box

Tiered failover across as many internet lines as you have
Weighted load-balancing when you want every line working at once
Per-line health checks for packet loss and latency, not just link state
Automatic switch-back once a failed line recovers
Policy-based routing by source, destination, or type of traffic
Dynamic routing with FRR: BGP, OSPF, and RIP
App and domain-aware routing across your available lines
Site-to-site overlays with GRE and VXLAN

Common questions

Do both internet lines need to be the same speed or provider?

No. Mix a fibre line with a cable or cellular backup, from any providers you like. Firecradle treats each line on its own terms.

How is this different from just plugging in a second router?

A second router does not know your first one exists. Firecradle watches both lines continuously and moves traffic between them the moment one degrades, using one set of firewall and routing rules for both.

What counts as a line being "down" — does it have to fail completely?

No. Firecradle checks for packet loss and slow replies, not just whether the line answers at all. A line that is technically up but too slow to use gets treated as down.

Is dynamic routing with FRR only for large networks?

Mostly, yes. Small offices are usually better served by simple failover or load-balancing. FRR is there for networks that already talk BGP or OSPF with an internet provider or a data centre.

Stop hoping your internet stays up

Multi-WAN failover, load-balancing, and smart routing are part of every Firecradle appliance. Try it free for 30 days.

No credit card required · Cancel anytime · 30-day free trial