How do i set up broadband back up for T1???

what sort of box does the T1 line terminate at? Is there a router between it and the LAN?

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

maybe just post the details here

<i>It's always the one thing you never suspected.</i>

well, if there is some one there that knows routers it can be done. you would have to connect the dsl to the router, then configure it as another path but make the first one the first choice. i really cant tell you how to do it, its one of those things where you just have to be there. maybe some one who really knows their stuff could write out some instructions but i would have to muddle through it.

how do you shoot the devil in the back? what happens if you miss? -verbal

wow... that looks good. i wonder if there is an alternative way using the present configuration. i figure that rather than spending extra $$ on something for redundancy, maybe we should just dump the company that supplies the lousy T1 service...

....the birds seemed to be calling him, thought caw....

Does the T-1 provider also provide the CSU/DSU?
Have you requested RCA's for all of your outages? (RCA = Root Cause Analysis)
Since you are paying for the data circuit service, you can request that your provider issue a statement to you in writing as to why the service was interrupted. There should be a clause in the contractual agreement about frequent outages, or acceptable limits on outages, etc. If they are exceeding those agreements you can hammer them for deep discounts.

Be advised, most T-1 service agreements are for 1 to 3-year commitments. So the school may be locked into the T-1 provider for some period of time, or will suffer an early termination penalty typically equal to three months of service. This termination penalty might be waived if you have data to support your claim of poor service. You will need ticket numbers opened with their help desk as your supporting data, and not the word of Suzy the receptionist.

From an operations perspective T-1 service tends to be generally more stable than xDSL since there are fewer adds/changes to the service provider's network.

Also, if this is a State run School (Public School) I would strongly encourage you to not make any changes to the network infrastructure, as the State IT Network Guys will likely get midevil on you. I know I would.

But if this is a private school and can make your own decisions, and you are sure you won't get anywhere with the T-1 service provider, then it might be in the school's best interest to enlist the assistance of a Network Tech to assist in the configuration of the router.

Since you cannot generally plug a T-1 circuit into one of these new and nifty Linksys broadband routers the router you have now may be configured to perform NAT, and/or Access Control List security for your internal network. Such things should not be tampered with in a production environment by the novice.

Also the router might be part of the T-1 Service Providers service to the school (Leased equipment) so reconfiguring it to use the xDSL circuit might not be possible.