Combining multiple wifi sources/signals for more bandwidth?

There is no easy way to distribute the traffic between two different IP addresses, through two different gateways, so that a download from a single IP address, would run perhaps twice as fast. However, if you were to open two streams, one through each route, you would get double your bandwidth. However, not from a single stream. It would work for usenet news, surfing while downloading, and peer-to-peer havoc, but not a streaming broadcast originating from a single server.

There are products that will do this under "load balancing routers"

it's just like an "ordinary" router except except it has multiple WAN ports. One goes to your DSL modem. The other goes via a wireless client to your neighbors wireless connection.

You can probably do the same thing with your Linux conglomeration. However, I'll plead ignorance and let someone with more expience in Linux offer soemthing that works.

Simply not possible. IF the ISP at the far end were the same, and if that ISP were willing to multilink the pipes into one, then maybe, but tough.

I did something like that many years ago, although with dialup modems and some software that I no longer remember the name of.

Used one modem with my commercial dialup ISP at the time, and the other with my dialup .edu

Like Jeff said, you get two streams -- not one big fat combined pipe.

Kinda like having a dual processor computer (and dual processor capable OS), but using applications that can only take advantage of one processor. You simply just point each application to use one or the other CPU's. The program I used for the modems was the similiar concept.

As for mooching, my neighbors have broadband, but no wireless hardware. One of my repeaters spills into their backyard, which I let them mooch from though. They use it often during the summer with their laptops. As I config'd their laptops to be able to use it, obviously I could care less.

Cheers!

-Eric

If through the one ISP, there would still the problem of connections being no faster than the slowest link in the chain, and with intense competition and pricecutting, whether your ISP is buying enough bandwidth into Telehouse and LINX.

What you have to do is alter the routing tables on your machine to tell it which line to send out and receive the material for a specific material. YOu will also need to make sure that you have different IP addresses on the two streams or only one will get used for the return. This means that you need to dynamically alter your routing tables depending on which two places you want to connect to.

Well, if you care so much, you should probably do something about it. (Or maybe you wanted to say that you couldn't care less).

yes it's is possible but

Windows got one gateway and can be done by Nat32 software but not simultanius

A router can do it !

Unruh wrote in dmnjrt$12o$ snipped-for-privacy@nntp.itservices.ubc.ca:

I think "I could care less" is an American form of the phrase which we more logically render as "I couldn't care less" - in other words "I don't care". It's like the phrase (used by older people) "let's see what we can't achieve" which means "let's see what we *can* achieve" - "let's achieve as much (rather than as little) as possible".

Eric, have you secured your network (eg using WPA encryption) to stop other people than your neighbours accessing the wireless network? You might be happy letting anyone use your Internet connection, but are they also able to access shares on your PCs?

Nope. It is open, by choice. I'm using a captive portal with it though.

My WLAN is a completetly seperate physical network. It is secure.

Cheers, Eric

Linux: Routing for multiple uplinks/providers

OS X / interesting overview: Bob Quietly "Borrows" Internet Service From Three Neighbors at Once

I don't know if it would fit with your use of the bandwidth but for windows there's a piece of connection teaming software called 'Midpoint'.

It's intended to make use of multiple links to the internet by sharing the connections out between them. For example it seperates the various connections when viewing a web page and it automagically does partial file requests on larger downloads, both ftp and http.

It operates as a NAT gateway and as SOCKS proxy servers. If your WIFI linkup can be presented as a NIC or as an ethernet connection then it will fit with the sharing. As I said, I don't know if it's right, the other disadvantages are a) that it is no longer supported by its company and b) it is not freeware.

Quickest place to read about it is

and if that grabs your interest then there are excellent PDF documents that arrive with the package, downloadable from

ftp://ftp.midpoint.com/pub/download/midpoint.zip

though the homepage is currently offline.

I researched it about a year ago and this was the best possibility I found.

Dave J.

Linux: Routing for multiple uplinks/providers

OS X / interesting overview: Bob Quietly "Borrows" Internet Service From Three Neighbors at Once