Backup internet line for business - best practice

[yimpster]

We use Exponential E for our main fibre internet connection and have a cr*ppy BT ADSL for our backup.

We are looking upgrading to a hosted phone system and seriously upgrading our internet to a gigabit bearer.

We need good business continuity so want to ensure our backup line is reliable in case the primary goes down.

I have been offered a package by Expo which includes two gigabit bearers on divergent routes, one using BT the other on Virgin. With an active-passive setup which brings the costs down quite considerably.

My question is this. Would this still be a single point of failure with Expo or would i be better off using another supplier entirely for my backup line?

I like the idea of having both lines being managed by one company for convenience and their reliability so far has been rock solid.

 

[Caged]

Do you need the IP addresses to fail over? You probably do for voice, which should give you the answer to the other part.

 

[matthab]

If its one provider who is using two different ISP's then thats fine. Your still using two different ISP's essentially. The only risk could be from a contracts and billing perspective which could affect both lines.

The greater question you need to ask is how are you doing the fail over, whats your SLA and how much have you got to spend.