Author: Byron Paul

Date: 17/11/2023

Device: DV2927LAC



Connecting Draytek to Starlink is quite straight forward. Here is a guide if you want to also have LTE failover.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Connecting Basic Cabling

It is assumed that your Starlink set up already works as is for Internet access before adding a 3rd party router. See Aftermarket Routers for Starlink Systems - General Information for background information. 

  • Connect your Draytek router WAN port to the Starlink Ethernet adapter




Option 1 - Simple WAN configuration & Failover

  • Power up and log into your router. Make sure you're getting Internet access. WAN1 settings are DHCP client by default, if the router was in use for another service previously it might need to be changed under "WAN>Internet Access". 
  • Make sure Wan Connection Detection is changed to 'Ping Detect'



  • Enable the LTE service and set the connection type under "WAN>>General Setup>>LTE" to 'backup' and select WAN1 as the primary WAN


  • Check you are getting a CG-NAT address (100.X.X.X) allocated to your WAN interface. Note that the cellular shows a signal strength but no IP address. This is because it will be brought up in the event of a failover condition.
  • Double check you are getting internet access through the Draytek router.



For a basic install that's pretty much it! Test that failover works and optionally set up notification. 

A failover will generally occur within about 30-40 seconds of service interruption and failback to the original WAN is almost instant. 



Option 2 - Decreasing Failover Time using a Policy Route

The reason it takes about 30-40 seconds for failover to start working is that there's a period for detection and then because the LTE interface is deemed a backup connection the modem needs to boot and connect to the cellular service provider which adds to the time it takes to failover as provide service. 

This is the most cost effective way to operate as the LTE interface isn't connected and therefore not using data while performing link checks, DNS requests etc.. If you want to speed this up you can choose to instead load balance WAN1 and LTE interfaces but have a policy route to send all outbound data via WAN1. 

If WAN1 is deemed not active then any secondary paths will be used, in this case the LTE. Using this method keeps the LTE active at all times so make sure to keep an eye on data usage.


  • Set LTE Active Mode as 'Always On" instead of backup


  • Make sure your WAN1 configuration as per the previous example and is running 'Ping Detect' as WAN Connection Detection.

 

  • Make sure you are seeing both circuits active in Online Status


  • Create a policy route to send all data via WAN1
  • Test your failover and failback again. Make sure it's working as expected.




Data budget and notification - Optional but Recommended

  • Set a data budget warning for the LTE interface and a day to reset the counter every month
  • Set to disconnect if there is a strict data cap for the cellular service



Events Reporting - Optional but recommended


Configure notification for a failover event. As cellular data can be expensive your customer will probably want to know if there has been an event. Assuming the SIM card/account is enabled for SMS it’s very easy to set up an SMS alert under “Objects Setting>>Notification Object”



  • Navigate to "Applications >> SMS / Mail Alert Service" and set a recipient number against the notification profile.
  • Test WAN failover and confirm a notification is recieved