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multiple connection converter to a virtual single connection
i have two, sometimes three internet connections connected to my computer at any one time. i want to be able to use all of them as if it were one big connection.
setting up the tcp/ip metric is simply not enough, as this only acts as a fail-safe option.
i imagine there would be a way to do this through an additional machine via the likes of one or two network cards and linux, but there should be a way to do this internally through windows.
i also imagine it would have to be a tcp/ip driver that would be layered over the top of the existing tcp/ip drivers, with the ability to set customised priorities for each connection in each _application_ - not each i.p. address - much like how a software firewall can control an application's internet access.
as i imagine there are more and more portable wireless internet connection devices becoming available to a single person, why not take advantage of them all?
Mike Euverman
As the first one sounds relatively easy. I assume it would be done internally with software. The second option sounds far more complicated. While it may be possible to send information on a single file from all of the available options at once, I doubt you'd be able as simple to receive. As I assume that when you're receiving, the choice to send it across multiple paths would have to be made by the sender, not the receiver. If the sender were set up to allow it as an option, then yes, but not if the sender wasn't able to do it.
I view the internet in a similar way to the physical post office. Where if I were to mail letters from multiple towns, all addressed to the same address... Eventually all the information will arrive at the same location. But the opposite isn't as easy. I can't send letters out, from a single location, and expect it to arrive at anywhere besides the location that I have it addressed to. If you're wanting to maximize your ability to send and receive information, depending on the workload that one provider is doing at any one point... then the sender isn't aware of what your loads will be at the moment you will be receiving the information. Just as someone who mails a letter, isn't aware of how heavy the mailman's bag will be on that day. Albeit the internet works a whole lot faster then snail mail, I believe the principle remains the same.
griffin tucker 10+
repeat this method for each file in a complete web-page and the end result is loading the web-page 50% faster. for large files and/or slow connections, this virtual connection would result in much less waiting.
to do this, of course, would probably require advanced integration into each application - unless there's a way to do this without touching the individual applications?
this also doesn't even take into account secure connections that use an individual i.p. address as identification.
Mike Euverman
On the receiving end though... That would appear to be more complex. Made more difficult as I find out that my understanding of how the internet operates has become out of date. Though my search has found one useful bit of information. What you're looking for is called a "load balancer", or "load balancing software".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load_balancing_%28computing%29
I haven't had a chance to read the entire page, but I hope that helps to point in you a productive direction.
griffin tucker 10+
there are two main programs (that are not free) that i know of that come close to what i'm requesting in the idea:
www.netlimiter.com
www.netbalancer.com