By Andre Eksteen, Senior Product Manager – FTTB at Vox

Access to the internet has become the lifeblood of modern organisations, and companies have turned to fibre as a reliable means of connectivity. Many businesses are reliant on a single internet link; however, this poses a serious risk in case of downtime. In response, Vox has launched its Active-Active Redundant service, a cost-effective, seamless failover solution that offers continuity, bandwidth efficiency, and peace of mind for small and medium businesses.

Cost considerations tend to push many small and medium businesses (SMB) into only having a single connectivity link, but any disruption will leave them unable to communicate with employees, customers and suppliers. This makes redundant connectivity not just a nice-to-have, but a business-critical service. Those SMBs that do have some kind of failover often make use of a passive service that lays dormant until their primary link goes down. In effect, they are paying for something that they don’t really use.

The Vox Active-Active Redundant service combines two broadband links from different vendors, offering a load-balanced solution that supports simultaneous traffic across both links, providing customers with seamless failover in case of downtime on one link, with the other link maintaining internet connectivity. Customers with multiple fibre network operators in their area can use fibre as a secondary link, while those without this option can make use of a wireless service.

While there are existing active-active solutions on the market, these tend to run on Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) environments and are typically expensive. On the other hand, the Vox Active-Active Redundant service cost-effectively addresses the business need for reliable network uptime. It is a simpler solution, and customers stand to benefit from the savings where they don’t need the host of features that SD-WAN provides.

Customers making use of the Active-Active Redundant service can select between fibre network operators including Frogfoot, Openserve, MetroFibre, Link Africa, Octotel and Vumatel; wireless network connectivity options include MTN and Comsol. Businesses using this service can also obtain their secondary link at a reduced price if the primary link is also provided by Vox.

Pricing starts from R1 798 for dual 20 Mbps links and the potential monthly savings ranges between R100 and R400 on the secondary link and R99 for the Active-Active configuration. The service goes up to dual 500 Mpbs links, which are available for businesses with higher bandwidth requirements.

Benefits from using Vox’s Active-Active Redundant include increased uptime and business continuity, cost-savings from using both links for bandwidth, and improved efficiency with an active-active configuration that provides customers with burstable bandwidth when both links are operational. In addition, the service is offered as a simplified solution with included router setup, reducing the need for additional devices.

If your business has a high reliance on network uptime, you must consider introducing a failover service to your connectivity solution. And if you are looking at a cost-effective, seamless failover service that provides you more value for money, look no further than the Vox Active-Active Redundant service.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Active‑Active redundant connectivity?
Active‑Active redundant connectivity uses two independent internet links that operate simultaneously, sharing traffic and providing seamless failover if one link fails.

How is Active‑Active different from passive failover?
Passive failover keeps a secondary link dormant until the primary fails. Active‑Active uses both links concurrently, so you benefit from combined bandwidth and no wasted capacity.

Can I use fibre and wireless links together?
Yes. Where multiple fibre operators aren’t available, a wireless connection can be used as the secondary link to provide redundancy.

Do I need SD‑WAN to get Active‑Active functionality?
No. Vox’s Active‑Active Redundant service is a simpler, cost‑effective option that provides load‑balancing and failover without requiring a full SD‑WAN deployment.

Will both links be used all the time?
Yes. In an active‑active setup both links carry traffic during normal operation, giving burstable bandwidth and efficient use of resources.

How quickly will traffic switch if one link fails?
Failover is designed to be seamless so that business disruption is minimal. Vox configures the service to maintain connectivity when a single link experiences an outage.