PEPLINK HANDBOOK

How to Set Up Basic WAN Failover on a Peplink Router

Peplink's Outbound Policy lets you rank WAN connections so traffic always uses your preferred link first, and switches automatically if that link goes down. This is the standard way to set up failover on a multi-WAN Peplink router, and it does not require a SpeedFusion licence.

QUICK ANSWER

Add or edit an Outbound Policy rule and set the algorithm to Priority, then rank your WAN connections in the order you want traffic to use them. The router health-checks each WAN and moves traffic to the next-ranked connection automatically if the top one drops. This works on standard licensing, without SpeedFusion.

Method 1: Set the Outbound Policy algorithm to Priority

Steps

  1. In the web admin, go to Network > Outbound Policy (this sits under Advanced on some firmware versions).
  2. Add a new rule, or edit the default rule, and set the algorithm to Priority.
  3. Rank your WAN connections in order: your primary broadband or fibre line first, cellular or secondary connections after.
  4. Save and apply the policy.

Method 2: Configure WAN health checks

Each WAN connection has its own health check settings under Network > WAN, on that connection's detail page. Confirm the check method, such as a DNS lookup or ping to a reliable target, and the failure threshold are sensible for that connection type. An overly sensitive check can trigger unnecessary failovers on a naturally variable connection like cellular, while an overly lax one delays detecting a genuine outage.

Method 3: Decide what happens when the primary WAN recovers

Terminate Sessions on Link Recovery

This setting controls behaviour once your primary WAN comes back online. Enabled, existing sessions on the backup connection are ended and new sessions move back to the recovered primary immediately. Disabled, active sessions stay on the backup connection until they end naturally, and only new sessions use the recovered primary. Choose based on whether an uninterrupted session, such as a live video call, matters more than switching back onto the primary connection straight away.

Method 4: Test the failover

Disconnect or disable the primary WAN and confirm traffic moves to the secondary connection within the expected time. Then reconnect it and confirm the recovery behaviour matches what you configured in Method 3, before relying on this in production.

Failover vs load balancing vs bonding

  • Priority (failover). Traffic uses your top-ranked WAN until it fails, then moves to the next one. This is what most people mean by "failover" and it is what this guide covers.
  • Weighted Balance or Least Used. Spreads live traffic across multiple WANs at the same time, rather than holding one in reserve.
  • SpeedFusion bonding. Combines multiple WANs into a single tunnel for genuine bandwidth aggregation rather than switching between connections. This needs a SpeedFusion licence. If you want to prioritise a WAN specifically within a SpeedFusion tunnel, see our guide to WAN Connection Priority in SpeedFusion.

Common questions

Do I need a SpeedFusion licence for basic failover?
No. Priority-based failover through Outbound Policy works on standard licensing across your WAN connections. A SpeedFusion licence is only needed for bonding tunnels or VPN failover between sites.
How fast is failover?
It depends on the health check interval and failure threshold you configure on each WAN. Detection is typically within the interval you set, not instant, so it is worth testing against your own requirements rather than assuming a fixed figure.
Can I fail over between more than two WANs?
Yes. Priority ranking supports as many WAN connections as your device has, ranked in whatever order suits your setup.
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