For consumers, wouldn't it just be simpler to get vdsl2 connections from two ISPs, and load balance via a router? Sure, you won't get 160mbit on a single connection, but is that an issue with any real world application?
I found the routerboard 450G starts to struggle (CPU maxing at 100%) around 10Mb, so we now use a x86 machine running the RouterOS software and 4 NIC cards.
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What is the CPU in your x86 machine, and how does it cope with the workload?
Since a Pentium 4 2.4GHz (northwood) can handle 1Gig Ethernet without hassle, I would assume anything relatively new (Core 2 Duo or above) should be fine!
Jamesbe* pro (16.8 / 1.2 sync) - BQM - FTTC cab installed 18-jun-2012 - not yet active - est 44.6 / 6.5
Well it's worth a check; depends how much CPU time is required to actually perform the load balancing, and (I presume?) manage things like QoS, the firewall etc.
1 Realtek Gigabit, 2 Realtek 10/10 cards and an onboard 10/100 VIA nic, so a real mix. The 10/100 are for the modems, and the gigabit connects to our network