[jeffgrant]

First thing you ahve to do is determine what kind of failure you're trying to deal with... if it's simply a network failure, then just find a single provider that has proper network failover onto multiple Internet feeds and doesn't just rely on a single one.

A TON of mom-and-pop hosting solutions use a single source, and don't have proper network failover, so there are a lot of single points of failure in their topology.

When you get to a much bigger, professional hosting service, these problems tend to be handled because they've invested in a more robust network infrastructure.

I'd be tempted to call the sales guy for your new solution and ask him about their network infrastructure, and pointedly ask him/her how they deal with the situation you experienced with your last provider.

That being said, you can do what you wish as a backup... set up the DNS as you mentioned (at a separate location from your current hosting service) but I don't see why you should go out and configure and pay for the 2nd site right now... wait until your first one fails (if it does), and then get it set up. You can be up and running in minutes via credit card at a number of alternates.

$0.02