Flashing a WRT54G router (with v7.00.1 firmware) with a linux firmware?

I have a WRT54G router with v7.00.1 firmware (serial number starting CDFE1...) and I would like to flash it with one of the Linux firmware distros (for better QoS, user restriction management, etc) but I read on the Tomato site

that my router doesn't seem to be supported and similar on the Bitsum site.

My question is: Is there a relatively full featured Linux firmware "upgrade" that will work on my model of WRT54G router? Any help or suggestions would really be appreciated!

Cheers

-Gaiko

Unfortunately you bought the wrong router. Linksys used to make WRT's that could be flashed with a different OS. When they decided to make cheaper models with smaller amounts of ram that was their downfall. Now Linksys makes two different models of WRT one is called the WRT54G which you have and is not (as I know) upgradeable and a WRT54GL, the L being the Linux model. Since the L model has more ram and it costs a few bucks more that is the one flashers tend to buy. It is the only one I sell to customers since I know the limitations of the regular model. I don't know if ever the regular model will be "upgradeable" since hackers can do wonders sometimes. I sold all my wireless routers several months ago since I am waiting for the 802.11n stuff to be ratified, more power longer distance.

later, charles.....

Can someone give me a quick rundown why a router benefits from being flashed by Linux?

I mean, a router should do wifi and routing, I cannot see what else it could do?

I am sure that I am missing something, but I do not know what it is.

i

I assume you mean flashed with one of the open-firmware versions of Linux?

1) You get to pick what features you want and don't want.

2) The open-firmware projects have a lot of advanced features that stock firmware doesn't (QoS, VPN support, bridging modes, better DHCP/DNS integration, etc.)

--
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! I'm having a MID-WEEK
                                  at               CRISIS!
                               visi.com

Very nice. I just surplused my old WRT54G router (right now on eBay). This was done due to upgrade of my home Linux network to Gigabit Ethernet.

I will keep an eye when there is news on my D-Link DIR-655 802.11n gigabit router.

I use a basement linux server to provide firewall services to my home network (to private computers witj 10.0.0.* addresses). I have a feeling that it is a lot easier to do all that stuff (like VPN) using a regular Linux box, though I may be mistaken.

The one feature that I would definitely like is enable better NATting, specifically by exporting ssh port and connecting it to my laptop.

But I can live even without it, by using port redirection (redirecting port back to the laptop) through the basement server.

Very interesting. I appreciate the info.

i

Go look at

I recently flashed my v5 WRT54G and the ddwrt firmware offers an amazing array of new features including QoS which you're seeking. Until I found this, I thought upgrading the firmware in my v5 WRT54G router was not a possibility because it wasn't Linux based and because of the limited RAM (8Meg) in the unit. I needed to use the router as a wireless bridge and could not do so with the stock Linksys firmware. After flashing the proper firmware (mirco generic ddwrt), it's working fine as a wireless bridge connecting my DirecTV HR20 and XBox to my home network.

One of mine does:

take pictures at intervals as I travel via gphoto2 act as a GPS server for my handheld download digital cameras automagically link up with my home routers and dump pics and route into to home server Oh, and yeah, act as a route.

Another one does:

act as a firewall, nat, and such (pretty normal there, except that it also acts as a bridge to the above router, and automagically connects once the van is in range)

Yet another one:

runs a secure connection to a public demo isolates my test lan from the corporate lan acts as DHCP server

In other words, it's a regular linux box with all the capabilities, limited only by size of flash (4 - 8 MB) and RAM (8 - 32 MB).

--Yan

How does it act as a GPS server? Does it have a built in GPS receiver?

My own feeling about all this is that a regular Linux box can do those routing things with more convenience.

I have a network at home with NATs, private subnets, etc, all controlled by a regular Linux computer acting as a firewall.

i

Also VPN, wifi signal strength and segmentation to name other uses.

I'm interested in the function as well.

The convenience factor for me was *not* tying up another pc and spending the time for a linux install/config.

The DD-WRT flash and config took all of about 15 minutes total.

Still a very good way of doing it.

It's got a $30 USB GPS puck.

It *is* a regular linux box. There is no way a "regular" computer would work in a van; the energy use alone would kill the batteries.

A MIPS-based router only uses about 120 ma @ 12vdc IIRC, has no fans and no moving parts. With the OS on flash, you don't have to worry about power conditioning. You can set it up and forget it. One of mine is in an attic, in heat and cold.

Your regular computer probably uses about 75 watts, has fans and a hard drive that can fail, and needs to be in a conditioned environment with a UPS. And your regular computer still needs a switch to operate, or must have additional hardware to act as a switch on its own.

These little units have a built-in 6 port switch with vlan capability.

--Yan

Just 15 minutes? That's great. I am very impressed. I am not trying to demean what you do, at all, I think that it is great.

As for tying another PC, a Linux box can do all kinds of things besides being a firewall. I do not have a "dedicated firewall linux box" myself.

My approach is, obviously, much more applicable to a wired situation than to a wifi situation, where your solution excels.

(I have a wifi subnet at home, and use ssh port redirection to accomplish some of the things that you are doing)

Yes. I absolutely love linux in that it gives me the full power to do whatever I want, without me being restricted to "no more than 64 sockets without a Professional license", etc.

i

I am very interested in buying one for my laptop. Would you recommend a particular one that works with Linux?

Great point!

Yes. You convinced me that this approach has very tangible benefits, esp. for mobile situation.

i

That's a busy box!

I hear yah on that one. I'm real curious on how CptDondo did his usb gps thing on his wrt54. Google searching as I type....

It is not a big deal traffic-wise and CPU-wise.

I have another linux box that is my plasma TV box (we watch movies with it), that is also a nameserver for my domains, backup webserver for algebra.com, and it does quite a bit more of other things as well.

(snip)

Holux do a SiRF III one IIRC. I think I needed the PL2303 driver for that, and for another one I bought. So long as it talks NMEA 0183 you're probably fine - gpsd and other applications tend to understand that.

Mark (not sure how he should trim the Newsgroups: line)

It depends on what you mean by convenience. The Captain has already laid out some points (moving parts, power consumption); I'd like to add (slightly) increased security: by running an open-source OS on dedicated firewall hardware, you isolate the machines behind the firewall device. So if your firewall is cracked, there's still an extra step of having to crack your home box. But if you're running additional services on your firewall, they're compromised immediately if the firewall is.

--keith

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OK, I think that I will buy this:

i

Look around on the OpenWrt site. The Broadcom BCM47xx SOC has USB so you can hardware hack a linksys for USB. Me, I took the easy way; I bought a Linksys WRTSL54GS, which comes with a USB port. The other two routers I have are Viewsonic WR100; see my writeup on the openwrt page:

--Yan