

Ask HN: Installing Linux on my router -- OpenWrt, X-Wrt, or Gargoyle? - benhoyt

My SMC WBR14T-G wireless 4-port router has been hanging a lot recently. If I unplug the power and plug it back in, it works again, but it's now happening multiple times per day. I've got the latest firmware. And I've had this trouble with previous (cheap) routers.<p>So I'm keen to buy a Linksys WRT54GL (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linksys_WRT54G_series) and install an OpenWrt-based Linux on it. I've read lots of good things about how this setup is very stable and configurable.<p>Anyway, I'm a programmer and okay at network stuff, but not an expert. I can certainly use config files, but I'd definitely prefer a good web interface.<p>Any suggestions? So far Gargoyle looks really nice, but a bit new/unproven yet. X-Wrt might be the way to go. Or plain OpenWrt?
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mutew
I have a Buffalo WHR-G125 (couldn't find any old Linksys routers anywhere) and
have been running Tomato on it since day one. The web interface is beautifully
done with loads of AJAX and pretty graphs. So far I have had no issues or
hiccups with either the wired or the wireless interface and configuration is a
breeze with the ability to download and backup your configuration files if,
heaven forbid, you ever need to reset the router. For more information check
out the lifehacker article -

[http://lifehacker.com/344765/turn-your-60-router-into-a-
user...](http://lifehacker.com/344765/turn-your-60-router-into-a-
user+friendly-super+router-with-tomato)

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crux
I have used both dd-wrt and Tomato, and found them both totally satisfactory.
I guess I'd give the nod to Tomato, whose interface was a little slicker, but
dd-wrt was still great too. I never had any problems installing or configuring
either one of them.

Having had an Airport for a little while, though, I don't know why neither of
those were on your list—whether they were overlooked or whether they're
outdated.

~~~
benhoyt
Thanks -- good recommendation. Tomato looks good.

I didn't know the Apple AirPort was a "standard" wireless router. Cool. Now
bidding on one... :-)
<http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=226933642>

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ams6110
I used dd-wrt to run my Linksys WRT54G as a wireless bridge. It has been
flawless.

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dulakian
I run OpenWRT on my Linksys 54G v3. The web interface works great, and if you
want to get into the internals, you can. I even rolled my own firmware with
openvpn on it so I can connect to it from my laptop without worrying about
anyone sniffing my traffic. The vpn slows my connection down, since the cpu is
only 212mhz, but it's more than acceptable to me for browsing. If I have to do
a big download, I'll disconnect the vpn so I get full speed. I've had it this
way for almost 2 years now, and no issues at all. I'm very happy with my
current setup.

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aupajo
I've recently seen someone run OpenWrt on one. I played around with it for a
bit; seemed pretty nice. He had it running Python and had it hooked up to an
Arduino with little effort.

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jpierce420
I have a WRT-150N wireless N router, and it works great stock. All Linksys
routers from the 54G up have Linux already, and I don't know about the 54G,
but mine came stock with a web interface..you just go to 192.168.1.1 in your
browser and login and there it is. Linksys recently released the source for
the firmware code on their wireless routers, including the 54G, because some
Linux GPL guys found out the routers were Linux- based and threatened to sue
them if the code wasn't released. The code for a bunch of the routers is on
the Linksys site. I've scanned through it, and as far as I can tell it just
uses some Broadcom hardware/startup code, some MIPS-specific processor code, a
vanilla kernel, and the GNU Zebra routing engine, which has been replaced by
Quagga but still works great. Anyways, not saying that the Open-WRT and others
aren't cool, was just saying my 150N works great and has a web interface. Do
the open-wrt and other custom router distros add many new features that the
router wasn't previously capable of? Was wondering bc I haven't looked into
them much, but might if there's a substantial increase in
performance/features.

~~~
teilo
"All Linksys routers from the 54G up have Linux already"

Not true. Most Linksys 54G routers run VxWorks. Only versions 1-4 of the
WRT54G series ran Linux. There are many Linksys Draft N routers that run
chipsets that are not compatible with any Linux firmware, but meny are
Broadcom based and are therefore compatible. Not sure what OS Cisco is using
for those.

Regardless, countless of us have found that even the Linux-based Linksys
firmwares are garbage. Put Tomato or DD-WRT on one of them, however, and they
run like a champ.

~~~
jpierce420
Oh ok, sorry about that. I've never owned a 54G, and saw it listed in the
Linksys GPL page for source code downloads, so I figured all versions ran it.
I guess just some of them do. Thanks for the info!

