[Tfug] Routers

[Bexley Hall]

Hi, Eric,

> <bexley401 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >> > The Linksys WRT54GL router is advertised as linux compatible.
> >> > Can someone tell me if it is also suitable for a windows network?
> >>
> >> The 'L' designation means that the firmware is Linux-powered.
> >
> > Actually, I believe *all* of the WRT54G's are "Linux-powered"
> > (or, at the very least, easily reflashed with a Linux kernel)
> 
> Bexley - sorry, wrong on both counts :-)

<grin>  Wouldn't be the first time!  ;-)

> WRT54Gs that are v5 and later run VxWorks as their RTOS
> (see http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4729641740.html ) - and
> they include a very small amount of flash as compared to their
> predecessors. The WRT-54GLs have more flash and more RAM,
> because of an outcry from the WRT hacker community after the
> "weak" v5s were released

I've had three WRT54G's over the past year or so.  I *know*
I have reflashed all three of them and I am *reasonably* sure
the one that I am currently using is a v5 (I am traveling,
currently -- *freezing* might be a better word! -- so I can't
verify this at the moment).

> It is possible to flash a v5, v6 and v7.2 WRT54G to
> "DD-WRT micro,"
> but it's a more involved procedure. You have to flash
> to an
> intermediary DD-WRT and then upgrade that to DD-WRT micro.
> Note that of course the micro version has less features and less
> capabilities, but on the WRTs that I've flashed I have noticed the
> stability problems I was having basically disappeared after flashing
> them from VxWorks to Linux

I no longer use the software/hardware "features" in the router.
I didn't like the idea of having any of my security policy
embedded in an external device (that is a bit more involved in
upgrading/modifying than a "real" host)..  Instead, I now
plug each of my networks into separate ports on my bastion host
so I can implement policy on *that* machine instead of having to
configure different routers, etc.

So, the WRT54G doesn't do any packet filtering, no DHCP
service, etc.  Instead, I move all that into the bastion
host (where it is easier to maintain -- I don't like having to
spend my time maintaining equipment... I just want it to
*work*!).

In the past, I had little more than a kernel running in the
'54G.  I would configure it via a telnet interface (hardwired
IP address, etc.).  So, the 54G was little more than an "antenna".

The source tarballs for all of these versions are available
on the linksys web site (sorry, I don't have the URL bookmarked
on this laptop  :< -- I'm sure Google can find it for you,
though... there were a LOT of tarballs hiding there!)

I currently have the "stock" firmware running and just don't use
the wireless feature very often (I have something like 27
"wired" network drops around he house so the only time I really
*need* to use the wireless adapter is if I am in the yard
(though there are drops on the back and front porches, etc.).

For those parts of the house where I'm further than 6 feet
from a drop (very few  ;-) , I use a PLC adapter and just
connect to the rest of my world via a different interface
on the bastion host.

<shrug>

I think the only "risk" in my use in this manner is that
someone could conceivably talk to my (wireless) laptop while
I am using it.  Given how infrequently I avail myself of
this, the relative isolation of our neighborhood, the
skill level of my immediate neighbors, etc. I figure it's
the 90-10 solution!  :>

> http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT54G/GL/GS/GX
> has more details

--don