Linux Hackers Reclaim the WRT54G

An anonymous reader writes "The world's most ubiquitous wireless access point is free to run Linux again, thanks to a brilliant hack by db90h, aka Jeremy Collake. No soldering is required, as Collake's 'VxWorks Killer' nixes the WRT54G's VxWorks bootloader and installs a normal Broadcom one, allowing Linux to be installed easily. One distribution small enough for the series five WRT54G's 2MB of Flash and 8MB of RAM is the free DD-WRT project's "micro" edition. It lacks some of the fancier Linux router packages, such as nocat and IPv6, but does support PPPoE, and could be more stable than the VxWorks firmware, which seems to have generated mixed reviews." Update: 06/26 22:52 GMT by T : Note that the project's name is DD-WRT, not (as it was mistakenly rendered) WR-DDT. Check out the DD-WRT project's site.

DD-WRT

It's the dd-wrt [dd-wrt.com] project, not WR-DDT. Great package though, I run it on my v4 WRT54G.

Re:DD-WRT

I'm running it on my v2, and it's been great. This is good news for people who don't want to spend an extra $20 on the WRT54GL.

Re:DD-WRT

... not spend an extra $20 while knowing that a WRT54G v5 flashed with dd-wrt will also have less functionality than a WRT54G-v1-v4 or the new WRT54GL. If that functionality (call it SIP, QoS, OpenVPN, NoCatAuth, larger number of connections) which require the larger memory of the previous wrt54g or the newer wrt54gl is needed for you, you'll be out of luck with the wrt54g v5 and it smaller foot print of memory resources. I guess that if all you need is some extra power out the antenna or things like that, maybe you can do with a wrt54g, but dont be misleaded by the $20 difference: we are talking about whether you want to turn your $80 router into a $400 one or not... as usual, your choice.

Re:DD-WRT

I guess you just have to see if the difference in features is worth the $10-20. About the ton of fun features you might count (from http://dd-wrt.gruftie.com/wiki/index.php/DD-WRT_Do cu_(EN) [gruftie.com] ):

* 13 languages

* 802.1x (EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) encapsulation over LANs)

* Access Restrictions

* Adhoc Mode

* Afterburner

* Client Isolation Mode

* Client Mode (supports multiple connected clients)

* Client Mode WPA

* DHCP Forwarder (udhcp (http://udhcp.busybox.net/))

* DHCP Server (udhcp (http://udhcp.busybox.net/) or Dnsmasq (http://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html))

* DNS forwarder (Dnsmasq (http://thekelleys.org.uk/dnsmasq/doc.html))

* DMZ

* Dynamic DNS (DynDNS (http://www.DynDNS.org/), TZO (http://www.TZO.com/), ZoneEdit (http://www.ZoneEdit.com/))

* Hotspot Portal (Sputnik Agent (http://www.sputnik.com) ,Chillispot (http://www.chillispot.org/))

* IPv6 Support

* JFFS2 (http://sourceware.org/jffs2/)

* MMC/SD Card Support (hardware modification required)

* NTP client in a client-server basis

* Ntop Remote Statistic

* OpenVPN Client & Server (only in -vpn build of the firmware)

* Port Triggering

* Port Forwarding (max. 30 entries)

* PPTP VPN Server & Client

* QoS Bandwidth Management (Optimize for Gaming and Services / Netmask / MAC / Ethernet Port Priority)

* QoS L7 Packet Classifier l7-filter (http://l7-filter.sourceforge.net/))

* RFlow/MACupd

* Routing: Static entries and Gateway, BGP, OSPF & RIP2 via (BIRD (http://bird.network.cz/))

* Samba FS Automount

* Syslog to remote server

* Rx/Tx Antenna (Select or Auto)

* Show Status of Wireless Clients and WDS with System Uptime/Processor Utilization

* Site Survey

* SNMP

* SSH server & client (dropbear (http://matt.ucc.asn.au/dropbear/dropbear.html))

* Startup, Firewall, and Shutdown scripts (startup script (http://wrt-wiki.bsr-clan.de/index.php?title=Start up_Scripts))

* Static DHCP Assignment

* Style (Changeable GUI; v.23)

* Supports New Devices (WRT54G V3, V3.1, V4, V5 and WRT54GS V2.1, V3, V4)

* Telnet server & client

* Transmit Power Adjustment (0-251mW, default is 28mW, 100mW is safe)

* UPnP

* VLAN

* Wake On Lan client (WOL (http://ahh.sourceforge.net/wol/))

* WDS Connection Watchdog

* WDS Repeater Mode

* Wireless MAC Addresses Cloning

* Wireless MAC filter

* WMM (Wi-Fi MultiMedia QoS)

* WPA over WDS

* WPA/TKIP with AES

* WPA2

* Xbox Kaid (Kai Engine (http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/))

About the "fun that you might leave out" if you go for the WRT54V5, with the smaller linux image loaded: The DD-WRT micro build does not contain: chillispot, nocat, rflow, kaid, samba client, SNMP, IPv6, MMC/SD Card Support, SSH, PPTP/PPTP Client, UPnP. This file is under 2MB in size. While it is aimed at routers with less than 2MB of flash space (e.g., Linksys WRT54G version 5), any router should be able to run this version, including Linksys WRT54G versions before 5. Note that the Micro version is considered in beta, so it has a chance of instability. For flashing a version 5 of the WRT54G, look at Flash_Your_Version_5_WRT54G.

Cisco, if you're reading this.....

please do not fight these efforts. Linux on the router (with I firewall I already know how to administer) is e the sole reason I bought your product.

Other manufacturers (nvidia, are you reading this) - this applies for you too. If you support the software I use most (Linux) I will support your hardware.

They aren't fighting them.

They aren't fighting them. In fact, they have released WRT54GL with linux, specifically for this purpose. They just didn't want people bricking their routers and returning them under warranty.

Re:They aren't fighting them.

The v5 I bought was returned to BestBuy for explicitly the reason that it didn't support Linux. However, if I bricked it by trying something unsupported like this, I would not have expected free warranty work to get it back into shape. If this was the plan, then at least in my case, it backfired somewhat.

Re:They aren't fighting them.

No, Linksys did it the way they did as a backhanded way to cash in on the Free Software crowd. You can tell because the GL is basically the same hardware as the V4, but they increased the price -- anyone buying a GL is paying more for the same functionality!

If Linksys actually cared about the community they'd have just continued with one version, or at least continued to use Linux on the crippled "normal" V5.

Re:They aren't fighting them.

Not quite: Linksys reduced the memory from 16MB to 8MB and flash from 4MB to 2MB when they changed from v4 to v5 version. They then introduced a new model, the GL one which didn't exist before which has basically the old hardware, memory, flash and all at a higher cost. So yes it's a cash in. Simple greed to exploit the brand they created by cutting their costs and the capabilities of the hardware and pocketing the profits.

Re:They aren't fighting them.

Have you thought that they were previously subsidising the lower cost of the WRT54Gv4 by the sheer volume of sales?
Moving it to a specialty product with a narrower audience is going to blow their economies of scale out of the water. They shrunk their consumer product down to save money by dropping the memory, then reintroduced a specialty product to fill a niche demand. Specialty products always cost more than general audience products. Besides, some retailers have already discounted them to the point where they're under $60.

In a way, it is greed. They want to be able to compete with all those cheaper routers with less memory using vxworks. If they don't, then their profits go away. Too bad it looks like their gambit won't succeed. Their vxworks product has been getting horrendous reviews.

Re:They aren't fighting them.

Margins on volume have no effect either I'm sure...

Simple greed to exploit the brand they created by cutting their costs and the capabilities of the hardware and pocketing the profits.

That's business, anyone whom has ever sold you anything has done that. Don't like it, don't buy it. Linksys didn't come out with the v5 to piss Linux nerds off, they did it because they save a shit ton of money with the new design.

Two roughly equivalent products, the v5 costs x to make the v4 costs x+y. The sensible thing if you must produce both (which they don't) is to bump the price of the v4 so the margins are the same. Which actually is a lot when you have to build, track, support, and promote a product.

That the price difference is less than 10 bucks is pretty suprising.

What's The Point?

What's the real point. Sure, the VXWorks version of the WRT54G is a little bit cheaper but, it has less memory, which limits its capabilities. The old Linux capable WRT54G is still available in the form of the WRT54GL so, why would anyone choose this route?

As I think about it, this development may actually hurt the WRT54G Linux crowd. If price is the motivating factor and everyone opts for the slightly cheaper VXWorks version, Cisco will likely discontinue the WRT54GL due to lack of sales leaving the LInux crowd with a less featureful option.

Re:What's The Point?

As I think about it, this development may actually hurt the WRT54G Linux crowd. If price is the motivating factor and everyone opts for the slightly cheaper VXWorks version, Cisco will likely discontinue the WRT54GL due to lack of sales leaving the LInux crowd with a less featureful option.

Bite your tongue! Some folks purchased a v5 not realizing the trouble and instability that vxworks brings. This is GREAT news.

Woohoo!

WRT54G well worth it

This is fabulous news. I own an early WRT54G which I use as a bridged PPPoE connection, and also as a router (both wireless and wired), and with custom firmware it performs a blindingly good job. As of right now, it has an uptime of just over a month, and I believe that was because of a powerout.

The original firmware was by no means pitiful, but it lacked a huge number of features that coders have 'rereleased', such as QoS, more advanced scripting abilities, better performance with BT and so on.

When I heard that they had moved to VxWorks, with no backwards compatibility with the custom firmware, I thought it was a stupid move. The firmware has improved immensely from the countless iterations created by outside coders, why not let that process continue?

I'm in the middle of this right now....

I had lightening somehow take out my cable modem (which I rent) last weekend... it also fried the WAN port on my V2.2 WRT54G that was completely stock.

Needing a WAN port I went and bought another WRT54G (a new one at Best Buy that happens to be a V5)...

I knew that the WRT54G was hackable though, so I figured I would try to make some use out of the one with the dead WAN port. I nabbed the DD-WRT firmware and loaded it up... and on the first try it worked beautifully (well... I mean the firmware worked... I still didn't have a purpose for it yet).

I started looking at what the firmware could do and noticed the "client-bridge" wireless mode... meaning it could bridge two wired networks with a wireless link. I tried it out and sure enough it connected to my new V5 WRT54G without problem. Looking around my apartment I noticed a long ethernet cable running around the baseboards from where my cable modem and router sit (in my TV nook... where my ReplayTV is plugged into them) to where my server and desktop are.... and the thought came to me that I could use the "broken" WRT54G to bridge that gap instead (and make my wife happier... with less cords).

I hooked it up... and it's been working beautifully for a week... a very nice solution.

With how satisfied I was I thought it would be great to be able to hack my new one at some point in the future too... and when I found out that the V5 was difficult/impossible (at that time) to hack... and instead Linksys made a WRT54GL model that still ran linux and was hackable... I ordered one of those up (for about $10 more) and am planning on taking the V5 back to Best Buy as soon as the new one arrives from Amazon (later this week).

This news doesn't really change my mind about this... the WRT54GL is inherently a more hackable system (more memory and such) and should remain a good workhorse into the future.

The moral of all of these ramblings is that Linux is great! How did I come to that conclusion? Well... it's nothing except the open-sourceness of my old router's firmware that allowed me to still get utility out of it after part of it had failed. If it was some proprietary BS (like VxWorks) then it would have just been a plastic brick....

Friedmud

Try a different router

Even with this hack, the WRT54G v5 doesn't have the resources. We should be telling users to buy one of the equivelent routers from another vendor, such as the Asus or the Buffalo.

For starters, we need a new name to identify this platform (vs. calling it the WRT54G). The WRT54G/S is just one product utilizing the Broadcom platform.

Also, what about similar platforms from other wireless vendors? Their is a similar Linux platform from Conexant (Prism), but that's hard to get now. How about a Linux Atheros platform? After all, isn't Broadcom supposed to be the least open source friendly of the wireless chipset companies?

dd-wrt is very stable

I've been running DD-WRT V23 Final since right after Christmas, and the only time it has gone down on me was due to a power outage in my area a few months ago. Otherwise, it has been rock solid stable. I always had to reboot my WRT54g every week when using the linksys firmware... especially when I was downloading torrents and stuff. If the router didn't slow to a crawl, the wireless link would totally quit working until I rebooted the unit. I'm even using QOS, PPTP, and a few of the other enhancements that linksys didn't provide with their bum firmware.

All that is a thing of the past. In fact, here's what my router says now:

~ # date
Mon Jun 26 15:00:10 UTC 2006
~ # uname -a
Linux cerberus 2.4.32 #431 Sun Dec 25 16:58:55 UTC 2005 mips unknown
~ # uptime
14:52:33 up 100 days, 1:58, load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00

-SuperTux

Forum

We over at the DD-WRT [dd-wrt.com] forum have been following this for a while [dd-wrt.com].

As with any other fine F/OSS project, please donate [dd-wrt.com] if you find the project useful.

Save $20 on a client

Difference between WRT54G and WAP54G = $20 and a little work. I wanted to set up MythTv for my home. My internet access is in the back room but I watch myth in the front room. Naturally I went with wireless since the wife didn't want the ugly cables. I went to my local electronics store and bought a 54G not thinking it couldn't be a client. I set it up and home and found out I bought the wrong product rather quickly. Knowing that hacks like this exist for anything with a chip I did a little research and found the SVEASoft firmware. Downloaded it from another site (it's open source, thank you Linksys). I upgraded my firmware and on reboot got a blinking red light. That's when I found out about the term brick. After my heart started beating again, I did another search and found a quick tutorial on how to un-brick your system and first step is to try the Linksys exe (worked like a charm, again thanks Linksys). I then found DD-WRT, installed and worked like a charm. I was a little confused that I had to set my clients name as the same as the wireless server to enable the bridge, but after getting that straight everything worked like a charm. Overall, the potential heart attack was not worth $20, but the satisfaction of buying something, finding out it doesn't work and turning to the open source community for the answer, Priceless.

Linksys's continuing missed opportunity

Amazed, am I, at Linksys's continuing to miss the opportunity to sell a fully featured WRT54G themselves. They could have a knockout product out of the box in that price range that would leave the competition scrambling, but persist in sticking to a basic, no frills configuration.

Mixed reviews nothing. The WRT54Gv5 is crap.

I work for a small WISP and I've dealt with more than my fair share of WRT54G routers. We began with the WRT54Gv4 router and they were spectacular. They were solid, stable, and only had problems when they were struck by lightning (don't ask...). We distributed many dozens of these routers. To my knowledge, every one of them is still in use today.

Then Linksys released their version 5 of the router. We deployed dozens more of these. We've had two main problems with them: the WAN port loses its ability to communicate with a static IP address (it thinks it's been assigned 0.0.0.0--very helpful); or the WLAN connection permanently ceases to work properly (it still puts out radiation at 2.4GHz but it's just noise). Out of the dozens of these v5 routers we've installed for customers, approximately 25% have been returned to Linksys.

We no longer use Linksys routers for our customers. We sell D-Link WBR-1310 routers instead. It took me a while to get over my initial snobbish elitism (I'd used D-Link's products in the past and they were less than stellar) but now I'm a believer. The WBR-1310 is fantastic. We've put a couple dozen of these in the field and so far there hasn't been one issue among them. D-Link has really cleaned up their act. It also helps that these basic routers are dirt cheap. Even Office Depot sells them for $40-60 so you can imagine what wholesale prices are like...

At home, I'd had different problems with my WRT54Gv5. Basically, any time I tried to use BitTorrent, the router would play hide-and-seek with my network. It didn't matter whether it was LAN or WLAN, the connection would cut out every two minutes. Only a power cycle would bring it back. I've since replaced it with the aforementioned D-Link WBR-1310 and I'm pleased as punch. BitTorrent works faster than ever and I've not yet had to power cycle the thing after two months of punishing use.

So... Mixed reviews? Hardly. The WRT54Gv5 is the least reliable router I've ever used, and I've used a LOT in that price range. It's a bloody shame, too, because Linksys really had something going with the v4 of the same router. If they sold them again, we'd buy a hundred in an instant, with orders for hundreds more down the road. But somehow, I doubt Linksys will ever go back to the v4.

Here's hoping that this new DD-WRT release will ease the pain of so many unfortunate buyers of the WRT54Gv5.

Re:Watch out for 3rd party firmwares for these

I got tired of futzing with the router more than I was just letting it do its job.

Common, it's not like you bought it for it's intended purpose.

What sort of geek are you.

Re:Does it have a client mode?

I'm using DD-WRT in client-bridge mode on my V2.2... and it works beautifully (you can even scan the local area for networks and then just click the "Join" button next to them to get connected... very slick).

Don't know if the micro version supports this though.

Friedmud

Re:WTF? Who cares? OS X does this already.

Yes. And when OS X runs on a Linksys WRT54G we'll call that slick too.

Re:So When Can I...

I'd rather turn a PSP into a router. At least then it would do something useful...