Anyone running DD_WRT or similar?
koehler
Posts: 598
The Win10 privacy issue got me to thinking about getting back into the DD-WRT scene to block MS and ads at the router and not the device.
Looking around, seems like the Archer C7 AC1750 is one of the better dual-band routers out there, with good support for WRT.
Aside from Linux and Manf/proprietary router OS', anyone else using DD/Open/Tomato ?
Comments
I also have a beautiful TP-Link TL-MR3020 (Thank you Loppy Byteloose) running OpenWRT. Which is great because it has a serial port, runs OpenSpin and can be used as a wireless Prop programmer.
http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/157248/the-30-or-less-wifi-wireless-propeller-programming-interface
http://forums.parallax.com/discussion/156414/wifi-iot-for-home-controllers-monitors-using-wr703n-20-routers-and-xx-wrt/p1
I think I also have that same Rose router, have to dig it out of the moving boxes. Was looking at it a couple of months ago, think it was $29 on the Egg as well. If it supports WRT I'll mess around with that first.
Heater- Have heard the pro's and con's of DD and Open, I guess it depends upon which distro has the features I need and which one is more stable. In general, my understanding was that WRT was more stable with more people using and developing for it. Any comment?
I have never tried dd-wrt. The show stopper for me is that it seems to be almost impossible to build it from source code. Not that I ever tried but I read "Building DD-WRT from source is difficult and according to the text here definitly not working on first try." . Where as OpenWRT turned out to be very easy to build.
This meant that I could get OpenSpin compiled and installed on OpenWRT which was actually the whole point of my looking into it in the first place. The fact that it "fixed" my routers was happy bonus.
I have read thing like this said about OpenWRT: "Not very user-friendly, best reserved for software developers.". I think this is a bit over the top. Installation seems to be very easy, just download the binary for your device and flash it using the web interface, like the instructions for the MR3020 here: http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-mr3020 I have no idea if that is harder than ddwrt. I certainly did not have to develop any software to make use of openwrt.
I guess it all comes down to which OS supports the hardware you have and offers the features you want.
That router's firmware is from "Oleg-the-Russian" as he created some binaries for that specifc product that were outstanding. I did consider alterantives, but found I was satisfied with his resources for what I had.
Read the Wikipedia entries for DD-WRT, Tomato, and OpenWRT to determine what you really want to work with. Each has a different approach and a different style of support.
I have also hacked the Tp-Link MR-3020 with OpenWRT firmware and find it a delight. If I were to get another router, I would start my shopping with whatever OpenWRT supports well.
Tomato is more GUI friendly, but the truth is that you can get too involved with adding on to a custom router and slow down its primary mission.
DD-WRT is fine too. But like most of us, I don't need a lot of custom routers. i just need one that works and that I can understand.
http://www.asus.com/us/site/routers/DD-WRT/
I was a bit surprised to see these. That makes it very easy to use DD-WRT. The most awkward part of the process is the compile and install of the binaries. Now you can avoid that and just use the software. And, I suppose that if you are disappointed, you can switch to Tomato or OpenWRT (but you should check before buying one).
I got into loading custom router firmware early on, and "Oleg-the-Russian" just happend to have code for the Asus router I had as his personal choice. At that time, neither DD-WRT or OpenWRT were attempting to support a lot of platforms, but I just happened to have what Oleg liked.
I had a horrible time trying to understand what I was supposed to do or what I would get in the end. But finally, I just 'went for it' and there was an 'ah ha' moment that I really understood. There were real problems with language and culture barrier with the Russian, but the code is good. And the added features are terrific.
These days, I tend to think that OpenWRT does a better job with the wide diversity of routers that are possible to hack. But the main thing is to get one with lots of the hardware features you desire -- big SRAM, big Memory, extra USB ports, 5Ghz, lots of MIPs.
If you really are going to use all the power of the additional software, you will end up regretting not have enough of these things.
But be aware that this can suddenly be as demanding as adding another computer on your network if you start using it as a server with a USB hard disk attached and a printer server.
I use mine as a 24/7 printer server for both wifi and LAN support to the printer. I love that. But I backed off on adding 120Gbyte USB hard disk... just too much. You can also use a USB port with a USB memory stick like a USB hard disk, but that is too much systems admin for me. Some people use these as a firewalled FTP server to the outside world.
Thanks guys.
I will swing by Open again and see how their support for the C7 is.
Initially I just need a decent firewall on the router, compared to the dumb ones they usually come with for the masses. Potentially VPN and some light server duty would be nice though.
Since I don't actually need one right at the moment being between houses, I guess I can play with both DD and Open on the Rose unit.
With Linux installed, the HTML interface can be ignored, never installed, or removed and all the configuration for a firewall can be done in a Terminal program - much more concise and better tutorials.
Of course, that presumes you are willing to learn Linux, learn to log in via PuTTY, and read the Linux Firewall HOWTO documents.
Tomato might be a better choice if you really want a GUI interface that may be clearer. I still dread Firewall configurations. The software has changed with various Linux Kernels - 2.4, 2.6, and 3.xx.
You really need to be clear on which Kernel version DD-WRT, OpenWrt, or Tomato are supporting in your particlar installation, or you get off into the weeds.
Though from what I've heard, it can be tricky so a nice GUI would be easier to start with.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122556&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=netgear_router-_-33-122-556-_-Product
Installed the .chk file and then Kong 25015-SP1
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Netgear_WNDR4500
As I kept switching between the regular router and N900 my computer browser would not see 192.168.... until I clicked adapter setting and trouble shoot, that resets the PC's Ethernethardware and I'm in like flint.
P.S not Flynn, Flint:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Axu06Z3HLVw/UPj2FvuxNfI/AAAAAAAAKiA/JSRZuRON0BY/s1600/In+Like+Flint+Blu-ray+cover+Twilight+Time+James+Coburn.jpg