[GLLUG] router for home

[Richard Houser]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Sean O'Malley wrote:
> Does Openwrt still work on the Linksys? I thought around v.4+ and that
> started to fail. ??

The v1-v4 is not the same product as the v5+.  Linksys just swapped out
a keeper unit and started selling it under the same name and UPC number.
 Even running stock firmware, the new one doesn't perform as reliably
(the RAM and ROM are halved and it runs VxWorks -- the system suffers
overall but costs Linksys less per unit).

> It depends on how much security , how much configurability you want vs how
> much you want to spend. :) I have seen people use everything from the 5
> dollar wireless routers to 300-500 dollar routers with firewalls, traffic
> shaping, the ability to create several routable networks and VPN
> capabilities. The 300-500 dollar box one is nice if you don't trust the
> wireless network and/or want to limit bandwidth usage and I think it had
> failover to dial-up too.

For all these reasons, I would recommend going with something like the
WRT54G (v1-v4) or WRT54GL running openwrt.  You can also add 2GB of
flash storage and connect the pair of serial ports on the unit for some
time and a few bucks (I just haven't gotten around to that with the move
and all).  That unit will get you traffic shaping, VPN, 5 vlans, a good
firewall, etc.  With the serial port modification mentioned, I think you
can plug a modem into it as well.

What it won't get you is speed, but I don't think anything other than an
openwrt (or the clones - ex. ddwrt) in the sub-$1000 class other than
some form of a PC (even nano-ITX, etc) can get you a those types of
features at significantly faster rates.

For home use, it should be just fine, but don't expect multiple megabit
transfer rates doing router-based VPN tunnels (not talking pass through).
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: Using GnuPG with Mandriva - http://enigmail.mozdev.org

iD8DBQFHO7MKUMkt1ZRwL1MRAtx+AJ9LgX3gSMfcVQAdkIsCNXyNUp4BNACcDBLH
lOnPnJau5bH28+GlIObS2Sg=
=CO/8
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----