wifi

Oct

2009

Applying DD-WRT to a Linksys WRT54GL Router

My ancient D-Link 624 has showing signs of conking out over the past couple of months. That had put me in the dilemma of “Do I wait for 802.11n to be released or do I buy a modifiable router now?” Well, I made the decision. I bought an old, high modifiable Linksys WRT54GL.

***Just a word of caution, don’t buy a WRT54GL unless you plan on flashing the firmware to something better because the default firmware sucks royally.***

This morning, I successfully applied the latest DD-WRT firmware to the router and now have it up and running. So far, I am really digging it. I highly recommend it to anyone with supported hardware. I choose DD-WRT over OpenWRT simply because of the ease of upgrading it. Eventually, I may switch over, but as of now I have no plans to.

This procedure is not without risk however. If you screw it up, you could find yourself with nothing more than an expensive doorstop/paper-weight/what-have-you. If you follow the instructions provided on the site you will most likely succeed.

If you would like to attempt to modify your router firmware, go to http://www.dd-wrt.com/ and check to see if your hardware is supported. Definitely check the Instructions because you will brick your router if you mess up. Also check out the “Peacock” thread in the DD-WRT Forums. It can be found here: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=51486. I followed the exact procedure listed in the first post and had absolutely no problems.

a.Set your computer to a static IP of 192.168.1.8. (or to whatever subnet the router is on) Disable all firewalls and security. Disable wireless on your computer and only have the router connected to the flashing computer by the ethernet cable between the two.
b. Hard reset prior to flashing. Wait. Check for password page on re-login and change password.
c. Flash firmware. You can use the webgui except if you have a belkin router. (For belkin use tftp.exe to flash)
d. Wait…at least three minutes. Lights should return to normal. See important2, below. Failing to wait is how most people brick their routers.
e. Do a power cycle of the router. (Unplug the cord, count to 30 and plug it back in.)
f. Wait for the lights to return to normal usually about 2 minutes.
g. HARD reset again. Wait. Check for the password page and re-login to change the password. Then you can reconfigure your settings manually.
h. Once configured set your computer back to autoIP and autoDNS.

Attached below is a video I watched before doing it. It really simplifies the procedure and you really need to read more into it, but it should alleviate some fears.

Jun

2009

Networking Project Complete

I completed my network project about a week ago. The object of this project was to create a wired extension of my network on the other end of the house without running wire (the most cost effective method). I ended up using an ASUS WL-330gE Multi-functional Wireless AP to achieve success. I already had a wireless router running so attaching the WL-330eE was not a big deal. I even lucked out and it supports passing through the wired connection while functioning in wireless repeater mode. Before I go further, this method does have one big downside. Every device on the extended network is limited to the bandwidth achieved by the single adapter.

Materials for Project:

1 – Wireless network up and running.
1 – Linksys EZXS55W EtherFast 10/100 5-Port Workgroup Switch
1 – ASUS WL-330gE Multi- Functional Wireless AP – (AP, Ethernet Adapter, Gateway, Repeater 4 mode)
N – Patch cable for devices.

Step-by-Step:

Make sure your wireless network is enabled.
Use the short bit of patch cable that came with the WL-330gE to connect it to the upstream port of the EZXS55W switch.
Use another length of patch cable to connect a computer to one of the client ports on the switch.
Navigate to url http://192.168.1.220/ on the computer. This will get you into the setup page of the WL-330gE. Initially the menu is in Chinese, but this can be fixed by the drop down box in the upper right.
Set the device into Repeater Mode and select the network you want to connect to.
You’re done. Now you have a wired network extension across a wifi connection.

For me this works excellent. I don’t have to worry about the bandwidth limitations and now I have all my media devices connected at all times.

Apr

2009

Paid WiFi in Establishments

I have a particular gripe about businesses that charge for the wifi in their establishment. To me, it seems like idiocy to pay up to $15 a month for wifi access at a business. Evidently there are alot of people out there that do it because it seems to be popular. Wifi should be a perk to visiting your establishment, not another product. I guess until people grow a brain and stop paying, no one will wise-up.

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