I have installed a package called DD-WRT on by consumer grade Linksys WRT350N router. DD-WRT gives me professional grade options that the manufacturer does not offer and utilizes the hardware to its maximum. This fusion of Professional software and Consumer equipment makes my network setup prosumer.
DD-WRT is a good approach if you have a small office, have staff hooked up via wireless and don’t want to waste money. I just followed installation instructions on their wiki and things went smoothly. There is a step that might make you uneasy though; you have replace the manufacturer’s firmware in order to get DD-WRT functionality. As long as you don’t stop this two minute process in the middle it should work for you too. Although I am using a different model than the one in the instructions, everything went as expected.
This short list does not do DD-WRT justice, but here is what I like most about DD-WRT:
- Linux (but of course)
- Static Addresses
- DHCP Server
- MAC Address cloning
- NAT
- Graphical Bandwidth Reports (eye candy, true, but useful too)
- OpenVPN
- SSH Access (yep, you can log into the router! Can you say NMAP?)
- Access Policy (lock the kids down except for certain times)
But there is so much more.
DD-WRT is available for many routers in addition to Linksys. I was surprised to see DD-WRT installed routers for sale on EBay! If you have an old router laying around, or if you pick up one on the Internet, give DD-WRT a try. It I didn’t have the WRT350N, I would have used the much cheaper WRT54GL. You should read the compatibility list before purchasing to make sure the device is supported though.
