[lug] InstallFest, 19 Nov

[Daniel Webb]

On Fri, Nov 18, 2005 at 08:35:14AM -0700, Siegfried Heintze wrote:

> I tried it previously and installed linux on the WRT54G and was able to
> telnet to my router and even run VI on the router. I was impressed.
> Unfortunately, I hosed the wireless feature of the router and was unable to
> restore that feature. Fortunately, the retailer was willing to give my my
> $60 back. 

It's even more impressive when you can get things like openvpn, asterisk, full
iptables / tc support, etc working.  It's incredible what you can get into
4MB.
 
> Assuming I can get a WRT54G v1.1 that is compatible with linux (thanks to
> the previous posters, I now know to look for some serial numbers), will
> there be anyone there to help me install linux ON THE ROUTER?

v1.1 and v2.0 are great for OpenWRT from what I can gather, but I don't have
any knowledge or experience with v.3.0 or v.4.0.  Anyone have personal
experience with those revisions?

You probably have to ask the sellers on Ebay what the serial number is (and
explain why you want it, they get suspicious).  Most of them don't advertise
it.  Stay away from revision 2.2, some people have had problems with that one.

Be aware that the device naming (vlan0, vlan1, eth0, eth1, etc) changes
depending on which hardware revision you get.  Make *sure* you get the thing
into boot_wait mode before doing anything else!

Another piece of advice: if you plan on using it for a long time and not
upgrading much, keep an archive of *everything* you install on it so that you
can do it again.  When OpenWRT works, it is great, but if anything breaks,
frustrating is an understatement.  For example, I use a ton of iptables
modules in /usr/lib/iptables/, and they are specific to the kernel and build
you use.  They may disappear (I mean, get upgraded) in the future, so keep the
ipkg packages for all those things when you install them.  Things like the
iptables modules can be hard to find.  I've been meaning to put up a page with
links to all those things, but haven't gotten around to it.