WRT54G and disconnects

manufacture's

I have a wrt54g and if I use the WZC in windows it works fine, If I use a wireless utility it doesnt get the IP until I do what you do. Go figure.

get custom firmware from

or (recommended but costs 20$)

change the MTU to 1400 RTS Threshold to 2304 Beacon Delay to 200

I put the hyperwrt firmware on it.

Was that not a good one?

I'll check out those settings tonight. Thanks.

The Alchemy v1.0 firmware from Sveasoft is significantly more developed than HyperWRT. You might want to try it for comparison.

I'm hard pressed to see what any of them other than the MTU might do to improve things. Changing the MTU will help reduce fragmentation of large packets by the facilities you use to connect to the Internet (a cable or xDSL modem). Some of them hang if the MTU is the default 1500 for ethernet (because an extra header gets added, which means every full sized packet has to be split into one big one and one small one, and some units fail when they try).

could you steer me in the right direction on that site for the exact file I'm supposed to download?

Do I just update the firmware like I did with the hyperwrt?

Bryce.

Yep, same process.

Just to get this all into the Usenet archives so that others can stumble across it on google, I'm going to give a *detailed* list of the various packages available at . (Other sites were several of these packages are available are and .)

You have to register for a free user account, and then log in and click on the download button. That will get a list of products, and if you scroll down there is one for "WRT54G and WRT54GS". Clicking on that brings up a page with the latest Linksys beta firmware at the bottom of the page, and with a list of links to several third party downloads.

These are the variations available, with comments from the linksysinfo.org site that are obviously most are written by the PR team for each product, some of which I've trimmed.

I've added my comments at the end of the list, and some at the end of a particular entry [which are enclosed in square brackets like this to mark them as mine]

========== LINKSYS

WRT54GSV2.1_4.05.5_US_code.bin Beta for the WRT54GS Version: v4.05.05 Filesize: 2.94 MB

WRT54GV3.1_4.00.5_US_code.bin Beta for the WRT54G Version: v4.50.05 Filesize: 2.74 MB

WRT54GV3.1_4.00.7_US_high.code.bin Beta for the WRT54G Version: 4.00.7 Filesize: 2.74 MB

This seems to help fix throughput and disconnection problems with the newer v2.2 - v3.0 wrt54g routers. this firmware has a overlcoked rate 240-250 mhz.

[Linksys of course also has the older version available on their web site, plus they also have an entire development package, source code and all.]

========== DD-WRT

DD-WRT v22prefinal 3.2 Beta for the WRT54G and WRT54GS Version 2.2pre3.2 Filesize: 3.36 MB

Created from the Sveasoft Alchemy 5.4a Source Code. Includes Extra Features that Alchemy Lacks.

Fixes Include: site survey fixed wrt-radauth enhanced with portal function for unauthorized users wds-watchdog nvram initialisation fixed various web bugs fixed (thx Cesar)

[On another page the author of this distribution says it has an enhanced interface for a RADIUS authetication system, and can mount samba shares from a Microsoft box, thus making it more suitable for those who do not have a Linux background.

DD-WRT V22-prefinal4 (Talismen) is available at

========== EWRT

Beta for the WRT54G and WRT54GS Version: v0.3 beta Filesize: 2.85 MB

Ewrt is the Enhanced WRT linux distribution

# Based on the Linksys 3.01.3 codebase

• Support for all WRT54G and WRT54GS hardware * Greatly improved QoS, including hardware QoS support on newer models * Config backup/restore functionality * Wireless client isolation functionality

# Imported Dropbear 0.44, now we have working ssh and scp clients # Imported Busybox 1.00 which greatly improves the Unix userland # Upgraded NoCatSplash to version 0.92 # Upgraded Squashfs to version 2.1-r2 # Created a writeable jffs2 filesystem on /opr using free flash space (credits to the OpenWRT project)

Source code for the firmware can be obtained at the owners website.

The goal of the project is to maintain a stable and secure platform for use in enterprise and wireless ISP environments...

[also see ========== Freifunk [Nothing shows up on this one at but there is an English web page at the URL above.]

========== HyperWRT

For the WRT54G v1.0-3.0 HyperWRT 2.1b1 WRT54G Version: 2.1b1 Filesize: 3.23 MB

For the WRT54GS v1.0-2.0 HyperWRT 2.1b1 WRT54GS Version: 2.1b1 Filesize: 3.47 MB

HyperWRT has these added features :

Adjustable Transmit Power & Antenna Select 13 Wireless Channels ''Boot Wait'' flash protection Increased maximum concurrent connections More Port Forwarding & Triggering Fields More Qos Device & Application Fields More Access Restrictions Policies & Blocked Services Fields Command Shell Telnet Daemon Startup & Firewall Scripts Uptime ...

The goal of this project is to only add a limited set of fixes to make the official firmware useful for most people.

Source code for the firmware can be obtained at the owners website.

========== OpenWRT

[Nothing shows up on this one at linksysinfo.org.

See

however the archive is down. A message says the latest release was updated on April, 24, 2005 though.]

"OpenWrt provides only a minimal firmware with support for add-on packages."

========== Sveasoft

Alchemy Project

For the WRT54G V1.0 - V2.2 and WRT54GS v1.0, v1.1 Alchemy v1.0 Final Version: v1.0 Filesize: 3.41 MB

Looks like WRT54G v3.0 and WRT54GS v2.0 are NOT supported however some users of v3.0's are reporting it does work.

Satori Project

For the WRT54G v1.0, v1.1, v2.0 and WRT54GS v1.0 Sveasoft Satori v4.0 Version: 4.0 Filesize: 2.59 MB

Auto channel select option AP Watchdog timer option New Management page help (thanks to Markus Baertschi) SSH DSS keys now supported (thanks to Rod Whitby) NTP remote server field lengthened Old port forwarding format supported PPTP server fixed webstr iptables filter fixed adm6996 module moved ifconfig broadcast addresses fixed local dns fixed Remote syslog fixed rc_startup and rc_firewall fixes Missing files and directories updated

OpenSSL is not in this build. Compatible with both G and GS models Linksys "AfterBurner" drivers with DMA Default gateway for LAN ports Advanced Routing, OSPF, BGP Routing Power mode selection Antenna selection Client mode (Ethernet bridging) Adhoc mode WDS peer-to-peer networking (10 links, multiple options) Modified to forward to any IP address Bandwidth Management Boot Wait, Cron, DHCP with static MAC->IP assignments DNS Masq, Firewall control, Loopback option, NAS NTP Client, PPP, PPTP VPN server, Resetbutton daemon SSHD with public key or password login Shorewall firewall, Syslog with remote logging Telnet, Tftp Command Shell replaces ping and traceroute Linux shell scripts rc_startup and rc_shutdown settable from the web Wireless signal strengths for clients, AP's, WDS links Static DHCP leases Added approximately 20 iptables filters - include P2P, connection tracking Added Quality of Service (for bandwidth mgmt) Rewrote networking code for better stability Added wireless connections daemon for client mode and WDS Added PPTP client and server ADM6996 /proc interface

Documentation

sveasoftdocwrt54g.pdf Version: 1.0 Filesize: 785.79 Kb

Sveasoft documentation for early Satori/Samadhi2 firmware.

========== TinyPEAP

For the WRT54G v1.x v2.0 (not for v.2.2 or v.30) TinyPEAP 2.12b Version: 2.12 beta Filesize: 3.08 MB

For the WRT54GS (not for v1.1 or v2.0) TinyPEAP 2.12b Version: 2.12 beta Filesize: 3.08 MB

tinyPEAP is a very small RADIUS server that supports PEAP authentication (the most secure wireless authentication protocol) ... designed from scratch to run on very minimal hardware, such as the Linksys WRT54G. ... allows you to have all of the benefits of 802.1X and PEAP security without the hassle of having a full blow RADIUS server on hand. ... 802.1X/PEAP solutions such as tinyPEAP successfully mitigate most of the known attacks against 802.11 wireless networks, most notably sniffing and key cracking. The tinyPEAP .. integrated this server into WRT54G and GS firmware ... with a graphical interface in order to manage the server.

========== Wifi-Box sourceforge.net/projects/wifi-box/

For the WRT54G Wiifi-Box v2.02.2.1 pre-wfb Version: 2.02.2.1 Filesize: 3.22 MB

. Power Transmit Ajusting (12.75dBm ~19mW -> max 19.25dBm ~ 84mW) . TX & RW Antenna Selection (Left Diversity Right) . Support for 14 Channels (WorldWide) . Support for subnet 255.255.0.0 & 255.0.0.0 . Static DHCP / DNS Local . SNMPD ( Works right with mrtg) . Support VPN Passthrough (IPSec - PPTP - L2TP ) . Add 'Server Profiles' for easy configure up to 14 Host Servers

(FTP,HTTP,HTTPS,DNS,SMTP,POP3,Telnet,IPSec,PPTP, Terminal,VNC,Emule,Ident,MSN) . Up to 14 Port Range Forward settings . VPN Server (PPTP) Buld-in . Support for Zone-Edit, Custom Dyndns DDNS . Telnet Shell . Remote Wake On Lan support . Easy Reboot and Restart all service just a click . Ping & Traceroute hacked for allow run shell command . AutoRun Bash Script - Easy set an autorun script each time router reboot . Status with more infos like Uptime & CPU Load, Wireless Client List + no SSH Shell + no Bandwidth Management + no VPN Server IPSec + no VPN Client (PPTP & IPSec) + no support for Bridge and Repeater, WDS mode

Linux Kernel 2.4.20 Tweaked

Source code for the firmware can be obtained at the owners website.

All of the above have a binary only file available, and on their own web pages have source code too. The Sveasoft Alchemy project source code is 42Mb, and I would assume that all of the others are similar in size. To actually use a source code package (other than as a great reference manual) you also need

1) a Linux development system, 2) the Linksys cross compiler and tools software (something like 170Mb, available on the Linksys web site).

I've only tried Satori, Alchemy, HyperWRT, and two versions (not the latest) from Linksys. Clearly Alchemy is the most advanced of them all. But there are interesting aspects of the others too. The small RADIUS server running on TinyPEAP sounds very interesting. Wifi-Box has a lot of stuff if you don't need the missing parts, and the same is true of HyperWRT and EWRT.

Only DD-WRT mentioned a "site survey", though Alchemy has a web based survey on the status page that works nicely. I thought it was almost cool when I first saw it, because I have a shell script that does the same thing on the command line. Then I saw the source code and realized they had wasted a huge amount of space with a program written in C to do what can be done with only a few lines of shell scripting... :-)

Everyone has different needs; hence people like myself with fewer security requirements can deal with almost any of those packages. The advanced firewall and vlan configuration features in Alchemy are probably *essential* to commercial projects, as is the dropbear SSH software that some do and some don't have.

What I found lacking in both Sveasoft's Alchemy and Satori were good command line facilities, all of which were easy enough to add (for Sveasoft or anyone else willing to recompile it, but they are non-trivial for non-programmers). The one operational functionality that was grossly lacking was the ability to NFS mount a remote filesystem. The value in having gigabytes of disk available instead of needing to cram everything into 16 Mb of RAM (or the 32 Mb on the WRT54GS models) is significant.

One other note... the hardware. There is a *lot* that can be done with the hardware on that little board. But messing with it is risky business because one mistake that kills all network access makes it a doorstop. Reloading firmware can still probably be done, but it all gets to be painful. The solution, for anyone wanting to experiment with the 6 port switch is to put an RS232 console on it! There is one RS232 port fully equipped and wired to a solder pad on the motherboard... and there is an EJTAG port for serious debugging.

You are certainly welcome, and it turns out to have been well worth the effort, for me too.

The DD-WRT distribution perked my interest, so I took a closer look today. Seems I've underrated its state of development.

The linksysinfo.org description is out of date, and the current DD-WRT project's release is v22prefinal4, which is based on Sveasoft's latest Talisman version, rather than the older Alchemy based v22prefinal3.2.

At a minimum DD-WRT is keeping up with Sveasoft, and may be ahead of them in at least some respects.

It got me interested enough to download their source code, which is not trivial with a 45kbps modem connection! At the moment I'm 38.5 Mb into a 90 Mb download that started 3 1/2 hours ago. I'm about to head for dinner, and probably before morning will have at least tried it, assuming the download does complete and that it will compile using the tools I have now. And whether it will or not, they have another 100Mb download that is something about upgraded tools, which will take another 10 hours to download.

It should be interesting, but will take a few days to see if switching from the code base I'm using now is worth it or not.

I don't know... :-)

If the list of added goodies contains something of use (and I personally don't think increasing the power is significant), then the third party software is certainly the way to go. For me that is obviously true, because I just want to play with the innards of these things...

But if you don't have any need for the added functions in third party firmware, you may as well stick with Linksys.

So pick out the ones that appear to be useful, and read up on what they say their firmware provides.

Or maybe download one and try it just for fun...

Floyd. Thanks so much!

Bryce.

So what I gleam from this is:

Either I can fix the disconnect problem with the WRT54GV3.1_4.00.7_US_high.code.bin

OR

I can use one of the other ones to increase my power output and add some goodies.

But I can't do both.

Am I on the right track?

Bryce.

Thanks!