[OFB Cafe] Best, Affordable Gigabit Router

[Donald Spoon]

Timothy Butler wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I have the WRT54GS, which is quite similar to the one you are 
>> considering.  In fact, the GL is just a "modernized" G model that can 
>> be hacked with Linux firmware rather easily.  That is supported by 
>> Linksys too!  There are some advantages to the "hack" in that it 
>> opens up several features that don't come "stock" with the Cisco 
>> firmware.
>
>     That does intrigue me. I have, for a WAP, a WRT54G v. 2, which is 
> essentially the same as the GL (i.e. it was from back when Linksys 
> used Linux for its firmware in the standard model). I've always been 
> hesitant to play with its firmware and risk bricking it, but one that 
> is specifically made to support alternative firmware (i.e. the GL) 
> seems safer to do that one.
>
>     Are you using dd-wrt or something like that on your router?
I am running the "stock" firmware.  I have looked into flashing one of 
the third-party firmware products, but have always chickened out.  I am 
satisfied with what I have, and the effort didn't seem worth it.  The 
original models used Linux for their firmware, so they had to publish 
the source code.  Somewhere around version 5 they changed to another 
firmware OS and reduced the amount of flash memory.  The users howled 
and sales dropped, so they brought out the "GL" model which was 
essentially a version 4 using the Linux source.  There is a LOT of info 
at the Wikipedia site at :  http://tinyurl.com/2cxec8.  Also I ran 
across the Linux code at: http://tinyurl.com/a6zhve .  This is what I 
saw earlier and mentioned in my previous post.  Now that I look at it, 
it is probably just the source code for their "stock" firmware as 
required by the GPL license.

I was looking at some of the Gigabyte "N" WIFI routers after you brought 
up the subject.  The Linksys 310N looks nice and is selling for about 
$100 or so now.  The reviews say its major drawback is that it only 
works on the 2.4 Gz band.  More expensive ones have "dual band" 
capabilities and have a higher "N' throughput.  The Linksys 310N can run 
dd-wrt software and seems to do better with that than the "stock" 
firmware according to one review I read.  Also the high-end D-Link 
Gigabyte "N" routers seem to be getting better reviews than the Linksys 
one right now.  You might be interested in the following review:  
http://tinyurl.com/6tmff9 at CNET.

I don't understand why you don't use the WRT54G you are now using for 
WAP instead of the BEFSR41 router you now are using.  Is it a function 
of the number of ports available?  I am probably missing some info.  The 
WRT54G should be able to hook up to your DSL modem and continue to 
provide your WAP services.  You would then have the 10/100 ports 
available to use for the rest of your LAN.  You could hang the BEFSR43 
off one of these ports if you need more ports temporarily.  You might 
need a crossover cable to do this... dunno.   If you do this you could 
probably get the full DL speeds from your DSL to your LAN.  Your problem 
them becomes one of distribution, but this is a "no cost" solution right 
now.   As I mentioned before, Gigabit wont't get you anything extra off 
your Internet connection.  If that is all you are doing right now, skip 
the Gigabit stuff for now and use what you have.

Cheers,
-Don Spoon-