Hi!

Just wondered if anyone has any experience at all fiddling with OpenWRT on the Linksys WRT54G v7? Since this is the first WRT54*-box with an Atheros-chipset, does anyone have any opinion about if it'll work getting an AR7 build (or something) on it? It certainly should be possible...

Just curious if there will be a OpenWRT release for the v7.. it would certainly make it cheaper for us to get good wifi-routers

While there is work to support Atheros SoC platforms in Kamikaze it isn't ready yet, and even if it was, the WRT54G v7 has 2MB flash and 8MB ram.  This makes is virtually worthless for OpenWRT.  I don't know how the size of Kamikaze images compares to White Russian images as my Kamikazes contain more than just the standard WR images, but I would imagine that Kamikaze is slightly larger (due to using the 2.6 kernel, etc) which would make it even harder to fit the image into the available flash, let alone actually do anything with OpenWRT once it is installed.

Personally I consider any router with less than 4MB of flash and 16MB of ram worthless when I am looking at candidates for OpenWRT.  I know many of the devs feel the same way.

But.. I don't understand...

Both the v5 and the v6 has VxWorks, but Broadcom chipsets. OpenWRT micro works on them, even if they only have 2MB of flash and 8MB of RAM... arent we just lacking support for Atheros?

AFAIK v7 is less interesting to devs for it has little if anything more to offer regarding hardware while being a hard nut to crack with his amount of flash.
If there where any earlier versions of it sporting twice as much memory (both flash and ram) the development process would IMHO be already fruitfull.
I gues the guy who wrote the "vote with your money" motto is right: replace the v7 for a GL version and show linksys whats the right way. The extra few bucks for the double memory is worth it (even a custom-mod would cost at least twice for the same gain).
May be they release the atheros version with enough flash and ram to be mastered and the, after a diet people could fit OpenWRT to the v7 as well...

(Last edited by cest on 15 Dec 2006, 22:02)

Really, just give up on the Linksys routers, all the new ones are over priced junk in comparison to what they used to be.  Ever since Cisco bought Linksys, they have continuously neutered all the Linksys gear probably so they can continue to justify the Cisco gear to enterprise clients.   There are a lot of better choices on the current market:

Buffalo WHR-G54S <-- Possibly the best OpenWRT capable router on the market for the price.
Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 <-- May have a slightly better range with the built in radio amp, but I haven't test it. 
Asus WL-500gP <-- 8mb flash/32mb ram/266Mhz cpu/2 USB 2.0 ports/mpci radio.  This router has incredible potential with OpenWRT.
Linksys WRTSL54GS <-- The only Linksys I would consider only if for some reason I could not get the ASUS WL-500gP, but the antenna is no removable.

(Last edited by lschweiss on 15 Dec 2006, 22:33)

But.. What router is the cheapest you can buy running OpenWRT? If you only want basic darn-stable OpenWRT router-with-firewall? Because, even if it's crap with 2MB flash and 8MB RAM, it is still worth some if you can run the very most basic of OpenWRT.

Does noone see the potential with v7 routers when it comes to setting up cheap solutions for people having no demands other than internet sharing?

If you want to look for cheapest router, you got to look beyond Linksys; with the same money you pay for a WRT54G v7 you could get something else with a better configuration, such as something with still 2MB Flash but 16MB ram. That's a much heathier configuration than the 8MB configuration.

Cheers

But does anyone have any tips about what is the cheapest hardware available capable of running OpenWRT?

I like the whr-g54s, can be found for US $40, has pretty decent specs.  Also, use the forum search, there are many other cheap ones too...

Get a refurb WGT634U.  It has 8MB Flash, 32MB RAM as well as USB2.0 and a mini-PCI Atheros 802.11b/g card inside.