Recommened Linksys WRT model firmware

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 4

Hi All,

First post here. I know there is several threads on certain routers and suggestions on the numerous versions of firmware and settings, but thought it might be easier to just get on one topic and make it easier to find. I decided to purchase the WRT54GL, so I can try in minimize any issues I have with my internet connection, mainly for VOIP. What is your recommended 3rd party Linksys firmware and settings to go along with it? I am personally looking for stability and implemented VOIP related tweaks, than for any other usage. Thanks.

P.S. sorry if such a thread exists and I just missed it.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Mon Apr 17, 2006 7:51 pm Post subject:

My personal experience says HyperWRT Thibor:

http://vonage.nmhoy.net/wrt54gl.html
http://vonage.nmhoy.net/wrt54glqos.html

http://www.thibor.co.uk/

However, others will recommend DD-WRT, and from what I understand it will do exceptionally well also.

HyperWRT: Closest to the look and feel of stock firmware, reintegrated with stock firmware every time Linksys releases updates (in other words, they leveral Linksys' work while adding a large number of new features, bug fixes, etc). Works much like stock firmware, with a few significant new menu options and new features on existing screens.

DD-WRT: Larger changes from stock firmware, insane number of features, very powerful and flexible. More complex to operate.

There are a number of others but those are the big two. Reviews, comparisons, rabid fans of all of the various firmwares, and gobs more information available at www.linksysinfo.org

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 4

NateHoy wrote:

My personal experience says HyperWRT Thibor:

http://vonage.nmhoy.net/wrt54gl.html
http://vonage.nmhoy.net/wrt54glqos.html

http://www.thibor.co.uk/

However, others will recommend DD-WRT, and from what I understand it will do exceptionally well also.

HyperWRT: Closest to the look and feel of stock firmware, reintegrated with stock firmware every time Linksys releases updates (in other words, they leveral Linksys' work while adding a large number of new features, bug fixes, etc). Works much like stock firmware, with a few significant new menu options and new features on existing screens.

DD-WRT: Larger changes from stock firmware, insane number of features, very powerful and flexible. More complex to operate.

There are a number of others but those are the big two. Reviews, comparisons, rabid fans of all of the various firmwares, and gobs more information available at www.linksysinfo.org

Thanks Nate, you seem to be the goto man here. I appreciate your input and I did have that firmware first on my list. I do appreciate the infinite amount of settings that some have setup, but for my use, I am looking for minimal options, but is fine tuned under the hood, which is sounding like the HyperWRT Thibor version. By all means, if anyone else has anymore input or additional comments, let me know.

Posts: 18 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Apr 01, 2006 Posts: 18

I took Nates advice and loaded the Hyper-WRT Thibor firmware (I was using Sveasoft). I had some initial problems with my wireless connection bouncing...In retrospect I dont think it was the firmware but most likely my network card in a funky state.

I then loaded DD-WRT v23 and love it. It has a ton of features, but if you dont need/want them there are multiple flavors including a "mini" load with only the basics. I really like the feel of the gui and it's very fast. zero issues so far! It also has a monitoring tool called rFlow that can graph up/down speed and break it out by client (MAC or IP). QoS was also very easy to setup.

In the end...any of them are better than Linksys.

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 10:15 am Post subject:

Backglass wrote:

In the end...any of them are better than Linksys.

That's the key. Wink

I don't think comparing the two is even fair. They each do what they do really well, and they were written with different goals in mind. But the beauty of Open Source product is that you have choices. I'd really hesitate to go back to a "normal" router again. (grin)

Posts: 276 · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:40 am Post subject:

Backglass wrote:

I really like the feel of the gui and it's very fast.

How fast is your internet connection and do you heavily load it? One of the knocks I've heard about DD-WRT is that he's put SO many features into it that performance has started to suffer at higher speeds and higher load levels. I've never tried it myself though, being a very happy HyperWRT Thibor user, so only know what I read on the various forums.

Posts: 18 · Vonage Forum Associate Joined: Apr 01, 2006 Posts: 18

DallasFlier wrote:

How fast is your internet connection and do you heavily load it?

4mb/256k. I use my connection pretty heavily. It is faster than Sveasoft Alchemy that I was running before, thats for sure. I also run the "mini" version which doesnt have all the other features I dont need.

Posts: 4 · New Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 4

Backglass wrote:

I took Nates advice and loaded the Hyper-WRT Thibor firmware (I was using Sveasoft). I had some initial problems with my wireless connection bouncing...In retrospect I dont think it was the firmware but most likely my network card in a funky state.

I then loaded DD-WRT v23 and love it. It has a ton of features, but if you dont need/want them there are multiple flavors including a "mini" load with only the basics. I really like the feel of the gui and it's very fast. zero issues so far! It also has a monitoring tool called rFlow that can graph up/down speed and break it out by client (MAC or IP). QoS was also very easy to setup.

In the end...any of them are better than Linksys.

Anything special that you suggest , since I have a PAP2 adapter?

Posts: 54 · Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:49 pm Post subject: DD-WRT v23 rocks.

Just my two cents - as someone who has tried them all, and a long time Vonage user (three years), I concur with the general consensus that DD-WRT is a good choice. Most of the third-part firmwares for the WRT have similar features, though I did find some of them lacking things like static DHCP (which DD-WRT does have, though it's not where you'd expect to find it).

QoS is good, and the firmware is solid as a rock. I love it, and my Vonage service has never been happier.

Take care,

Russ

Posts: 2257 · Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 5:42 am Post subject:

Here is a discussion and feature comparison of HyperWRT, DD-WRT, and the Sveasoft versions.

This comparison is a little dated - some new features have been added to HyperWRT since it was written (like port redirection, port range forward, etc), and no doubt DD-WRT has new features and enhancements since this was written, but it gives a general idea.

http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=31