Need home Cable/DSL wireless router suggestions

It's finally gotten to where I need to add wireless to my home network.
I intend to replace my extremely old Linksys BEFSR41 wired router
rather than simply adding a wireless router connected to the WAN port
on the BEFRS41.

I'd like to start out initially with the built-in firmware in the new
router and at some later point in time, replace it with one of the Open
Source router firmware choices that give me greater control over
everything.

Thanks,

Bob

 

I use the Linksys WAG200G - and i am happy with it.

 

Thanks for the reply. Does anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Bob

 

A good place to start would be to check out the following link:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Index:FAQ
and click on "1.5 Which router should I buy".

 

May be i am wrong, but the link you gave point to routers.
Bob asks about: home Cable/DSL wireless router suggestions
My solution was a ADSL modem including a wireless an lan router. Linksys
WAG200G connects itself to the ISP by ADSL and provide internet for 4 pc
connected thru lan and xx pc connected thru wireless.

 

Ah, I see the confusion. Where I live, RoadRunner won't allow me to
supply my own cable modem. My current BEFSR41 is labeled, "Etherfast
Cable/DSL Router."

Bob

 

Bob, if you live in the USA the cable companies do allow you to use cable
modems not supplied by them, not that they like it. In fact many of them
actively try to keep you from purchasing your own unit so they can keep
their hands deeper into your wallet.

Try calling your DSL help desk and request the URL to their compatible DSL
modem list and see what they give you. If they continue to give you the old
"use ours or get stuffed" routine I'm sure other RoadRunner users can point
you to a list. You may need to supply the city or state where you live as
RoadRunner may not use the same connection methods in all areas. True not
all brands/models connect to DSL the same way, some use PPPoE and others use
PPPoA but if it's on their "approved list" at least it should have the
required options available provided you can figure out the configuration
menu's.

What they may say is that they won't support the models on the list (as in
no help in how to configure it to work) but that they are compatible and can
be used. That just means you need to copy down or print out the settings in
your current setup so you can duplicate it in your new model. Many of the
new units will automatically seek out the DSL feed and try to match the DSL
companies requirements for you. If tech support refuses to provide a link
to a list of approved DSL modem for your area I'm sure another RoadRunner
user here can point you to one if you ask.

By using a separate cable modem and router you would have a better chance of
finding compatible third party software in the router. The best thing is
that you would know that if you toast the router during testing your can
still hook one computer directly to the cable modem until you get the router
fixed or replaced. Who knows with a little luck you will find a unit on
RoadRunner's list that is also on the WRT's list of approved devices.

 

In my experience with RR in Western Ohio, they have a decent cable
modem. Why do you want to add expense? They will give you NO
discount because you have a cable modem. I also was told that they
use the modem MAC address in some fashion as a security thing - but
no real explanation as to how they do it, so I don't know if that's
an urban legend or not. Bottom line: if it's your modem and something
goes wrong, they will wash their hsnds of it or worse, send a tech
out and charge you thru the nose. If its their modem and you have a
router, and you suspect something is awry with the router, at least
you can connect directly to the modem and troubleshoot. Simplify
your life - use teir modem.

My understanding of your original question is that you want a
wireless capability in your network and later you want to perhaps try
some third-party open source firmware for this wireless router. If
this is the case, then users of third party firmware (DD-WRT, TOMATO,
etc) use the Linksys WRT54G/WRT54GS product. There is a catch
however, and that is a WRT54G router must be one of the Versions 1
thru 4 of that router, which use the Broadcom processor/chipset in
them. Currently, I believe the WRT54G is at version 7 or 8. You
might find one on eBay , butI have not been able to do so myself. I
have a WRT54G V6 and a WRT54G V2. I run vanilla Linksys on the V6
and TOMATO on the V2. With the TOMATO, I have boosted the
transmitter up to 85mW so that my wife can see 5 bars on it in her
office which gets only 1 bar with the V6.

This has been my experience, there may be others that run open source
firmware, but I am not aware of them.

John

 

If it is still available, the Linksys WRT54GL was specifically
designed and offered to support firmware upgrading, after feedback
from the community to Linksys when the 54G went from v4 to v5 or
somthing like that (I forget the exact version transition). (As I
understand it, the "L" stands for "Linux".)

As I recall, the main issue with the newer versions of the 54G was
that, in a cost saving measure, Linksys reduced the amount of onboard
RAM. DD-WRT, for example, initially didn't fit into that reduced
footprint.

The 54GL bumped the onboard RAM back up (from 2 MB to 4, I seem to
recall, but I could be wrong).

Concurrently, DD-WRT developed a "light/reduced" version of its
firmware that would fit into the smaller memory footprint of the newer
versions of the 54G. However, my guess is that, if you want a G
router, going with the 54GL and the non-light firmware would be a
better bet.

I believe the GS may also have a larger onboard memory, but I'm not
familiar with it. I seem to recall some limitation -- perhaps it was
the 54 that had a different processor.

DD-WRT is now supported on a number of Linksys draft N routers. You
don't have to stick with a G router to use it. However, the Linksys N
routers, in my browsing, appear to be receiving very mixed reviews. A
number of commentors/reviewers want to associate this with Linksys'
acquisition by Cisco.

Wikipedia is a good resource for details on specific Linksys routers
-- there's a page that summarizes and tabulates the information.

 

John wrote: This has been my experience, there may be others that run open
source firmware, but I am not aware of them.



There are others, including one from Asus that is designed specifically to
run open source firmware.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320023

I run it with Tomato and it is flawless.