My home network is based on a Wireless Distribution System (WDS) that runs on two Linksys WRT54G wireless routers that have been flashed with OpenWRT open source firmware (currently Whiterussion RC5).
Last year I was forced to move up to the second floor of the house due to the noise generated by 3 kids under the age of 7. Yeah, the house is noisy. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight to run ethernet cable upstairs back in 1999 so I had a bit of a problem: How do I get my Shaw cable modem connection from the basement ot the second floor? (I’ve had it with Telus – DSL was not an option)
I tried putting a single wireless access point in the basement but the signal upstairs really wasn’t very good. I also needed a way to plugin my VOIP phone and desktop PC upstairs. By putting a Linksys upstairs and connecting it to a Linksys in the basement via WDS it gives me ethernet ports upstairs to plug in my VOIP phone and desktop computer. It also means that I get full bars on my wireless laptops anywhere in the house.
Every once in a while I have to reboot the Linksys routers, but overall the system has been very stable and is fast. It’s worth checking out if you’re having range problems on your wireless network and you don’t want to wait (or pay) for 802.11n.
I’m considering upgrading to the latest version of OpenWRT but I’m hesitant to “fix” something that isn’t broken. Does anybody have experience upgrading to Whiterussion 0.9 on the WRT54GL?
WDS is alright but last I looked at it, it was based on WEP. Perhaps some powerline gear would be a better fit. One is upstairs, and one is downstairs and even with the old gear, I got around 400KB/s.
The new stuff, is rated much higher. Check out: http://www.netgear.com/Products/PowerlineNetworking/PowerlineEthernetAdapters.aspx
I have their old XE102 gear and it’s still serving me well, 3 years later. They add very little lag too. My next upgrade, will likely be a Airport Extreme w/ 802.11n, and a MBP to go w/ it. That’s been tested very fast.
Actually I’ve got it running with WPA (PSK) under Openwrt. Like I said, it is really fast and relatively stable. I probably have to reboot a router once a month.
I think that the latest and greatest firmware works with WPA2. But I’m hesitant to upgrade because I don’t want to fix something that isn’t really broken. Although, I suppose you could argue that WPA is broken and WPA2 is worth the effort…
I’ll take a look at the powerline adapters. I had dismissed them, but it appears they have improved since I last looked at them. Or I could just put my thinking cap on and figure out how to fish Cat5e to the basement…
So it’s on WPA (PSK)? That means that it may take me 20 minutes to crack/hijack it as opposed to the 30 seconds it would take if it were WEP.
I’d look at WPA2+TKIP/AES.
Just my NSHO.
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DD-WRT is much better firmware.
Please note the date on the original post! DD-WRT may be a better firmware now (I have no opinion on the matter) but openwrt appeared to be the concensus pick in early 2007. It worked for me…