[Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations

Mon Mar 10 13:37:27 CDT 2014

Agreed, I have a ~$20 Linksys router, first thing I did was to reflash it with dd-wrt and it has been rock steady even with large file up and downloads. 

Plus the addition of features not included in the stock firmware in my opinion make this a must do for any router I purchase. You can make your config as simple or as complicated as you like or anything in between.  So why not get all the features that are available on your router?

-----Original Message-----
From: cialug-bounces at cialug.org [mailto:cialug-bounces at cialug.org] On Behalf Of jim kraai
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 1:20 PM
To: Central Iowa Linux Users Group
Subject: Re: [Cialug] Wi-fi recommendations

David,

That would make a great Area515 workshop!

On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 1:13 PM, David Champion <dchamp1337 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Again, if you take that cheap Linksys and replace the stock firmware 
> with DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Tomato, it will probaby run much better. I've 
> done this for friends that had the WRT-160n's for instance, they 
> didn't work worth anything with the stock firmware. Installed DD-WRT, 
> it's been running for over a year with no problems.
>
> They almost all use a similar processor chip, they may have smaller 
> amounts of RAM on the cheap versions so you need to install a version 
> of DD-WRT with a smaller footprint, but that's not a problem unless 
> you're trying to run extra stuff like Asterisk on it.
>
> If you'd like, we can do a DD-WRT demo at an upcoming LUG meeting. We 
> did one in the past, showed how to set it up as a router, wap or wifi bridge.
>
> -dc
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 12:33 PM, Matthew Nuzum <newz at bearfruit.org>
> wrote:
>
> > I will toss out one more point to consider... buying the cheapest 
> > router
> in
> > the line of whatever brand you pick is probably going to lead to 
> > frustration. For example, I had an old d-link router that worked for 
> > most basic stuff, but if I started using BitTorrent sometime between 
> > an hour
> or
> > 24 hours later the router would crash. Turns out that some routers 
> > get stressed out by activities that open many network sessions. They 
> > get hot and eventually need a reboot.
> >
> > Going up a notch or two in the price point usually gets you a device 
> > with more RAM and a better CPU and they are going to hold up to a 
> > variety of network activities, including those that aren't on our 
> > radar this year
> but
> > next year will be all the rage.
> >
> > I suspect this is why people will say, "I hate Linksys, love D-link" 
> > and then the next person says "I hate D-link, love Linksys" etc. 
> > There was a dark-age of router development probably 2008-2009-ish 
> > where cheaper was better and they cut a lot of corners on the 
> > hardware. A lot of brands
> were
> > using drastically different hardware even in the same models.
> >
> > It's probably still happening on the low-end products, so I'll just 
> > say I won't buy a $50 router again except for very special cases 
> > (i.e. a travel router).
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 12:08 PM, jim kraai <jimgkraai at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > scott, that's a lotta bang for $25
> > >
> > > /me googling dd-wrt support for that router ...
> > >
> > >
> > > On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 11:53 AM, Scott Yates 
> > > <Scott at yatesframe.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > I have one further point to make in all these comparisons.
> > > >
> > > > Stability has been spotty among a LOT of the different brands I 
> > > > have
> > > tried.
> > > >  Typically d-link, belkin, and a LOT of linksys routers require
> > periodic
> > > > power cycling.
> > > >
> > > > I will say that netgear appears to be an exception, along with 
> > > > Cisco,
> > > and a
> > > > company called tp-link.  I am sure there are others, but as you
> noted,
> > > most
> > > > people expect their devices to run without thinking about it 
> > > > after
> the
> > > > initial config.
> > > >
> > > > Here is a link to the TP-LINK router I bought and have been VERY
> happy
> > > with
> > > > in case you want to check it out.
> > > >
> > > > http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UBU8IE
> > > >
> > > > If you don't want to buy a more expensive Cisco, and are uneasy 
> > > > with TP-Link (I had not heard of them myself, but DO like their 
> > > > gear),
> then
> > I
> > > > would recommend doing your best to find a router that supports
> DD-WRT,
> > as
> > > > it is probably the most likely to be stable, run on more 
> > > > inexpensive hardware and has a large community.
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Cialug mailing list
> > > > Cialug at cialug.org
> > > > http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> > > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Cialug mailing list
> > > Cialug at cialug.org
> > > http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Matthew Nuzum
> > newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin and twitter
> >
> > ♫ You're never fully dressed without a smile! ♫ 
> > _______________________________________________
> > Cialug mailing list
> > Cialug at cialug.org
> > http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
> >
> _______________________________________________
> Cialug mailing list
> Cialug at cialug.org
> http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug
>
_______________________________________________
Cialug mailing list
Cialug at cialug.org
http://cialug.org/mailman/listinfo/cialug