The modern equivalent of a Linksys WRT54GL is the ASUS RT-N16. It runs OpenWrt, DD-WRT, and Tomato variants really well, does 802.11n (only one frequency) and has plenty of memory and flash storage for extra hacking. The ASUS RT-N66U is frequently advised if you want 5GHz 802.11n as well.<p>The other router mentioned in this article, the Linksys EA2700, doesn't seem compatible with third party firmware. And apparently the Cisco firmware is buggy, no surprise there. It is an awfully cheap Dual-Band 802.11n router, but if you can't put working software on it it's useless.<p>I don't understand why some major router manufacturer doesn't just sell routers pre-installed with Tomato. It's easy to use, stable, and works way better than any crap the router companies cobble together. Flashing new firmware on a stock ASUS router is too complex for ordinary consumers.
Or just put OpenWRT[1] on it. It's a real Linux distribution with a package manager and everything. You can even disable the webinterface, if you don't trust it, and use SSH.<p>EDIT: WRT54GL is pretty old and it won't run the default build of OpenWRT Attitude Adjustment (the newest release). It also probably won't have enough memory to operate the package manager or the webinterface.<p>But I do have one running a custom build. The only downside is that you need to decide which software to include upfront. Their build tool is rather friendly[2].<p>EDIT2: You can have a VPN server and any routing you like on OpenWRT, same with Samba, radvd, vnstat... There are even webUI pluings (luci-app-whatever) so you can control those from the webinterface for ease of access. It is a real Linux distro that just happens to run on routers.<p>[1] <a href="https://openwrt.org/" rel="nofollow">https://openwrt.org/</a><p>[2] <a href="http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/build" rel="nofollow">http://wiki.openwrt.org/doc/howto/build</a>
Linksys went from being the "iPhone of home networking" to being something I won't recommend. In Cisco's care the company has gone from being a market leader to a dud.<p>Now a lot of people might say "I doesn't matter who makes it, I'll just flash OpenWRT or DD-WRT onto it!" But I say to that, "then why buy a Linksys?"<p>Asus for one example are cheaper, they often have external antenna giving you more power and flexibility (both literally and figuratively) plus and most importantly they can be flashed with OpenWRT or DD-WRT at your pleasure.<p>Even without the security issues there is no good reason to buy a Linksys.<p>Right now I am using my ISP supplied "router" in cable-modem "mode" (i.e. just dumb pass-through to ethernet) and have a cheap MikroTik/RouterOS device sitting behind it which was cheaper than most retail grade routers but with the functionality of commercial grade equipment.<p>RouterOS might not be as easy to use as DD-WRT, but if you can use it then it is far more powerful as a web-based environment. Just for one example, want a VPN server? RouterOS supports IPSec/L2TP, PPtP/GRE, SSTP, and OpenVPN. Basically everything. The list of its network functionality is almost endless...
I highly recommend Mikrotik to anyone fed up with traditional consumer wifi routers/APs. I dont know how they compare to other vendor hw eg Asus + OpenWRT, but this little guy has been rock solid and a joy to use: <a href="http://routerboard.com/RB2011UAS-2HnD-IN" rel="nofollow">http://routerboard.com/RB2011UAS-2HnD-IN</a>
My Linksys router has had Tomato on it from the first day, it's the only sane thing to do (OpenWRT or DD-WRT would work too) when closed-source software is regularly exploited and not patched in a timely manner - and when noone knows what kind of government-friendly backdoors exist in such products (made by companies that earn significant revenue from government contracts).<p>Also, there's plenty of very cheap router hardware coming from China nowdays, from TP-Link you can get OpenWRT-capable routers for less than $15, so there's not much point in paying a lot more for Linksys products.
I use Linksys routers, but not with default software (which we know is "limited"). I would recommend alternatives from here <a href="http://tomatousb.org/mods" rel="nofollow">http://tomatousb.org/mods</a>
I'm a fan of pfsense [1] on an alix board [2]. The alix boards a little pricey for a router, but has a real amount of memory (256MB). The only downside is that pfsense, since it's based on FreeBSD, doesn't support any 802.11n cards, so you're either stuck with 802.11g, or using a separate access point like I do.<p>Add in a managed switched and you have the start of a real network at home.<p>[1] <a href="http://pfsense.org/" rel="nofollow">http://pfsense.org/</a>
[2] <a href="http://pcengines.ch/alix.htm" rel="nofollow">http://pcengines.ch/alix.htm</a>
Let me just get this in before the cries of JUST INSTALL OPENWRT come raining down.<p>Your mother / father / grandmother / etc are not installing openWRT on their routers. Installing one of these CISCO home routers is pretty much hacking yourself. And, just update the firmware is not gonna work.<p>Try it one day, go up like 10 people and ask them what's a firmware. If the user isn't technical, you're going to get a 0/10 correct responses.
Just buy Draytek. Playtime is over. Pricy but mine lasted 7 years before I replaced it with another Draytek (for dual WAN support). Bomb proof and great VPN support out of the box. I bridge my parent's network to mine over VPN, and the Linux servers at either end provide failover DNS, mail etc. So useful, especially for remote support.
Google Cache of the site since it's having issues. [0]<p>I enjoy my Asus RT-AC66U. [1] Best commercial router I've seen, and Asus Merlin [2] firmware makes it better.<p>[0] <a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JNu4Z9XbAz0J:https://superevr.com/blog/2013/dont-use-linksys-routers/&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1" rel="nofollow">http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JNu4Z9X...</a><p>[1] <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320115" rel="nofollow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin</a>
My ISP makes me use a "gateway"[1][2] with a wireless router built into it. In the name of reducing electricity usage, I forego running my own router and surrender to using theirs. I would be willing to bet many others do the same. I wonder how secure it is?<p>[1]<a href="http://www.att.com/u-verse/explore/residential-gateway.jsp" rel="nofollow">http://www.att.com/u-verse/explore/residential-gateway.jsp</a>
[2]<a href="http://verrytechnical.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ATTUverse2WireRG.jpg" rel="nofollow">http://verrytechnical.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ATTUver...</a>
Half-OT: does anyone know a DD-WRT/OpenWRT compatible WiFi router with support for 2.4/5 GHz WiFi, as well as VLAN on the ports? Bonus points for individual VLAN assignment to the individual ports.
What? Linksys routers are a great deal - you can find them at goodwill for $5, flash the firmware & configure it in 15 minutes and they work great. My one beef is why don't they put a cheap fan on them when they cost upwards of $100 now that they come with a cisco logo slapped on them.
OpenSource is a vulnerability not an Asset according to #5.<p>For small projects which few contributors I would agree but, for projects as large as OpenWRT and DDWRT and such, I don't agree.