TABLE OF CONTENTS When it comes to modifying the firmware on an access point, there are several different choices that can be installed on a wide variety of access points. The top choices for firmware are HyperWRT, DD-WRT, and OpenWRT. This chapter focuses on the OpenWRT firmware.
HyperWRT is a power boost firmware for the Linksys WRT54G and WRT54GS routers (see www.hyperwrt.org). Because of the limited number of versions of this firmware, it may be difficult to find a WRT54G(S), because new Linksys devices are running version 5. HyperWRT firmware offers the ability to use a command shell or Telnet connection, and most options are available via the Web interface.
HyperWRT features a limited set of commands and offerings; however, it does have the ability to perform firewall logging, add startup scripts, and adjust the transmit power of the WRT54G(S).
DD-WRT firmware works on several devices and offers a richer set of options than HyperWRT. At the time of this writing, DD-WRT is at version 23 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Some of the default features of DD-WRT are the KAI gaming network daemon, Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) support, the ability to increase the radio transmit power, and Quality of Service (QoS) allocation. Additional information about the DD-WRT distribution can be found at www.dd-wrt.com.
OpenWRT is the most popular firmware, and has been released on over 30 different manufacturer s devices and 50 individual devices. Improvements and...
