FREE! New public Alchemy version Sveasoft firmware for Linksys WRT54G / WRT54GS wireless 802.11g router

[Netopia]

Originally posted by: user1234
can't you take this thread to networking forum once and for all ?

Can't you ignore this thread once and for all? One complaining voice out of hundreds of happy thread posters and even more viewers.

 

[cmed]

lets see...

take something you already own

add free firmware (or even $20 firmware)

make the item 5 times more powerfull and add features normally found in $1-2K routers

This is one of the hottest deals in the forum...and many people who have this hardware would appreciate this deal.

Originally posted by: user1234
can't you take this thread to networking forum once and for all ?

 

[InlineFive]

Alchemy-V1.0 has just been released! Big improvement over Satori! Download it at www.wrt54g.com or www.linksysinfo.com!

 

[shadowjack]

Thanks for posting that update PorBleemo; wouldn't have know about it otherwise.

This is indeed a great deal.

Do you kow if Ewing is still trying to digitally sign the binaries -- or whatever it was that he was doing -- so he can spot whomever is leaking them?

 

[0roo0roo]

awesome thanks for the headup on 1.0

 

[dabuddha]

Just installed it and WOW!

 

[abc]

Originally posted by: user1234

Originally posted by: mdcrab
Netgear vs Linksys

Now that I have used the Linksys and Sveasoft firmware for the WRT54G, I think the Netgear firmware is a lot simpler to use. Especially setting up static IP's for MAC addresses, checking on "Attached Devices", setting up port forwarding and other features as well.. Both the Linksys and Sveasoft f/w seem quite cumbersome in their operation and setup. Netgear has it all over Linksys for basic setup of routers. Linksys with the Sveasoft may have additional features, but they are difficult to use. May have to relegate my Linksys router to function as an AP and use my Netgear WGR614 as my main router.

mdrab

really.. i have the wrt54G for like 2-3yrs (1st Gen) and been thinking about buying a newer wrt54G for the past 12months.

Today compusa has it for $40 after some rebates...

Now you mention so highly of the Dlink, it's making me hesitate...

I must agree, and D-Link (DI-624) firmware is even better and easier to use then the netgear (but netgear has better SPI feature - even logging of URLs). The Linksys firmware, both the stock and sveasoft web interfaces (which are based on the same code) are basically POS. For god's sake, you can't even see the currently connected clients, neither wired nor wireless.

The only good thing about this firmware is that it's open-source, so you could customize and change it to do practically anything (but you'd need to know how to do that, and for some things you'd need a cross compilation environment to be able to create a new firmware). But even the Sveasoft firmware already opens up a lot of possibilites, starting with the fact that you could telnet into the router and use unix commands to change settings, which gives you a lot more options than the web interface. Also the linksys is not one of the fastest among the 54g routers (but the DI-624 is). And btw, Mr Deviaster, even the 3rd party Sveasoft firmware does not support static DHCP, like most other routers do. So when you vaguely say this is supported by 3rd party firmware, make sure to mention which one has this feature. Because otherwise you just sound like some kind of salesperson which tries to throw in facts that are not completely accurate and just serve to add more confusion.

 

[abc]

Originally posted by: GideonX

Originally posted by: SleepWalkerX

Originally posted by: kevman
whats the best router model to get for this ? have not kept up with linksys models since my 4-port befsr41

the wrt54g is all you need. the wrt54gs costs more, but has more memory which might be utilized later. i'm not sure if it'll be worth it, plus it costs like 40 bucks more, i'd just stick with the wrt54g.

Buyer beware, v2.2 and v3.0 WRT54G has been known to to have wired -> wireless transfer issues on large files where it reboots the router. Even with hacked firmware, it's still barfs.

I hunted down a v2.0 and the issue isn't present in the model I received. YMMV.

Here's an easy way to see what model you are getting from the box:

CDF0 = WRT54G v1.0 ADM6996L Chip
CDF1 = WRT54G v1.1 ADM6996L Chip
CDF3 = WRT54G v1.1 ADM6996L Chip
CDF5 = WRT54G v2.0 ADM6996L Chip
CDF7 = WRT54G v2.2 BCM5325EKQM Chip
CDF8 = WRT54G v3.0 BCM5325EKQM Chip

CGN0 = WRT54GS v1.0 ADM6996L Chip
CGN1 = WRT54GS v1.0 ADM6996L Chip
CGN2 = WRT54GS v1.1 BCM5325EKQM Chip
CGN3 = WRT54GS v1.1 BCM5325EKQM Chip

WRT54GS is a hit or miss, seems 1.1 has more issues than 1.0 in regards to the large file transfer issue.

do we care about anything older than v2.0 for the wrt54g class? i didn't see any sveasoft flash packs that were meant for any wrt54G older then 2.0, was i mistaken.

 

[Devistater]

Ok I just checked on sveasofts downloads page, they do have an Alchemy version 1.0 final for download along with the source code in the public section.

For non subscribers here are some mirrors:
http://www.wrt54g.com/ (click to d/l, no registration required)
http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=35 (requires free registration)

I just found this quote from sveasoft about the changes:

The changes are bugfixes from the latest buglist. I didn't have time to write up a changelog. It should be a more stable version of Alchemy-pre7a - no new features or changes.

I just upgraded and so far so good.

 

[abc]

wait a sec??

This version supports the following routers:

WRT54G V1.0, V1.1, V2.0, V2.2
WRT54GS V1.0, V1.1


So this looks like the latest hack can be applied to v1 and v1.1

of the WRT54G?

I guess there's no benefit of shelling money for a v3.0?

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc
wait a sec??

This version supports the following routers:

WRT54G V1.0, V1.1, V2.0, V2.2
WRT54GS V1.0, V1.1


So this looks like the latest hack can be applied to v1 and v1.1

of the WRT54G?

I guess there's no benefit of shelling money for a v3.0?

Yes, here's the official quote from sveasoft download page:

This firmware is for WRT54G V1.0, V1.1, V2.0, V2.2 and WRT54GS V1.0, V1.1 routers only.

As for shelling out money for the newer version(s) of the linksys routers here's the main differance from what I hear.

ADM6996L is the switch chip used on the older routers, while BCM5325EKQM is the switch chip used on the newer ones. The ADM chip allows VLAN, trunking, and some other stuff (essentially turning the wrt54 router into a managed switch), but apparently has a limit of 34mbps while in VLAN mode. The BCM chip has full wire speed when in VLAN mode but doesn't have as many features for the VLAN. Apparently the public release of Alchemy only supports the older switch chip which means you can't use it on the newest revisions of wrt54 routers.

To reiterate: Older linksys switch chip is slower in some special modes most people wont use, but is more full features in those special modes. Newer chip is faster in special modes, but less featured in those modes.

BTW, its not a hack Linksys released the source code for thier firmware on the WRT54 series routers (because they used some GPL code in thier official firmware), and this is a version of it thats been 3rd party modified.
A hack would be like the modded firmware for the NEC 2500 dvd burner drive to make it into a dual layer drive with bit setting and RPC1.

 

[abc]

thanks.. yeah i know it's not a hack.. i wanted to put 'hack' but was typing fast... to say that it's a hack would misrepresent what is really is...

the sveasoft can do SPI, and VPN etc?

 

[abc]

Originally posted by: Devistater

As for shelling out money for the newer version(s) of the linksys routers here's the main differance from what I hear.

ADM6996L is the switch chip used on the older routers, while BCM5325EKQM is the switch chip used on the newer ones. The ADM chip allows VLAN, trunking, and some other stuff (essentially turning the wrt54 router into a managed switch), but apparently has a limit of 34mbps while in VLAN mode. The BCM chip has full wire speed when in VLAN mode but doesn't have as many features for the VLAN. Apparently the public release of Alchemy only supports the older switch chip which means you can't use it on the newest revisions of wrt54 routers.

max of 34mbps in vlan mode... i guess that might hinder transfers of large files between computers but sure ain't gonna cut into any broadband pipe.

What VLAN features is missing that the older Linksys can do?

Looks like I have a version 1.1... I see compusa 69.99 -30 in rebates today... so I thought I'd get a v3.0

On benefit is to fiddle with 2 routers but aside from that since that's not my primary purpose, maybe my second router should be some other brand.

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc


max of 34mbps in vlan mode... i guess that might hinder transfers of large files between computers but sure ain't gonna cut into any broadband pipe.
What VLAN features is missing that the older Linksys can do?

Yeah and thats only if you use the VLAN features, any normal use should be switching at full wire speed. If you are much concerned about large file transfers you should have gigabit switch anyway with gigabit cards,they are cheap nowadays
BTW, the older linksys has MORE VLAN features, the newer chip has less. As to the specifics, I'm not sure.

the sveasoft can do SPI, and VPN etc?

I'm not sure what SPI is, but it can do VPN. See OP for much more complete info on what the firmware adds to linksys standard features. Currently its a list of the Satori features, I haven't updated it for the new public Alchemy yet, but I will soon.

 

[abc]

SPI is just stateful packet inspection... i think most consumer home routers of the last 2yrs have this... maybe it has it right out of the box, let alone the sveasoft... i'm not sure?

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc
SPI is just stateful packet inspection... i think most consumer home routers of the last 2yrs have this... maybe it has it right out of the box, let alone the sveasoft... i'm not sure?

Well I know that the sveasoft supports linux type IPtables. So if you can figure out how that can be done with that, then you should be able to do it with WRT54 line of routers.
A quick look at the firewall builder site (which I thought was mentioned in OP, but wasn't so I'm adding it now that they have a windows version that supports sveasoft and wrt54, and I added a link to a step by step tutorial to build IPtables and then a link to a place showing how to get it onto the router) shows several things on stateful packet inspection. One in the FAQ and one in the manual:
http://www.fwbuilder.org/UsersGuide.pdf
On page 101 it talks about "Letting certain protocols through, while blocking everything else" which is one of the things SPI can be used for. So if you work up a set of firewall rules using that software (firewall builder explicitly supports the wrt54 series and sveasoft, and recently released a windows version) you should have SPI as far as I know.

A quick google search also turned up this: http://firehol.sourceforge.net/
It says it is "FireHOL, the iptables stateful packet filtering firewall builder." But that program I dont think explicitly supports the router. However, I would imagine if you combine both of them you could get it to work. As far as I know the main thing to be careful of is the ETH0 and ETH1 interfaces etc and some of the folders are hardwired. One is for WAN one is for wireless, etc etc. I'm pretty sure the firewall builder supports it implicitly, whereas this program is more explicit about it. I'm not very familiar with either, so any clarification is welcomed.

 

[abc]

wow... still no spi built in... thanks for the research... if i had the time of a 16yr old after school kinda thing i'd be all into this...

i think the netgears and smc have had spi...

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc
wow... still no spi built in... thanks for the research... if i had the time of a 16yr old after school kinda thing i'd be all into this...

Not sure what you mean by not built in. If you mean does linksys have it in their default firmware, I didn't think so at first. But after looking at the datasheets:
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf">ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gs_ds.pdf</a></a></a></a></a></a>
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf"><a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf">ftp://ftp.linksys.com/datasheet/wrt54gv2_ds.pdf</a></a></a></a></a>
It says it has it. So they must have added it to thier firmware at some point. But then this thread isn't about but then this thread isn't about the linksys default firmware

Sveasoft has support for iptables. The firewall runs based on IPtables. Its already going when you install the firmware. IPtables has built in support for SPI along with a gazillion other things. Basically all you have to do is make the custom config file for it if you want to use special features. Hence the Firewall Builder, its a program to make the config file.
This is so that someone doesn't have to figure out all the details about IPtables in linux and the syntax of the lines in the config file to setup the firewall. However they still have to know the basics of traffic over the network in order to know what they want to block or let through. Like for instance, you wouldn't want to deny all outbound traffic, you'd never be able to send anything outside. You might be able to get away with blocking all inbound unsolicited traffic, but some things might not work. Etc.

Here's some quotes that tell about what IPtables support:

http://netfilter.org/
netfilter and iptables are building blocks of a framework inside the Linux 2.4.x and 2.6.x kernel. This framework enables packet filtering, network address [and port] translation (NA[P]T) and other packet mangling.

* stateless packet filtering (IPv4 and IPv6)
* stateful packet filtering (IPv4)
* all kinds of network address and port translation (NAT/NAPT)
* flexible and extensible infrastructure

What can I do with netfilter/iptables?

* build internet firewalls based on stateless and stateful packet filtering
* use NAT and masquerading for sharing internet access if you don't have enough public IP addresses
* use NAT to implement transparent proxies
* do further packet manipulation (mangling) like altering the TOS/DSCP/ECN bits of the IP header
http://www.sns.ias.edu/~jns/security/iptables/index.html:
"The ability to filter on tcp flags and tcp options, MAC addresses, and even by time of day."

Now depending on what you are looking for in a router, and how much you want to customize will determine if you run Linksys firmware or 3rd party firmware like sveasoft.
If you just want a reasonably simple setup and reasonably good feature list (including SPI and VPN passthrough you didn't mention what details of VPN you wanted but I'm guessing its probably that), you can always buy the WRT54GS and run the default linksys firmware on it. Then if you decide you want to customize stuff and add a boatload of features, you can upgrade to a 3rd party firmware and try that.

Originally posted by: Devistater
What VLAN features is missing that the older Linksys can do?

http://www.broadcom.com/products/Enterp...st+Ethernet+Switching+Products/BCM5325
This is the less capable but faster in some circumstances switch chip on the newer versions of linksys routers (at least per some posts I read elsewhere, I have not verified the speed or feature differance).
The exact post is from the linksysinfo.org admin and he says:
"The BCM5325EKQM Chip has a weaker VLAN and QoS capabilities than the ADM6996 Chipset, thought he BCM is faster and throughput near 100 Mbps whereas the the ADM6996 has a maximum of 35 Mbps when VLAN's are used."
I belive both chips still have full wire speed 100Mb if you do just normal switching. Also, the actual routing capabilities of the wrt54gs are about 35mbps from the speed tests going from the internet side to the inside of your network, but as I think you said above, not many people's internet is that fast
The product brief is here if you want to look into it:
http://www.broadcom.com/collateral/pb/5325-PB05-R.pdf
The data sheet for the ADM switch chip I have linked on the OP if you want to compare them.

 

[abc]

Originally posted by: Devistater


If you just want a reasonably simple setup and reasonably good feature list (including SPI and VPN passthrough you didn't mention what details of VPN you wanted but I'm guessing its probably that), you can always buy the WRT54GS and run the default linksys firmware on it. Then if you decide you want to customize stuff and add a boatload of features, you can upgrade to a 3rd party firmware and try that.

D, all comments previous to this suggest the WRT54g can do SPI and VPN after applying the svea right? You're not saying to get the GS because the WRT54g cannot do SPI and VPN, just that with the GS, one wouldn't have to apply a 3rd party firmwarea and already have those two right.

if that's it, i couldn't go with that.. I would like SPI and VPN plus all the QOS goodies.

In such case I'd be paying about $20 more for the GS and I'm going to erase it's firmware anyway...

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc
D, all comments previous to this suggest the WRT54g can do SPI and VPN after applying the svea right? You're not saying to get the GS because the WRT54g cannot do SPI and VPN, just that with the GS, one wouldn't have to apply a 3rd party firmwarea and already have those two right.

if that's it, i couldn't go with that.. I would like SPI and VPN plus all the QOS goodies.

In such case I'd be paying about $20 more for the GS and I'm going to erase it's firmware anyway...

Ok, there's not much differance between the G and GS. GS has an extra speedboost in wireless due mostly to a special transfer mode that requires GS cards as well in machines connected wirelessly. It also has a little more RAM in it which may be useful in the future as the firmware gets more advanced. Both G and GS support SPI, VPN passthrough, and I think recently Linksys added a primitive QOS system as well in the default linksys firmware.
The SPI and VPN passthrough in both G and GS is per the manufactures product briefs that I checked and linked a post or two above.

Previously I didn't think SPI was supported by linksys default. However in last post or two I checked it out and it has it in the product brochure on thier webpage.

What I was talking about was whether or not you wanted to go with 3rd party firmware or linksys default on either G or GS. Do you want to plug it in and have it work without bother, or do you like to tweak and customize?

 

[abc]

hi. i just ordered the wrt54g from buy.com, 49.99 - 10 rebate - 2% off via ebates.

This deal was announced today.


I'm skipping out on the other order made yesterday via compusa for 69.99 - 20 - 10 in rebates, then add sales tax of about 6-7bucks. (i was going to pick it up otherwise there would have been shipping too.)


The answer really is I'd rather tweak and fiddle...

but wondering if I should do it with my old Linksys (v1.1) or this new one (v3.0?)

 

[Devistater]

Originally posted by: abc
The answer really is I'd rather tweak and fiddle...
but wondering if I should do it with my old Linksys (v1.1) or this new one (v3.0?)

I wasn't aware you already had a WRT54 series router?

As for old version or new version, I'd say for 99% of people who use the router, even 95% of people who use sveasoft, they wont use the VLAN stuff in the switch chip, so it probably wont matter anyway.
If stuff like Link aggregation, trunking, tagging, mean the world to you, you'll want the full VLAN capabilities.
If you've never heard that stuff before, odds are you wont ever use it.

 

[abc]

yep i do own an older one... and a smc...

i'd like two wrt54's, one i might make as a wireless access point, turning off dhcp.

the other reason is it's a good deal, having both, if I toast one and don't have the

time to fix it, at least I still have a Router to provide Internet access for pcs for my family.

 

[Steelerz37]

I just setup WDS between a 2.2 and a 3.0 both running Alchemy final. Seems to be working great. Sure beats running cable across the house so I can get internet access to my lab in the basement, and instead of just 1 connection i get 4 instantly. Not only that but it boosts the signal all over the house so I get great signal most everywhere

 

[Manyakis]

Originally posted by: Steelerz37
I just setup WDS between a 2.2 and a 3.0 both running Alchemy final. Seems to be working great. Sure beats running cable across the house so I can get internet access to my lab in the basement, and instead of just 1 connection i get 4 instantly. Not only that but it boosts the signal all over the house so I get great signal most everywhere

did you use WPA for security or WEP?