Shoutbox

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
Does the WRT54GL router support WPA2? If not, will flashing the firmware with either Tomato or DD-WRT provide WPA2 suppport?

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If you check in the Wireless Settings do you see support for WPA2? If not then there is your answer.

DD-WRT does support it yes.

And if I flash the firmware say to any 3rd party (Tomato, etc), can I revert back to Cisco's factory firmware?

Usually. That is something to look for on the DD-WRT forums. I know with my old WRT54G it was possible.

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
And if I flash the firmware say to any 3rd party (Tomato, etc), can I revert back to Cisco's factory firmware?

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Yes, just get the original firmware file (available on the retail website as an "update" or something, .bin, .trx, whatever)

Tomato(USB) > DD-WRT.

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
So the basic config would be:
- The ADSL signal cable going to the Cisco ADSL modem
- A network cable going from the Cisco ADSL modem to the Cisco Router
- A network cable going from the Cicso router to the PC
- The netbook accessing the internet via wireless using the router.

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One thing that no one so far has mentioned is that you should make sure your ADSL modem isn't already acting as a NAT router.  If it is and you stack another one behind it, you will have two stacked layers of NAT and it may appear to work at first.  However, you will have all sorts of problems with anything more complicated than basic web browsing with such a setup.  Router functionality in ADSL modems is not uncommon.

If you haven't changed anything yet, the easiest way to tell is to check what IP address your computer gets when directly connected to the modem.  If it is any of the following, the modem is doing NAT already:

192.168.*.*
172.16.*.* - 172.31.*.*
10.*.*.*

If you are getting an address in one of those ranges, you will want to either disable the router function in the modem (if you can) when you introduce your wireless router, or configure the wireless router differently. 

We will get to the details of that if needed. 

quote:

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Originally posted by SonicSam

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
And if I flash the firmware say to any 3rd party (Tomato, etc), can I revert back to Cisco's factory firmware?

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Yes, just get the original firmware file (availalbe on the retail website as an "update" or something, .bin, .trx, whatever.

Tomato(USB) > DD-WRT.

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For the use I'm going to give to the router, is it worth it upgrading the firmware to a 3rd party? I mean, the wireless on/off switch is convenient, but I can also do it from the web browser with the factory installed one.

quote:

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Originally posted by Adeptus
One thing that no one so far has mentioned is that you should make sure your ADSL modem isn't already acting as a NAT router.  If it is and you stack another one behind it, you will have two stacked layers of NAT and it may appear to work at first.  However, you will have all sorts of problems with anything more complicated than basic web browsing with such a setup.  Router functionality in ADSL modems is not uncommon.

If you haven't changed anything yet, the easiest way to tell is to check what IP address your computer gets when directly connected to the modem.  If it is any of the following, the modem is doing NAT already:

192.168.*.*
172.16.*.* - 172.31.*.*
10.*.*.*

If you are getting an address in one of those ranges, you will want to either disable the router function in the modem (if you can) when you introduce your wireless router, or configure the wireless router differently. 

We will get to the details of that if needed. 

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Thanks, I just checked the IP address but the first numbers do not coincide with any of the numbers that you mention, so should I disregard the modem acting as a NAT router?

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
For the use I'm going to give to the router, is it worth it upgrading the firmware to a 3rd party? I mean, the wireless on/off switch is convenient, but I can also do it from the web browser with the factory installed one.

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If you want to keep it simple, nothing about your intended use requires third party firmware.  However, if you want to tinker, it may offer some options of interest. 

One that comes to mind is the ability to adjust the transmitter power.  Most people want to boost it above the default to increase the range. Since you seem concerned about turning the wireless off entirely when not used (whether for security reasons or because you think it causes cancer), perhaps you would like to reduce it to the minimum needed when you use it.  Third party firmware lets you do such things.

It is also worth noting that WRT54GL was made primarily for users of third party firmware, so you are almost wasting it if you don't. 

quote:

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Originally posted by alegator
Thanks, I just checked the IP address but the first numbers do not coincide with any of the numbers that you mention, so should I disregard the modem acting as a NAT router?

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You should and this makes it much easier.  Good news.