It’s been a long time since I last checked the market for WLAN routers. Although I don’t intend buying one right now, I think staying up to date with the latest advancements in the technology used in these devices is a good idea, because I might need to buy one in the near future. And this time I want to make the right choice, which practically means I want to choose a wireless N router that is fully supported by the open source router firmware DD-WRT. For those not familiar with DD-WRT:
DD-WRT is a Linux based alternative Open Source firmware suitable for a great variety of WLAN routers and embedded systems. The main emphasis lies on providing the easiest possible handling while at the same time supporting a great number of functionalities within the framework of the respective hardware platform used.
You can check whether a device is supported by DD-WRT or not by checking the device’s model name in the database of supported routers. If you are like me and prefer to read an overview of the wireless N devices instead of querying a database, there is a page in the project’s wiki that lists all these devices.
After checking the technical specifications of several routers on their manufacturer web sites, it is quite clear that at this moment there are not many wireless N routers & ADSL2+ modem combos that are fully supported by DD-WRT. In my case that won’t be a big problem, but I’d really like the device to have a DSL port so as to keep the number of devices around the house at a minimum. But anyway, this is not a big deal.
Some other things I’d consider a plus for such a device are:
- Support for Wireless Client Mode by the manufacturer’s firmware
- Support for a VPN Server by the manufacturer’s firmware
I know that these functions are available anyway if the DD-WRT firmware is used, but, if the default firmware supported these functions, it would definitely make a difference for me. Another useful feature would be the existence of a USB port, but this would greatly limit the available supported devices, so this is not a mandatory feature.
So, if anyone has a suggestion for such a router or if you own one, please let me know about your experience with it. I am particularly interested for devices that are 100% supported by the DD-WRT open source firmware.
DD-WRT support for Wireless N Routers by George Notaras is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2011 - Some Rights Reserved
dd-wrt and tomato are officially supported on the netgear WNR3500L
http://www.myopenrouter.com/category/40/WNR3500L-Open-Source-Router
I have a netgear WNR3500L for my home wifi and I have also set one up for my mother’s house. I had used dd-wrt previously on linksys WRT54GL hardware and am fairly pleased with the netgear stuff though I would prefer external antennas. The netgear box at my mother’s place has run without intervention from me since october – she uses it for her iPad and appleTV without difficulty. It seesm like are fairly robust router though I have not used the USB port yet.
Hi Jeb. Thanks for your comment and also for the link to myopenrouter.com. I had no idea about that web site.
WNR3500L having DSL & USB port looks like an excellent choice! I agree that a detachable antenna would be better, but this will not be a problem for me this time.
WNDR3700 is great and I’ve been using it for more than a month with DD-DRT. However, it’s not a modem.
Hi Panagiotis. WNDR3700 is a top notch dual band router but the lack of an integrated modem makes me a bit skeptical, although a modem is not really necessary.
I am almost certain that I will purchase a product by Netgear and so far WNR3500L seems like a good tradeoff between characteristics, quality and price.
Thanks for stopping by :)