Linux really is a robust operating system that can squeeze out the performance of even an unlikely candidate. I’m sure Linksys never imagined that including a Linux based OS into their firmware for the WRT54G wireless router would ever ignite a modder revolution.
Over the last couple of years, the WRT54G has still remained popular due to the support of the open source community. Linksys, now owned by Cisco, has long since released a new version of their firmware for the original device, yet the hardware thrives. Why? One good reason is the Tomato firmware. I went to great lengths to find an early revision WRT54G for just this purpose. Tomato offers excellent stability, speed, and some other nice features to complement your router like:
- QOS
- A bandwith monitor
- Ability to run custom scripts
- Survey your areas wireless networks
- DDNS Support
- A WOL Utility
- SSH administration
Some of this feature set can be found on standard firmware, but I have found that Tomato, and the other community driven efforts (DD-WRT, FreeWRT, OpenWRT, Tarifa, and X-WRT), have far surpassed the performance and stability that the factory firmware can offer. Besides, the admin page is much more intuitive, and much cleaner. Tomato has come a long way and now supports a wider range of routers which you can check out here. Give it a try, and let us know what you think!
The WRT54G is from Linksys, not from D-Link !
You are absolutely right! Fixed, and thanks for pointing it out!
Tomato rocks!!
I have installed Tomato v1.23 last week on a Buffalo WRG2 54G wireless router. I am still evaluating but I certainly like what I see thus far. The installation was really easy and I wonder why it has taken me so long.