WRT54G - Help me choose 3rd party firmware

[TheRebelMind]

I have a WRT54G...and a Netgear USB Wireless G NIC...(I also have a netgear wireless G router just like the WRT54G, but thats besides the point...cuz at this point, it looks as though the Netgear router will end up collecting dust, since I cannot return for a refund and I like the Linksys alot better)

What I want to do is hook up my XBox in room 1 and PC in room 2 to share my cable modem...my cable modem can be put in whatever room I like, but I would prefer keeping it in the same room as my PC...

which probably will not happen since I cant afford more hardware and the hardware that I already own was purchased for the job of making my PC in room 2 wirelessly connect to the router sitting with the XBox in room 1. The Xbox would be wired via Cat5 straight to the router and the cable modem would obviously sit there in room 1 also.

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anyway, im only explaining my situation to make you guys better understand my needs when it comes to choosing firmware.

here are some of my requirements....

1- USER-FRIENDLINESS
I was a network engineer for years, but due to disability, ive been out of the loop for a few years now and am kinda new to wireless in general and also new to home routers. Therefore, I need a 3rd party firmware that is user-friendly...command lines are out of the question. Assume that I am just a bit above your average joe when it comes to knowhow...

2- CONFIGURABLE ENOUGH
I want firmware that will allow me to configure whatever I might need to configure in my given situation. I dont like wizards and being spoonfed, but I dont want something with more configuration possibilities than a tanker-truck full of lego blocks. If I cant tweak anything but the DHCP scope and enable/disable firewall, i dont want it...but if I can tweak so damn much that I gotta sign up for night classes at the community college just to get started, i dont want it either. Too few possible settings means most likely it wont work for my needs...too many and troubleshooting becomes a nightmare as you wonder about which of the thousand settings could be the problem.

3- IMPROVEMENT OVER OFFICIAL FIRMWARE
The whole purpose is to improve my router...not just cuz I wanna display a little individuality and express myself through my home networking. I want something that doesnt just replace the official firmware for its own sake...nor do I want something that adds a million bells n whistles that are useless for my needs. I want the firmware upgrade to add to my router's overall ease of use, reliability, and functionality. I want it to add features that the official firmware didnt have which will come in handy. I want it to be at very least as stable as the linksys firmware. Ideally, the 3rd party firmware would include a way to allow me to do away with a router limitation (one or several) in a way that would allow me more layout choices...choices that would be great to be able to have in my situation and/or solve my problems but would be impossible with the standard firmware.

4- MUST BE 100% FREE
the firmware MUST be FREE (this is a non-negotiable point cuz Im broke), whether open source/gnu/freeware...

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I realize that Im asking for alot...but I just want to know if theres something out there that fits these stipulations and my needs as described at the top of the post..

Any and all help is greatly appreciated...

even if you dont know the exact link for the firmware, I can always google and find it.

thanks in advance

 

[wybnormal]

go here:

http://www.linksysinfo.org/

I am very happy with Sveasoft Satori Firmware which keeps all of the good part of Linksys and adds cool features like stablity and adjustable power output

MikeS

http://www.packetattack.com

http://www.packetpress.net

Home of the book "Network Security Using Linux"

 

[TheRebelMind]

thnks for the tip, MikeS...

I will check that link out now (linksysinfo.org)...I also saw that link recommended on another site (i think broadbandreports)...and it's one-line description describes it as user-friendly and such...sounds like a good choice for me, since I really could do without a steep learning curve...at this point, I have alot on my plate outside of this home network thing and I dont want to have to learn anything that I dont absolutely need to...lol

as for sveasoft, Ive heard alot of excellent things about it just by googling and droppin in on forums like this one...it seems to be everyone's firmware of choice.

However, im pretty sure that I saw something about it costing a fee (cant recall if its by subscription or a one-time flat fee)..which I really cant afford right now...but next month, who knows...maybe I can afford it then...matter of fact, maybe next month I can afford a whole new layout and do this correctly. I would love nothing more than to ditch this whole project and get refunds for all the hardware Ive gotten so far and start over to make a small powerline home network, which would really be great and is something that Im generally just excited about getting my hands dirty in.

anyway, back to th ematter at hand...imma go check that link out...

in the meantime, can any more users chime in with recommendations or to cosign MikeS' suggestion of linksysinfo.org??

 

[bcastner]

Sveasoft charges an annual $20 subscription for its non-public releases.

You will do fine with the free public releases of Sveasoft, as you would as well likely do fine with the HyperWRT releases.