WRT54G Now Runs Linux Again!
A good number of us remember the GPL suit against Linksys/Cisco in the past that forced Linksys/Cisco to release the code of the famous Linksys WRT54G router and Wifi device. This allowed the creation of custom Linux distributions for the WRT54G device that contain more features than the stock firmware. This started a thriving hobbyist community around the WRT54G.
However, sometime last year the newer models of the WRT54G (Series 5 and S) stopped running on Linux and ran on the VxWorks embedded operating system instead with half the memory of the previous models. To make things a bit more difficult, it required hardware intervention to get Linux to flash on it. Thanks to some open source hackers these new WRT54Gs can run Linux once more. The popular DD-WRT has come out with a flash-upgradable micro-edition. Here is a story from Linuxdevices.com:
A version of Linux that supports the VxWorks-based “series 5″ WRT54G has been available since April, when the DD-WRT project created its “micro” edition, with a 1.7MB footprint. However, the firmware could only be installed on routers modified to expose their JTAG ports.
Now, Jeremy Collake, aka “db90h,” appears to have created a “VxWorks Killer” flash image that overwrites the VxWorks bootloader on series 5 WRT54G routers with normal Broadcom CFE firmware. This then enables the device to be put into maintenance mode at startup, after which Linux firmware can be installed easily.
Yes, finally, we all can now install our favorite DD-WRT: WRT54G Linux Distribution on these new devices. It leaves out a number of nice packages. Most noticeable is the Chilispot capture portal. If you would like to use the full version of the DD-WRT distribution it is still best to get a WRT54GL which still contains the larger amount of memory.
Now, our folks at Microwarehouse (Philippine Linksys exclusive distributor) can begin peddling a potentially more feature rich version of WRT54G again. Maybe they should come up with “Flash Sessions” (similar to the Mac sessions) allowing people to come together and upgrade their Linksys WRT54G routers.
