Collected notes on the router, it's operation, and hacks. on Sunday 09 April 2006 by mattei in Notebook > Technical hits: 8040
All files mentioned (and unmentioned) can be found in the download area.
I picked up one of these little wireless routers discounted at the register and took advantage of a $60 mail-in rebate. After taxes and the fulfilled rebate, it ended up being a ten dollar purchase! At that price, I would have been happy with average switching performance and basic WAN router features. This unit provides that but teases you with possibilities.
For instance, a lackluster performing VPN feature that might otherwise be a major selling point is seldom mentioned. Features lacking, to which I've become accustomed and might argue are now basic features, include static routing, more restrictive remote administration (such as IP or login attempt limits) and more robust port filtering.
Like I said, for the price, not bad at all. Then I read the boot log. It runs Linux. I bought another . Off to the work bench...
The device is an RTL8186 SoC based design running Linux version 2.4.18-MIPS-01.00. It has a 2MB Intel TE28F160C3 flash part configured for 16bit addressing, two 8MB SDRAM parts for a total of 16MB system memory, an RTL8305SC single chip 5-port switch controller, and an RTL8225 802.11b/g RF transceiver. It supports AP, Bridge, Client, and WDS modes along with VPN endpoints or passthrough using the supplied firmware.
My modest goals for this project will be to update the firmware to include a newer kernel, updated packages (especially IPSEC), a secure shell, and the lacking "essentials" I mentioned earlier.
[ mattei.ca ]
I picked up one of these little wireless routers discounted at the register and took advantage of a $60 mail-in rebate. After taxes and the fulfilled rebate, it ended up being a ten dollar purchase! At that price, I would have been happy with average switching performance and basic WAN router features. This unit provides that but teases you with possibilities.
. Off to the work bench...