OpenWrt firmware
OpenWrt is a Linux-based firmware program for embedded devices such as residential gateways. Support was originally limited to the Linksys WRT54G series, but has since been expanded to include other chipsets and manufacturers, including Netgear, D-Link, Asus and many others. The most popular routers seem to be the Linksys WRT54G series and the Asus WL-500g. OpenWrt primarily uses a command-line interface, but also features an optional web-based GUI interface. Technical support is provided through the forums and IRC channel.
The development of OpenWrt was initially aided by the ease of modification afforded by manufacturers' use of software licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL), which requires manufacturers to release all changes made to code originally licensed under the GPL. Initially using this as a base and later as a reference, developers created a distribution that offers many features not previously found in consumer-level routers. However, some features still require proprietary software. For example, wifi support on linksys wrt54gl needs proprietary wl.o kernel module that is only available for linux 2.4.
The primary feature of OpenWrt is a fully writable JFFS2 file system, which allows for package management via the ipkg package system. This makes OpenWrt very versatile and adaptable to different requirements.
A related project X-Wrt, is an extension of OpenWrt for the end-user. X-Wrt itself is a basic framework system, with a minimal web-management console that can be built upon by software coders. X-Wrt's primary enhancement is webif², a web-management console with more than 40 control and status pages for a router. Webif² has pages that include graphical traffic and system status monitoring, and pages for the control and status of the network, wireless, and security. Controls are provided for Data logging, Booting, cron, NVRAM, file editing, Linux package management, SNMP, backup and restore, Firmware upgrade, WAN, VLAN, Wi-Fi, WEP, WPA, WDS, MAC filtering, Firewall, Port forwarding, DHCP, Dnsmasq, Hostnames, IP control, Routing, UPNP, QoS, DynDNS, WoL, OpenVPN, PPTP, and Hotspots.
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