[wplug] Homebrew DHCP-TFTP-DNS Appliance - WRT54GL

[Patrick Wagstrom]

Michael Semcheski wrote:
> I have a linksys WRT54G (msrp, $50).  Its simple, no moving parts, and
> it doesn't consume much energy, and oh yeah, the wireless transmitter.

I'm just going to chime in and say that really the WRT54GL is a great 
value and works wonderfully.  I've got three of them right now, and had 
a previous v1 of the device die after four years of constant service 
when a power surge got it.

The flexibility of these machines is simply awesome.  They include 
dnsmasq for a lot of the DNS stuff, and if you're running DD-WRT, can 
also do radius authentication and lord knows what else.  Really, 
installing DD-WRT on these guys takes care of everything.  I've got mine 
set up using WDS to expand the range of my network and have no dead 
spots in my house (or anywhere close to my house for that matter).

Also, one nice thing is that the devices have a MiniPCI card on them, so 
if you've got a laptop, and decide to retire it for some reason, you can 
use the card in your laptop.  I just did that with the card from the 
bricked unit and dropped it right into my wife's Thinkpad X31 (after 
doing the no-1802 trick).

Anyway, the only thing that would make these better is if they had a USB 
port on them like the new Apple Airports do.

--Patrick