Linksys Blue Box Router HOWTO

Eric Steven Raymond

Revision History
Revision 2.3	2006-08-12	Revised by: esr
Minor update. Announce End of HOWTO maintainance.
Revision 2.3	2006-05-19	Revised by: esr
Revised the list of open firmware distributions, and other minor corrections.
Revision 2.2	2005-12-01	Revised by: esr
Removed the suggestion that Cisco be boycotted over the Lynn firing, as the lawsuit seems to have been settled on satisfactory terms. Added advice to get the WRTG54l.
Revision 2.1	2005-07-28	Revised by: esr
Added the suggestion that Cisco be boycotted over the Lynn firing.
Revision 2.0	2005-01-18	Revised by: esr
Major update to reflect changes in 2.x and 3.x firmware. More firmware replacements described. Dropped Hansen Online as it hasn't been updated in a while.
Revision 1.6	2004-02-26	Revised by: esr
Added Link-n-Log
Revision 1.5	2003-07-31	Revised by: esr
Added the Seattle wireless.net link.
Revision 1.4	2003-07-03	Revised by: esr
Linksys has released source code.
Revision 1.3	2003-06-08	Revised by: esr
Added notes about SNMP security problems, casemodding, Linksys tech support. The Linksys turns out to have Linux inside.
Revision 1.2	2003-04-29	Revised by: esr
Typo corrections.
Revision 1.1	2003-04-25	Revised by: esr
Added link to the linksysmon project. More configuration tips.
Revision 1.0	2003-04-09	Revised by: esr
Initial release, reviewed by LDP.

Linksys makes a line of cheap, ubiquitous router/firewall boxes (models BEFSR41 and up, including the WRT54G) well-suited for use on a home DSL connection and popular among Linux hackers. This HOWTO gives hints and tips for managing Linksys routers from a Linux system, including the firmware upgrade procedure.

This HOWTO is no longer actively maintained, because as of 12 Oct 2006 the author is no longer a Linksys user. Time and technology nmarch on, and I now have a much fancier router in my basement that came with my optical-fiber service. If you are qualified and interested in taking it over, contact me.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Why this document?
1.2. New versions of this document
1.3. License and Copyright

2. How and where to deploy

3. Lost the manual?

4. Configuration hints

5. Upgrading the firmware

6. Hacking the hardware

7. Hacking the software

8. Utilities

9. Troubleshooting tips

9.1. Occasional catatonia and epilepsy
9.2. Mozilla interface quirks under 1.38 and earlier firmware

10. Related Resources