Many people still regard this router runs Linux and hail this (the using of Linux) as a success for open source. Sadly the story doesn't end in such cozy-feeling way. Starting from version 5, there are a few changes: the most obvious one is WRT54G is switching to vxWorks for its smaller footprint than Linux. As a consequence, the flash and memory are trimmed down to 2Mb and 8Mb respectively from the previous 4Mb and 16Mb (50% reduction, must be a great salary increment for the person who pulled this off).
As a comparison, the vxWorks image for 425 runs to around 5Mb, and for the latest 465 runs to 10+Mb, I start to realize why my ex-co is losing its glamour.
However, Linux is not dead yet because LinkSys repackages the old WRT54G and brands it as WRT54GL (related news here) to cater for the "Linux hobbyists, hackers, and aficionados." , but you gotta dow out US$20 more for the extra flash and memory.
===================================================
I have had broadband installed at my place, so I went out to buy a wireless router, for some reason I chose LinkSys' WRT54G.
The decision is a bad one because this piece of equipment started to give me headaches since day 1. It will mysteriously go dead after a few hours of operations and acts just like the classic windows 98: multiple reboots required everyday.
3 comments:
Shhhh! But I heard it runs on a 425. ;)
Nope, it runs on a Broadcom 200MHz processor... if it were a 425 I would have pulled out my tools to screw it upside down. ;)
Oh really. My mistake. :)
I can't see any reason why Linux can't be scaled down to a smaller image size, though. Why don't you try to fit in on 1 MB and sell yourself to Broadcom?
Post a Comment