Goodbye WRT54GL

[Contingency]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless ... isco-valet

Cisco told me that the rest of the WRT models, including G-only products, will be sold until inventory is exhausted. So it's likely you'll see both WRT and E-series for sale for awhile, depending on how fast wireless networking stuff moves at your local retailer.

Hordes of sweaty geeks have been reportedly scouring local BestBuys for the blue and black network device, which has been outperformed by competitors for roughly four years.

[Shining Arcanine]

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-features/31111-inside-story-linksys-e-series-and-cisco-valet

Cisco told me that the rest of the WRT models, including G-only products, will be sold until inventory is exhausted. So it's likely you'll see both WRT and E-series for sale for awhile, depending on how fast wireless networking stuff moves at your local retailer.

Hordes of sweaty geeks have been reportedly scouring local BestBuys for the blue and black network device, which has been outperformed by competitors for roughly four years.

I have a Linksys WRT54GS v2.1. It is a nice router. I right now have it running as a switch/access-point under DD-WRT.

[drsauced]

Maybe I just don't want to believe it, man, but I didn't see in that press release where Cisco says they won't still sell the WRT54GL. Well, I guess if it is true, then there's always junk shows and yard sales.

[Synchromesh]

I have a 54GL. It's a nice router but I wish it had a built-in gigabit switch. Since it doesn't I have to use an external switch.

[Flying Fox]

So what is the worthy successor that is supposed to have all the new fancy feature, plus 3rd party (free) firmware hacking? The Netgear 3500L is being marketed as such a thing, but so far I think 3rd party support is still not quite mature yet?

[Shining Arcanine]

So what is the worthy successor that is supposed to have all the new fancy feature, plus 3rd party (free) firmware hacking? The Netgear 3500L is being marketed as such a thing, but so far I think 3rd party support is still not quite mature yet?

Well, what gave Linksys routers their market position was that they were the first open source routers available, not because they had every feature under the sun. Anyway, since Linksys' routers became exceedingly popular following that decision, a slew of "me too" vendors open sourced their products as well while Cisco brought Linksys and did everything in thier power to keep Linksys' products from harming its business product line, so there is no one true successor. If I had to pick one, the Asus RT-N16 is probably it, namely because Asus markets its open source capabilities and endowed it with the best hardware available in an embedded router:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833320038

Its only flaw is that it does not support 5GHz wireless. If it did, it would be perfect. Despite that, it will never reach the mass-market popularity the Linksys products did, in particular because the market is fragmented now.

[Flying Fox]

So what is the worthy successor that is supposed to have all the new fancy feature, plus 3rd party (free) firmware hacking? The Netgear 3500L is being marketed as such a thing, but so far I think 3rd party support is still not quite mature yet?

Well, what gave Linksys routers their market position was that they were the first open source routers available, not because they had every feature under the sun.

To me, being open source is not the main driver. It was the fact that the hardware is capable of additional features that the open source firmware unlocked. That is what made them so popular (example: increased transmission power). If the hardware is not capable to the point that there is nothing open source firmware can add to the table, nobody will bother. Being open source alone is certainly not the magic bullet. And don't forget, Linksys was half-dragged into this whole thing kicking and screaming. Back then people found out they are using GPL code and they were forced to make the source available. The hackers then went to work and the rest is history. I wonder if Linksys was behaving like any other proprietary vendor before being forced their hand, and later discovering that it turned out to be an opportunity for them.

Anyway, since Linksys' routers became exceedingly popular following that decision, a slew of "me too" vendors open sourced their products as well while Cisco brought Linksys and did everything in thier power to keep Linksys' products from harming its business product line, so there is no one true successor.

I will be in the market for a new router soon, so that's why I am soliciting opinions here. If there is one undisputed successor I would not need to be asking around, right?

If I had to pick one, the Asus RT-N16 is probably it, namely because Asus markets its open source capabilities and endowed it with the best hardware available in an embedded router:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833320038

Its only flaw is that it does not support 5GHz wireless. If it did, it would be perfect. Despite that, it will never reach the mass-market popularity the Linksys products did, in particular because the market is fragmented now.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep that in mind as well as the Netgear. I am not exactly a fan of DD-WRT's UI (I'm a Tomato guy on the WRT54GSv4 now), so I'm definitely looking for options.

[notfred]

Its only flaw is that it does not support 5GHz wireless. If it did, it would be perfect. Despite that, it will never reach the mass-market popularity the Linksys products did, in particular because the market is fragmented now.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll keep that in mind as well as the Netgear. I am not exactly a fan of DD-WRT's UI (I'm a Tomato guy on the WRT54GSv4 now), so I'm definitely looking for options.

You could try OpenWRT with X-WRT. It is an alternative to DD-WRT. Alternatively, you could just use OpenWRT and do everything from an SSH session.

[Contingency]

Maybe I just don't want to believe it, man, but I didn't see in that press release where Cisco says they won't still sell the WRT54GL.

Cisco told me that the rest of the WRT models, including G-only products, will be sold until inventory is exhausted.

If I had to pick one, the Asus RT-N16 is probably it, namely because Asus markets its open source capabilities and endowed it with the best hardware available in an embedded router:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6833320038

Its only flaw is that it does not support 5GHz wireless. If it did, it would be perfect. Despite that, it will never reach the mass-market popularity the Linksys products did, in particular because the market is fragmented now.

Router recommendation:
If you want 5 GHz capability, consider the Linksys WRT610N v2 (now E3000). Less RAM and flash, but it's doubtful DD-WRT will take advantage of the N16's extra capacity any time soon. Linksys-Broadcom SOTA is the baseline.

Embedded:
Best hardware? DD-WRT is for toys. AMD's Geode occupies a niche you never knew existed, at a premium not much more than Linksys/D-Link's high-end offerings.

I will be in the market for a new router soon, so that's why I am soliciting opinions here.

What features matter to you?