Ok, so i guess it's different to my cisco e2000 router where there was an explicit "router bridge" setup. I can see only the "client bridge" option, but i will investgate this further. Maybe this is the anwser to my question: http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=168216
RoB
The link you posted just comes back to this thread. If you are talking about repeater or repeater bridge mode, its different in atheros, you have to use client and client bridge mode and then create VAPs (virtual access points) to get the same effect. IMHO the way it works on Atheros is better and cleaner than the way it works on broadcom.
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 19:17 Post subject:
OK...I finally got a chance to switch over my Home AP from an Asus RT-N16 to this new WZR-600DHP. This thing is awesome.
I updated using the buffalo-to-ddwrt file and had no issues with the upgrade. I then reconfigured with the same settings I had on the Asus for my home network. All seems to be working without a hitch so far.
I did modify the WZR-600DHP case slightly and installed a 50x50x10 12V fan (variable speed using a 10K pot and 2n3904 transistor)....
So far...I like it alot...I'll have to do some more testing with it...but I think I found a winner.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 21:50 Post subject:
redhawk0 wrote:
OK...I finally got a chance to switch over my Home AP from an Asus RT-N16 to this new WZR-600DHP. This thing is awesome.
After some given time, how would you say it compares wl range wise compared to the RT-N16? My RT-N16 seemed to have better range, but this was still when the Atheros builds used the older mad-wifi driver. I have not since tested the AG300H against the RT-N16 for wireless range.
Joined: 04 Jan 2007 Posts: 11564 Location: Wherever the wind blows- North America
Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2013 14:11 Post subject:
As for the fan...I put them on out of habit...I am an Electronics Engineer and know first hand that heat is the biggest killer of electronic components...so...for the 90 minutes work in building/modifing....to me its worth it not to have issues down the road.
So...I never even checked how much heat this unit was giving off....I just install when I first get a unit.
buddee...I'll check range when the snow stops flying...right now I have my 600DHP set to 16dbm which is where I kept my old RT-N16 unit.
redhawk _________________ The only stupid question....is the unasked one.
I just bought the WZR-600DHP, and I agree that this thing is awesome. This Buffalo truly is a beast - pun intended. The features are great, the speed is even better, and the range is fairly impressive. I've got mine wall-mounted with all the wires tucked into a nice brush-wallplate, and this unit is somewhat decorative in my hallway. Coming from a Linksys WRT160N, I'm really happy with all of the improvements in the upgrade. $70 at Fry's Electronics.
For a history of where I'm coming from, I'm very familiar with DD-WRT (been using for many years since my original wrt54g v1), and I've even bricked/unbricked many routers since (even using TTL 3.3v). I'm currently using 4 routers with 2 WAN connections in two separate houses. (Two serve as a wireless bridge across the street to my friend's house, with firewall rules to block DHCP... can we say LAN party?)
Mine came stock with the DD-WRT Pro firmware (Buffalo branded), and I immediately took the upgrade to build 20180 directly from the router (sort of an OTA update, if you will. neat.). However, I do not like 2 things about this firmware:
1) Despite enabling/disabling/enabling the "Info Site" option, the default landing page is ALWAYS the Basic Setup page, thus requiring a password, and and further adds frustration regarding point number two:
2) On the Basic Setup page, it has this "Setup Card" section at the top, which allows you to print off little convenient wireless access "Cards" to give friends, or one for the admin info (uname/pass for the router itself). However, this information is all shown in PLAIN TEXT. That's right, my router's password is listed in plain-text on the Basic Setup page.
And so, if I ever want to log into my router to show my friends something on our bridge network (i.e. statistics, latency, port forwarding, whatever), they get to see my password immediately when I log in.
Granted, there's an easy way to avoid that, and that is to have them look away for a sec, or keep the password something that can be shared, etc. ... but I just don't like the whole "Setup Card" thing to begin with. It's a nuisance - "I know what I'm doing with my router, thank you very much."
I plan to flash the non-branded DD-WRT build 20675 today. I'm currently using this build on one of our bridge routers (a Belkin Play F7D4302), and it seems to work fine. There might be some problems with JFFS2 being writable, but I currently don't have a need for it on my new Buffalo. This should eliminate my two frustrations mentioned above.
However, I have one concern about using the non-branded "community build" DD-WRT. I have the assumption that using the manufacturer-released firmware will provide the absolute-best drivers and hardware support when dealing with newer devices. I'm not sure if the "community build" will have the same speed (CPU speed, packet filtering speed, overall responsiveness and ability to handle data) and reliability.
That being said, I ask: In terms of hardware support (drivers), reliability, and speed, what is the differences between Buffalo's build, and the community build?
Thanks much.
P.S.: The WRT160N I mentioned finally replaced my WRT54Gv1 that was being used as one of the bridge routers, and I'm finally going to retire it after 10 years of reliable service. *tears* I still remember the day I had to short pins on your PCB...
P.P.S: The F7D4302 now makes the other half of the bridge, so we have a 40Mhz-wide 802.11n connection between houses now. Wewt. Now we just need to replace his crappy F5D7234-4 serving his household.
Joined: 06 Feb 2010 Posts: 7401 Location: Little Rock
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2013 19:33 Post subject:
Aou wrote:
That being said, I ask: In terms of hardware support (drivers), reliability, and speed, what is the differences between Buffalo's build, and the community build?
Thanks much.
Main difference i see is feature set, the buffalo branded dd-wrt will still have things like setup wizard, WPS amongst a few other smaller features that i cannot recall (been a while since i have used buffalo dd-wrt)
As far as functionality is concerned, it really doesn't matter, because if you look on the buffalo downloads for other units that have been out longer the builds are still beta test builds. And in reality, all dd-wrt builds are beta test builds. Main thing here is that community builds come out alot more frequent than the buffalo builds. For those wanting to stay on bleeding edge, it would probably do good to keep up with the community builds and use them, IMHO - the community builds are generally better because they don't have things like setup wizard - which to me is virtually useless - and they don't have WPS - which is vulnerable to attacks.
Also with the wiki guide for the wzr-hp-ag300h (which this wzr-600 is the same unit, just has a different name - i attribute the name change to marketing - makes it easier instead of long model names), you can switch back and forth from community builds to buffalo builds using TFTP at your choosing. _________________ Wireless N Config | Linking Routers | DD-WRT Wiki | DD-WRT Builds | Peacock - Broadcom FAQ
Thank you, buddee. I flashed the 20675 build today without any issues at all. In fact, I had forgotten to do a wipe and didn't reset to factory settings (like an idiot), and there were still no issues! I ended up wiping it all anyway and re-configuring from 'scratch' anyway, just to be safe.
I'm happy to see the setup wizard and "Setup Card" parts gone from the firmware, and the info page set as the landing page works flawlessly as well. My two problems with Buffalo's DD-WRT firmware are now gone, hooray!
I knew of WPS exploits existing, but I hadn't realized it was vulnerable just by leaving the feature enabled. What a fool I've been! I'm glad to be rid of it, then.
Lastly, I was reading this post (link) and I see that there is a subtle difference between the older version and this newer version, but the differences seem negligible. I had heard elsewhere on the dd-wrt forums that on the newer wzt-600dhp, there are some headaches switching back and forth using TFTP. I have no intention to bother finding out for myself, because I'm fairly certain that I will not be going back to Buffalo's firmware anytime soon.
Again, thanks for the insight!
EDIT:
It seems most of their problems are related to the 192.168.11.1 address for TFTP, and a longer-than-usual delay before starting the TFTP transfer (timing issues). Meh.
