OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released [LWN.net]

OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Sep 11, 2015 17:12 UTC (Fri) by lamawithonel (subscriber, #86149)
In reply to: OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released by michel
Parent article: OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wdr7500#serial

I find the OpenWRT wiki pages are one of the best resources for pre and post-purchase research. The index page organizes them into "supported," "unsupported," and "work in progress." And if a "supported" router has a good page like the Archer C7, it's a good sign it will work well without much hassle. Read through the pages, though. As with any project of this breadth, there are known problems.

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OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Sep 16, 2015 6:25 UTC (Wed) by marcH (subscriber, #57642) [Link] (4 responses)

The OpenWrt wiki is awesome. I bought a TP-Link TL-WR1043N thanks to it and everything worked out of the box. Maybe because TP-Link bases their own software on openWRT? The only exception was a one-line fix in some obscure config or script file for a 3G USB dongle, and this was years ago. Using 3G was generally not even possible with other products at that time.

While OpenWrt is awesome, I also doubt it will last long once it becomes easy to find a embedded system under $100 with Wifi and the ability to run a standard Linux distribution. There's a price point under which "twice cheaper" stops mattering.

OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Sep 17, 2015 8:16 UTC (Thu) by fb (guest, #53265) [Link] (1 responses)

> While OpenWrt is awesome, I also doubt it will last long once it becomes easy to find a embedded system under $100 with Wifi and the ability to run a standard Linux distribution. There's a price point under which "twice cheaper" stops mattering.

Sure. Do you also expect your "generic embedded system with Wifi" to have:

1. 4 or 5 gigabit ethernet ports?
(don't know about you but I have plenty of use for them)

2. WiFi radio capabilities that match those of a dedicated router?
(I need multiple routers to have full coverage in my whole house)

3. ?make ice cream?
(I love ice cream too!)

Do you also expect Debian/Fedora/Ubuntu/etc to become as easy to use, configure and optimize as a router as OpenWrt? Seriously?
The most expensive thing in my home network setup was the time I spent setting it up, not the hardware.

OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Sep 17, 2015 16:25 UTC (Thu) by marcH (subscriber, #57642) [Link]

> 4 or 5 gigabit ethernet ports?

Would be happy to use a dedicated hardware switch if I needed too. It's now cheap and small, I mean small compared to the cables themselves anyway.

> WiFi radio capabilities that match those of a dedicated router?

Good question! I assumed many interfaces are on par with dedicated routers since... "dedicated routers" tend to use the same drivers anyway? Am I wrong?
https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers

> Do you also expect Debian/Fedora/Ubuntu/etc to become as easy to use, configure and optimize as a router as OpenWrt? Seriously?

Yes, and no. I expect people who currently spend their precious time working hard and giving us OpenWrt for free to eventually redirect their effort to "DebianWrt" = yet another Debian derivative pre-configured and optimized for this job. The idea is the same: more software re-use, less maintenance, more security updates, and less... "cute embedded nonsense [build] hacks" ;-)

OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Sep 17, 2015 8:23 UTC (Thu) by fb (guest, #53265) [Link] (1 responses)

> Maybe because TP-Link bases their own software on openWRT?

I believe most of the vendors base their firmware on OpenWRT. In practice, the real deal breaker for OpenWrt support *without blobs* is the chipset support. If it is an Atheros chipset, there are good odds that it will be supported. If it is Broadcom or Marvell, it will (normally) not be supported. (This is an oversimplification, but you get my point).

For instance the TP-Link Archer C5 v1.2 is Atheros based and has full support. Now the updated version of it, TP-Link Archer C5 v2.0, is Broadcom based and unsupported.

OpenWrt "Chaos Calmer" 15.05 released

Posted Oct 9, 2015 23:37 UTC (Fri) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

It seems likely that the vendors will be seriously annoyed if OpenWRT becomes illegal to install, then, because they're relying on it for free development work.