Linksys 的 WRT54GL

前幾天跟同事聊到 Android 刷機的事情,而最近剛好看到介紹這台無線分享器裡的名機,LinksysWRT54GL:「
The WRT54GL: A 54Mbps router from 2005 still makes millions for Linksys」,第一款被廣泛應用在各種客製化硬體的機器。


取自維基百科的「File:Linksys WRT54G.jpg

從 2005 年開始賣,到現在 2016 年還是繼續在賣,而且這東西支援的無線規格很舊,還比其他的無線分享器貴不少:

Witness the Linksys WRT54GL, the famous wireless router that came out in 2005 and is still for sale. At first glance, there seems to be little reason to buy the WRT54GL in the year 2016. It uses the 802.11g Wi-Fi standard, which has been surpassed by 802.11n and 802.11ac. It delivers data over the crowded 2.4GHz frequency band and is limited to speeds of 54Mbps. You can buy a new router—for less money—and get the benefit of modern standards, expansion into the 5GHz band, and data rates more than 20 times higher.

但不只能賣,還賣的很好:

Despite all that, people still buy the WRT54GL in large enough numbers that Linksys continues to earn millions of dollars per year selling an 11-year-old product without ever changing its specs or design.

量大到 Broadcom 還是繼續支援,然後產品 PM 就抱怨他搞不懂:

"To be honest, it somewhat baffles my mind," Linksys Global Product Manager Vince La Duca told Ars. But production won't stop any time soon as long as Linksys' suppliers, including chipmaker Broadcom, keep selling the parts needed to build the WRT54GL. "We'll keep building it because people keep buying it," La Duca said.

只能說,施主您多保重...

把家裡的無線網路換成 DD-WRT

看到「WRTnode Opened for $25」這個網站的時候,就想起來家裡還在用中華電信數據及提供的無線網路,訊號有點差... 算了一下 USD$25 就算不算運費也要 NTD$750 左右,還是到 PChome 24h 上找一台可以刷 DD-WRT 的機器來用...

後來是找到「D-Link Wireless N 實用版無線寬頻路由器 DIR-615」這台 NTD$399 的福利品:

會選這台是因為這台出一陣子了,雖然 802.11n 是 draft,但我在家裡用無線網路時不在意... 另外在 DD-WRT 的資料庫內是全部都支援,花白工的機會比較低:

拿到的時候背面可以看到是 E4 的硬體,對應到 DD-WRT 資料庫:

後面就照著官方的 Installation 文件做,把該設定的值設一設就收工了...