When I was looking at getting a new wireless router, I started looking at what users had to say about their experience. The first user reviews said the ASUS RT-N16 Wireless-N Gigabit Router is an excellent hardware with poor software. So it suggested to flash the firmware with DD-WRT.

So I decided to get this router and the first thing I did was to load DD-WRT.

Here is what I like about the router:

  • 4  Gigabit Ethernet Ports 10/100/1000Mbps
  • 1 WAN Port
  • 802.11n (Draft)  supports 300Mbps wireless (your device also has to support this)
  • 3 Antennas for extended range
  • 2 USB ports
  • Power adapter works on both 110/240 volts
  • 480 MHz processor which can be overclocked to 533 MHz

The DD-WRT firmware is very easily loadable using the router browser front-end. Its an open source firmware, it makes the router fully customisable and is extremely easy to use. You can plug in a USB hard drive and convert the router into NAS server. Or can be used to share a printer. You can read the documentation here on how to load DD-WRT.

It can also be used to share 3G connection. You connect your 3G dongle on the USB and you need to do some scripting on the router. (If you are not comfortable with command line stuff, this is not for you). You can load the scripts through the web based front end and run them or you can also telnet/ssh to the router. There  are a lot more features you can explore once DD-WRT has been loaded, like you can convert the router into a VOIP server by installing Asterisk. Happy Hacking!