What is DD-WRT?

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{{Languages|What is DD-WRT?}} {{Languages|What is DD-WRT?}}
-This page is largely outdated. See the [Firmware_FAQ]] for current information.+<b><font color=red>This page is largely outdated.</font> See the [[Firmware_FAQ|Firmware FAQ]] for current information.</b>
[[Image:Wpa2.JPG|thumb|The current [[Web Interface|web interface]] of DD-WRT]] [[Image:Wpa2.JPG|thumb|The current [[Web Interface|web interface]] of DD-WRT]]
'''DD-WRT''' is a third party developed [[wikipedia:Firmware|firmware]] released under the terms of the GPL for many IEEE 802.11a/b/g/h/n wireless routers based on a Broadcom or Atheros chip reference design. '''DD-WRT''' is a third party developed [[wikipedia:Firmware|firmware]] released under the terms of the GPL for many IEEE 802.11a/b/g/h/n wireless routers based on a Broadcom or Atheros chip reference design.
-The firmware is maintained by BrainSlayer and is hosted at [https://secure.dd-wrt.com/ dd-wrt.com]. The first versions of DD-WRT were based on the Alchemy Firmware from [http://www.sveasoft.com/ Sveasoft Inc], which is in turn based on the original [[wikipedia:GNU_General_Public_License|GPL]]'d Linksys firmware and a number of other open source projects. DD-WRT was created directly from Sveasoft's software decision to start charging for their firmware, closing the door to open source.+The firmware is maintained by BrainSlayer and is hosted at [https://dd-wrt.com/ dd-wrt.com]. The first versions of DD-WRT were based on the Alchemy Firmware from [http://www.sveasoft.com/ Sveasoft Inc], which is in turn based on the original [[wikipedia:GNU_General_Public_License|GPL]]'d Linksys firmware and a number of other open source projects. DD-WRT was created directly from Sveasoft's software decision to start charging for their firmware, closing the door to open source.
-At present DD-WRT is available for free, although a different business model is being [http://forum.bsr-clan.de/ftopic4612.html drafted] by BrainSlayer in order to pay his salary, as this is his full time job.+DD-WRT is available for free, although a different business model was [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012064337/http://forum.bsr-clan.de/ftopic4612.html drafted] in the past by BrainSlayer to pay his salary, as this is his full-time job.
The newer DD-WRT versions (v2.4 and v3.0) are ''a completely new project''. DD-WRT offers many advanced features not found in OEM firmware of these devices, or even the firmware available for purchase from Sveasoft. It is also free of the product activation or tracking found in the Sveasoft firmware. The newer DD-WRT versions (v2.4 and v3.0) are ''a completely new project''. DD-WRT offers many advanced features not found in OEM firmware of these devices, or even the firmware available for purchase from Sveasoft. It is also free of the product activation or tracking found in the Sveasoft firmware.
-'''Note:''' Beta firmware, by its very nature, will contain bugs. It is not recommended to install beta firmware on large networks that are used for businesses, etc. However, ticket can be submitted for DD-WRT bugs here:'' [http://svn.dd-wrt.com/timeline '''trac system'''].+'''Note:''' Beta firmware, by its very nature, will contain bugs. It is not recommended to install beta firmware on large networks that are used for businesses, etc. Tickets can be submitted for DD-WRT issues on the [https://svn.dd-wrt.com/timeline '''''trac'' SVN system'''].
Among other features not found in the original Linksys firmware, DD-WRT adds the [[Kai Daemon]] for the [http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ Kai Console Gaming network], [[wikipedia:Wireless Distribution System|WDS]] [[wireless bridging]]/repeating protocol, [[wikipedia:RADIUS|Radius Authentication]] for more secure wireless communication, advanced [[Quality of Service]] controls for bandwidth allocation, and software support for the SD-Card hardware modification.<br> Among other features not found in the original Linksys firmware, DD-WRT adds the [[Kai Daemon]] for the [http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/ Kai Console Gaming network], [[wikipedia:Wireless Distribution System|WDS]] [[wireless bridging]]/repeating protocol, [[wikipedia:RADIUS|Radius Authentication]] for more secure wireless communication, advanced [[Quality of Service]] controls for bandwidth allocation, and software support for the SD-Card hardware modification.<br>
-What does dd stand for in dd-wrt? Sash: its the German car numberplate code for Dresden.+What does ''dd'' stand for in dd-wrt? Sash: its the German car numberplate code for Dresden.
__TOC__ __TOC__
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* A broadband internet connection (DSL, Cable, or similar) * A broadband internet connection (DSL, Cable, or similar)
* A [[Supported Devices|supported]] router. * A [[Supported Devices|supported]] router.
-* The DD-WRT firmware image from [https://secure.dd-wrt.com The DD-WRT Project]+* The DD-WRT firmware image from [https://dd-wrt.com The DD-WRT Project]
* Follow the instructions under [[Installation]] to install the new firmware on your router. * Follow the instructions under [[Installation]] to install the new firmware on your router.

Revision as of 20:29, 15 April 2019

This page is largely outdated. See the Firmware FAQ for current information.

The current web interface of DD-WRT
The current web interface of DD-WRT

DD-WRT is a third party developed firmware released under the terms of the GPL for many IEEE 802.11a/b/g/h/n wireless routers based on a Broadcom or Atheros chip reference design.

The firmware is maintained by BrainSlayer and is hosted at dd-wrt.com. The first versions of DD-WRT were based on the Alchemy Firmware from Sveasoft Inc, which is in turn based on the original GPL'd Linksys firmware and a number of other open source projects. DD-WRT was created directly from Sveasoft's software decision to start charging for their firmware, closing the door to open source.

DD-WRT is available for free, although a different business model was drafted in the past by BrainSlayer to pay his salary, as this is his full-time job.

The newer DD-WRT versions (v2.4 and v3.0) are a completely new project. DD-WRT offers many advanced features not found in OEM firmware of these devices, or even the firmware available for purchase from Sveasoft. It is also free of the product activation or tracking found in the Sveasoft firmware.

Note: Beta firmware, by its very nature, will contain bugs. It is not recommended to install beta firmware on large networks that are used for businesses, etc. Tickets can be submitted for DD-WRT issues on the trac SVN system.

Among other features not found in the original Linksys firmware, DD-WRT adds the Kai Daemon for the Kai Console Gaming network, WDS wireless bridging/repeating protocol, Radius Authentication for more secure wireless communication, advanced Quality of Service controls for bandwidth allocation, and software support for the SD-Card hardware modification.

What does dd stand for in dd-wrt? Sash: its the German car numberplate code for Dresden.

Contents

Requirements

  • A computer (Windows, Linux, Mac, whatever)
  • A broadband internet connection (DSL, Cable, or similar)
  • A supported router.
  • The DD-WRT firmware image from The DD-WRT Project
  • Follow the instructions under Installation to install the new firmware on your router.

Features

New features, updates and fixes can be found in the Changelog (deprecated). For code and issue tickets, see the SVN revisions at the timeline.

Feature v \ Categories-> Lan Wlan Wan DNS Man-
age-
ment
Moni-
toring
NAT Serv-
ices
Traffic
mode-
ration

incl.
QoS
Traffic
redir-
ection
13 languages *
802.1x Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) *
802.1x Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) *
Access Restrictions *
Ad hoc *
Afterburner *
Client Isolation Mode *
Client Mode (supports multiple connected clients) *
DHCP Forwarder (udhcp) * * *
DHCP Server (udhcp or Dnsmasq) * * *
DNS Forwarder (Dnsmasq) * * * *
DMZ * * *
Dynamic DNS (DynDNS, easyDNS, FreeDNS, TZO, ZoneEdit, custom, and others) *
FreeRADIUS Server * * *
Hotspot Portal (Sputnik Agent, Chillispot) *
IPv6
JFFS2 (JFFS2)
MMC/SD Card Support (hardware modification required)
NTP * * *
ntop Remote Statistic (ntop) *
OpenVPN Client & Server (only in -vpn build of the firmware) *
Port Triggering *
Port Forwarding *
PPTP VPN Server & Client *
QoS Bandwidth Management *
QoS L7 Packet Classifier (l7-filter) *
RFlow *
Routing (BIRD) *
Samba FS Automount *
Syslog *
Rx Antenna *
Tx Antenna *
Show Status of Wireless Clients and WDS with System Uptime/Processor Utilization * *
Site Survey * *
SNMP * * *
SSH server & client (dropbear) * *
Startup, Firewall, and Shutdown scripts (startup script) *
Static DHCP * * *
Style (Changeable GUI; v.23) *
Supports New Devices (WRT54G V3, V3.1, V4, V5 and WRT54GS V2.1, V3, V4)
Telnet server & client * *
Transmit Power Adjustment (0-251mW, default is 28mW, 100mW is safe) *
UPnP * * * *
USB
VLAN * * * *
WOL (Wake On Lan) (WOL) *
WDS Connection Watchdog *
WDS Repeater Mode *
Wireless MAC Address Cloning *
Wireless MAC Filter * *
WMM (Wi-Fi MultiMedia) * *
WPA over WDS *
WPA/TKIP with AES *
WPA2 *
Xbox Kaid (Kai Engine) * * *

Supported & Recommended Devices

There are pages for Supported Devices and recommended devices.

Which build to flash on my router

[NOTE] - ALWAYS do a Hard reset or 30/30/30 on the router BEFORE and AFTER flashing from OEM firmware EXCEPT for ARM devices. It is also recommended for flashing in DD-WRT for large build jumps, unless otherwise directly by the device wiki.

[NOTE] - Do not use Backup/Restore anytime you change the firmware build number or type. Backup/Restore should only be used with the exact same build and type, to restore a known good configuration on that same build.

Check Supported Devices to fine the router chipset, and whether any special flashing procedures are required.
Also check your wl0_corerev here or by issuing this command in telnet or ssh: nvram get wl0_corerev
corerev determines if VINT (vintage) or NEWD (new driver) builds are required for broadcom folder (kernel 2.4) builds. In newer builds (e.g. here, the NEWD name has been dropped, as they are now the normal builds.

The following chipsets/devices require the VINT builds.

  • Any older routers using Broadcom 4702/4710 chipsets (125MHz) and have mini-PCI cards wl0_corerev < 5 (such as Belkin F5D7130-4 v1000 - v1112)
  • Linksys WRT54G v1
  • Linksys WAP54G v1
  • Sitecom WL-105b

The following chipsets/devices require the normal builds.

  • Asus WL-520GU
  • Buffalo WHR-G125
  • Linksys WRT54G v8.0-8.2
  • Linksys WRT54GS v7.0
  • All newer routers using Broadcom 4704, 4785, 5354, 5365 chipsets

The following chipsets/devices can run either but normal is recommended). Read the device wiki for details.

  • Buffalo WHR-HP-G54, WHR-G54S
  • Linksys WRT54G v4.0
  • Linksys WRT54GL 1.0 & 1.1
  • All routers using Broadcom 5352 chipset
  • All routers using Broadcom 4712 chipset (BCM4712) with wl0_corerev 5 or higher

File Versions

Different versions of the firmware have different features. The tables below attempt to outline the features of each version but sometimes the features of a specific version are changed. You can check the config files on the SVN server to verify exactly what features are in each specific version for official Brainslayer builds, but the config files for Eko's unofficial versions are not published.

Atheros Based Devices (incl. UBNT)

Atheros based devices typically only have one version of the firmware available per model. The feature set in Atheros builds are generally limited by the amount of flash memory that a unit has. So basically, Atheros 4MB flash units have features somewhat similar to a Broadcom K2.6 mini version while 8MB Atheros flash units have features more similar to a Broadcom K2.6 BIG version, but the features will vary. Atheros builds are still pre-baked and specific to its unit, so features in one unit's version may slightly differ from another unit's version.

Broadcom Based Devices

Broadcom based devices have several different versions available to choose from. Consult Note 4 in the Peacock Announcement from the Broadcom forum for information about which versions can run on your hardware.

These charts are now very outdated, but still is useful as a reference guide. Check source code, kernel and makefile configs, includes, and rules for finer granularity of available features.

K2.4 Build Features

V24_pre_sp2 K24 build features

  Micro (1) Micro Plus (2)(7) Micro Plus ssh (2)(7) Mini (1) Mini Hotspot Kaid (2) Mini USB (2) USB Generic (1) Mini USB FTP (2) Nokaid (1) Open VPN JFFS Small (2) STD (1) STD NoKaid (2) STD NoKaid No Hotspot NoStor (2) STD NoKaid USB (2) VOIP (1) VPN (1)(3) Big (2)(4) Mega (1)(4)
Access Restrictions
AnchorFree
Asterisk                                  
Bandwidth Monitoring
Chillispot                      
Connection Warning Notifier      
Dynamic DNS
EoIP Support        
ext2 Support                
ext3 Support                          
FreeRADIUS Server                                  
Hotspot System                      
HTTP Redirect
HTTPS Support for Web Mngt              
IPv6 (5)                      
JFFS2 (6)          
kaid                            
MMC/SD Support                  
NoCat                    
NTFS Support                                    
OpenVPN                            
Pound                                  
PPTP Client/PPTP Server      
ProFTPd                            
  Micro (1) Micro Plus (2)(7) Micro Plus ssh (2)(7) Mini (1) Mini Hotspot Kaid (2) Mini USB (2) USB Generic (1) Mini USB FTP (2) Nokaid (1) Open VPN JFFS Small (2) STD (1) STD NoKaid (2) STD NoKaid No Hotspot NoStor (2) STD NoKaid USB (2) VOIP (1) VPN (1)(3) Big (2)(4) Mega (1)(4)
QoS
radvd              
Repeater
RFlow                
Samba/CIFS client                    
Security Log      
SFTP                                  
SIPatH/Milkfish                              
SMTP Redirect
SNMP                  
SPI Firewall/Iptables
Sputnik                  
SSH    
Syslogd
tcpdump                                
Telnet
Tx power adjust
UPnP
USB                        
VPNC                                
Wake On LAN
Wifidog                      
WPA/WPA2 Per/Ent
Wiviz      

Notes

  1. Official dd-wrt builds by Brainslayer
  2. Eko specialized Broadcom Only Builds
  3. Smaller VPN JFFS builds used to be available for 4MB units at downloads/others/eko
    • This is not recommended, but search the Broadcom forum if trying to find some of these old builds.
  4. Only on DD-WRT v24 (8MB+ flash required)
  5. Apparently, IPv6-related features DO NOT work by default in DD-WRT v24: see IPv6 on v24
  6. Not available on VPN-builds for v24sp1: see for JFFS
  7. CFE Compressor needed to run: see this forum thread

To upgrade from the stock Linksys firmware, first flash the mini version from the web interface. After initial flash use any version, assuming it fits the flash size. Below are example file versions where <type> represents mini, std, voip, etc.:

filename description
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_asus.trx Web interface version for flashing. See Flash Your Asus WL-500G Deluxe
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_generic.bin Generic version for flashing via web interface on all supported devices (including Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS) and for flashing Siemens SE505 with boot tftp on 192.168.2.1
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_wrt54g.bin tftp versions for WRT54G. You CAN use this to flash via web interface but do so only AFTER you have done so using the mini version. These versions were just made specifically for TFTPing to those routers. (v5/v6 note: Since the WRT54G/GS v5-v6 uses a modified WAP54Gv3 once made 'linux ready', it will not accept these standard WRT54G/GS firmwares. You must use the 'generic' build for TFTPing to these units).
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_wrt54gs.bin tftp versions for WRT54GS. You CAN use this to flash via web interface but do so only AFTER you have done so using the mini version. These versions were just made specifically for TFTPing to those routers.
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_wrt54gsv4.bin tftp versions for WRTGSv4. You CAN use this to flash via web interface but do so only AFTER you have done so using the mini version. These versions were just made specifically for TFTPing to those routers.
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_wrtsl54gs.bin tftp versions for WRTSL54GS. You CAN use this to flash via web interface but do so only AFTER you have done so using the mini version. These versions were just made specifically for TFTPing to those routers.
dd-wrt.v24_<type>_moto.trx For initial Flash Your Motorola WR850G (Micro and Mini builds ONLY)


K2.6 Build Features

WARNING: Do not use K2.6 builds unless certain your device can support it or it will be bricked!
Forum: K26 Build Supported Router List

K2.6 Build Features

  Mini Mini Hotspot Mini USB Mini USB NAS OpenVPN OpenVPN Small STD NoKaid Small STD USB NAS VOIP VOIP Small Big Mega (Giga)
Access Restrictions
AnchorFree •'"
Asterisk                          
Bandwidth Monitoring
Chillispot                
Connection Warning Notifier
Dynamic DNS
EoIP Support      
ext2 Support                    
ext3 Support                    
Hotspot System                
HTTP Redirect
HTTPS Support for Web Management
IPv6              
JFFS2          
kaid                  
MMC/SD Support                          
NoCat                
NTFS Support                  
OpenVPN                
Pound                          
PPTP Client / PPTP Server
ProFTPd                
  Mini Mini Hotspot Mini USB Mini USB NAS OpenVPN OpenVPN Small STD NoKaid Small STD USB NAS VOIP VOIP Small Big Mega (Giga)
QoS
radvd              
Repeater
RFlow        
Samba/CIFS client              
Security Log
SFTP                  
SIPatH/Milkfish                
SMTP Redirect
SNMP          
SPI Firewall/Iptables
Sputnik              
SSH  
Syslogd
tcpdump                          
Telnet
Tx power adjust
UPnP
USB              
VPNC                    
Wake On LAN
Wifidog                
WPA/WPA2 Per/Ent
Wiviz  

Notes

K26 builds do not have MMC/SD support yet.

Intel IXP Based Devices

Ralink Based Devices

Ralink based devices typically only have one version of the firmware available per model.

x86 Based Devices