X86

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x86

Regular PC computers can run DD-WRT by using an x86 build of DD-WRT.

Applications

You can, in theory at least, escape many of the limitations of small platforms.

Limitations

The x86 version of DD-WRT does not support the following features:

  1. Ipkg - Itsy Package Management System
  2. jffs - Journaling Flash File System
  3. USB , which means it cannot support
    1. USB Storage

Commands

More Storage on your Boot Device

There is free space on the installation image in partition 3.

Partition 3 is mounted Read-Only at boot by default.
You can see this with the mount command:

    > mount
    ...
    /dev/discs/disc1/part3 on /usr/local type ext2 (ro)

The "(ro)" means that the partition is mounted read-only.

To mount it read/write, the command is:

    > mount -o remount /dev/discs/disc0/part3 /usr/local
    > mount
    ...
    /dev/discs/disc1/part3 on /usr/local type ext2 (rw)

Note that the "(ro)" has changed to a "(rw)", indicating that you can now write to it.

This works for a machine that is booting off a Compact Flash(CF) device.
You might have to change it a little, if you're booting off something else.

When you reboot, partition 3 will be mounted read-only again. If you like, you can make the file system read-only again with the command:

    > mount -o ro,remount /dev/discs/disc0/part3 /usr/local

More Storage on another IDE Device

If you have another disc drive or storage device attached to your IDE bus, you can mount it.

Create a mount point

    > mkdir /tmp/mydisc

Find a mountable partition on the device. It will be somewhere under the /dev/ide tree.
For example, we'll use:

    > ls -la /dev/discs/
disc0 -> ../ide/host0/bus0/target0/lun0

Now that we know the device it is on, /dev/discs/disc0, we can list the partitions:

    > ls -la /dev/discs/disc0/*
    brw-------    1 root     root       3,   0 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc0/disc
    brw-------    1 root     root       3,   1 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc0/part1

Now we can mount the partition on the mount point:

    > mount -o rw /dev/discs/disc0/part1 /tmp/mydisc

Installation

Prerequisites

Any IDE device: Compact Flash, Hard Disc, etc...
.image files
physdiskwrite or other utility that can write the image sectors directly to your IDE device. Linux has the "dd" command for this.

Linux/OSX Instructions

Step 1 - Mount the IDE device on a running computer

Step 2 - Open a console or terminal session

Step 3 - You will have to issue the following commands as SuperUser. Depending on the environment, you could login as root, use su or sudo.

Step 4 - Navigate to the folder where the image file is located.

Step 5 - Use the "dd" command to write the image to your IDE device. WARNING: A mistake in the "of" target of the command could wipe out other discs on your system.

Example: Your new IDE device is the master device on the secondary IDE channel:
dd if=dd-wrt_public_vga.image of=/dev/hdc

Step 6 - Move this IDE device to the machine where you want to run dd-wrt, and boot it.

Step 7 - Assuming you have 2 network cards in the machine, plug the *second* card into your network, and it will take the IP address 192.168.1.1.

Step 8 - Go to another computer and open a web browser to 192.168.1.1 and configure your new dd-wrt machine. The default username is root, and the default password is admin.

Partitions on the Image

Here is what the partitions on the x86 image look like:

    > ls -la /dev/discs/disc1/*
    brw-------    1 root     root      22,   0 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc1/disc
    brw-------    1 root     root      22,   1 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc1/part1
    brw-------    1 root     root      22,   2 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc1/part2
    brw-------    1 root     root      22,   3 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc1/part3
    brw-------    1 root     root      22,   4 Jan  1  1970 /dev/discs/disc1/part4