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The information contained herein may be outdated.
Original text (in Polish) by Lukasz Kopciuch
Today, more and more consumer electronics devices have to be connected to the Internet. Without it, the functionality of a modern TV, stereo, home theater, or game console may be very limited. Home routers, so far used only to provide access to the Internet, often can be adapted to preform functions necessary for the requirements of the modern appliances.
Home (W)LAN should not only provide access to the Internet, but also allow for rapid and efficient transmission between devices within the network, such as:
- desktop PCs
- laptops, netbooks etc.
- smartphones,
- tablets, e-book readers
- game consoles
- televisions
- stereos, home theaters
- STBs
- data/media servers
Most home networks are based on wireless technology (WLAN). Buying a router with the function of access point, the user of the home network should pay attention to the type and speed of Ethernet ports and WiFi connectivity (802.11n offers the fastest transfer, up to 300 Mbps). Other important information includes the type of the processor and capacity of the on-board memory. The specifications have a great impact on upgrade potential.
A suitable router will allow for a great improvement in functionality, in order to perform the following tasks:
- download center
- home data storage system
- streaming media center
Alternative software OpenWRT based on Linux (with optional graphical user interface) can be uploaded on selected models of wireless routers/APs. The software greatly extends the capabilities of the devices. It should be emphasized that all operations associated with the modification of the firmware are done at the user's risk. The best option is to install the software via a USB port of the router (when it exists it can be also used to connect a hard drive, USB modem or printer; a USB hub enables simultaneous operation of several devices).
The list of wireless routers/APs that can be managed by the OpenWRT system:
- 3G Wireless Router TP-LINK TL-MR3420 N2957
- 3G Wireless Router TP-LINK TL-MR3220 N2958
- AP/Wireless Router TP-Link TL-WR1043ND (GbE switch) N3253
- Dual-band Wireless Router TP-LINK TL-WDR4300 (GbE switch) N3260
The most useful and popular features offered by the alternative system are presented below. Some of them may require to install add-ons.
- Support for 3G modems
- An external USB modem will allow for alternative Internet access via a 3G cellular network
- Download manager
- Downloading various files directly onto a connected hard drive:
- torrent files
- files from web pages
- files from FTP servers
- Data storage system and file server
- The router (with connected hard drive) can be used as:
- FTP server
- SFTP server
- SAMBA server
- web server
- Media server
- Having appliances that support DLNA technology, the user can view movies or play music stored on the hard drive connected to the router directly on the TVs, media players, etc.
- Print server
- A printer connected to the router via its USB port can play the role of a network printer
- Dual WAN
- The device can be connected to two different ISP networks in order to:
- increase the available bandwidth (load-balancing)
- create a backup link (failover)
- DDNS
- The router can send information on changing the IP address to provide external availability
- QoS
- Enhanced bandwidth and priority management functions
- VPN tunnels
- Possibility to create secure VPN tunnels, such as:
- IPSec
- OpenVPN
- PPTP
- WOL (Wake on LAN)
- Capability of sending a special data package to wake up other device(s) on the local network (both the network card(s) and motherboard(s) of the device(s) must support this feature)
- Video server
- A USB camera connected to USB port of the router can stream video that can be accessible (via the network) in any place
- Statistics
- Information on the operation of the router can be sent on email or via SNMP
OpenWRT software and additional information are available at its official site, https://openwrt.org/. In the case of other versions modified by some users, which can also be found on the Internet, one should pay particular attention to security issues.
