4 thoughts on “Your Router”

  1. I just purchases a TP-Link AC1750 that can support dd-wrt, but even without it, I’ve boosted my download speeds from 25Mbps to 59Mbps. It supports QoS without installing dd-wrt, and so long as the Obama Administration doesn’t make QoS illegal with Net Neutrality.

  2. My router is one of the very early D-link models, from circa 1999. It’s far, far older than any of my current desktop or laptop systems or components. It’s capable of speeds up (in practice) about 10 mbps.

    Why do I keep using it? Because it works. It’s a bit slow for transferring files between systems, but that’s the only problem it has. At 10 mbps, it’s a lot faster than my internet connection (DL speeds up to 650 k on a rare good day.

    I also like the fact that it’s wireless can be switched off without shutting of its role as an ethernet switch (I’ve heard some routers can’t do that). I prefer to have the wireless off most of the time; my desktop system connects via Ethernet, so I only need wireless when I’m using one of my laptops.

    Yep, it’s ancient, but it works… and I’ve always been of the mindset “If it works, don’t fix it”.

    Would it handle streaming video? Probably not… but my internet connection isn’t fast enough, and has too high a packet lag and loss issue, to handle audio, let alone video.

  3. Rand,
    Installed DD-WRT on a so called “lobotimized” (reduced RAM) Linksys WRT54G router to act as a wireless bridge router to the WIFI base router located in another room of the house not easily reached by wire on a PC with only a wired network connection. This is a function not supported by the default Linksys firmware for this router. But DD-WRT handles the task with ease. Much superior to other solutions, esp. the USB based NIC solutions which from prior experience I would recommend avoiding like the plague.

    The biggest nerve wrack is the initial flash programming. But I read through the install instructions carefully and several times, and also make sure I had the default firmware handy just in case I needed to return to the mfg. default. If you are careful, there is little chance you will brick the router. Nonetheless, this was not my core router and, as always, depending on the make and model YMMV.

    1. In clarification I meant wireless USB NIC solutions.
      Also in a weird way, its also cheaper and somewhat easier to get ahold of old routers than old wireless NICs.
      Oftentimes you run into software compatibility issues between a modern OS and the drivers used to operate the old NIC. So in a way isolating this at the router often solves tons of software troubles later.

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