What is OpenWrt  Free and open source  Easy and free access  Comminity driven ---- linux-kernel based OS for your home router from openwrt.org

Routers is on embedded System  Today’s routers/switch is embedded system running linux-kernel based OS and routing/switch software on this OS  Architecture of routers 90% MIPS Others including ARM(some new models) PowerPC(some old models) X86(special ones)

Routers is on embedded System  Since it runs complete linux-kernel OS, your home router is an compter.  With about MHz MIPS CPU  8-64MB ROM  RAM  IO Ethernet USB …

Other 3-party firmware for home routers  Tomato  DD-wrt  … Web control GUI is more friendly to common users.  OpenWRT is more flexible to professional users.

OpenWRT is the opensource OS running in your router, which makes that only limit is hardware. Linksys WRT54G

Why it is useful?  Very good and affordable platform to learn embedded system and developing on it.  Enhance your home router, and save cost  Learn and practice setting VLAN in your home  Understand deeper in networks  Make it as a server with light works, instead of using a computer running 24*7

How to get the firmware for the specific model  Direct download from openwrt.org  Some model need modify some sourcecode and build, compile and make it by yourself  If compiling by yourself, you can preload some packages. 

How to install it to router  The firmware uploading page in web control GUI  FTP mode  TFTP mode  Serial Port cable (TTL cable)  …

After installing it Do whatever you want to  Make the router to wirelesss bridge  Make USB port support printers, storages, your phone usb tethering, 3G dongle…  BitTorrent downloading client  Personal blog web server  Proxy client, Proxy Server  VPN client, VPN Server  DNS server, NTP server, SMTP server…  … Control your router in SSH Operating as a linux machine Or login to Web GUI

Thanks for listening.