engeresting: stuff that's interesting to engineers

Looks like we can add Gargoyle Web Front End to an existing OpenWrt. After tinkering around, I figured out a set of generic instructions that should work for anyone else who wants to try this. First we add the Gargoyle Router repository to the opkg.conf file: # ssh into the router (using the router's hostname or IP address) ssh root@router # get information about the firmware version source /etc/openwrt_release ARCH="$(cat /etc/opkg.conf|grep "downloads.openwrt.org"|cut -f3 -d' '|cut -f6 -d'/')" #e.g. "AR71xx" echo "Looks like your router is a '$ARCH' type." # add Gargoyle repository to the opkg.conf cat < >/etc/opkg.conf src gargoyle http://gargoyle-router.com/packages/$DISTRIB_CODENAME/$ARCH EOF # make sure the package list is up-to-date opkg update Your /etc/opkg.conf file should look similar to: src/gz packages http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/10.03/ar71xx/packages dest root /

So: I just acquired a NetGear WNDR3700 and I've been playing around with it. One of the main reasons for purchasing this routing powerhorse, was to be a "drop-in" replacement for a lot of services that I'd since crammed into my trusty old ReadyNAS NV. The prime example was  dnsmasq . I had installed the  dnsmasq add-on  (courtesy of  readynasfreeware.com ) on my ReadyNAS because every DNS/DHCP service available on my network appliances (my Comcast DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem and my multiple wireless routers) are basically rubbish. With dnsmasq, I can easily edit the dhcp reservations, configure DNS in a simple, easy to manage way, and basically really make things  things my way I had thought about going fullscale BIND, but my needs are not that complex, and dnsmasq is really lightweight so as to not tax my ReadyNAS, which should really not have to carry extra load. dnsmasq even comes with a TFTP and PXE server, which I put to use to set up recovery images for my now

I finally realized it was time to bite the bullet and upgrade my home WiFi. After my ASUS WL-500g died ast year, I was making do with a Sitecom WL-153 MIMO-XR WiFi AP and running critical services like DHCP and DNS from my ReadyNAS NV. It worked but it just never felt right. So I did a lot of research into which router to get, weighing in OpenWrt, DD-WRT and Tomato firmwares and getting opinions from friends. Then I watched numerous items on eBay or Craigslist for a while to see if there were any good deals there. In the end, I purchased a refurbished Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Gigabit Router WNDR3700  from RealTekDirect  through Amazon. It arrived yesterday: So far I'm really happy with it and I'm already tinkering around with OpenWrt on it :)