Looking for DD-WRT compatible router suggestions

Loki008

2[H]4U
Joined
Jan 14, 2001
Messages
2,678
Good morning. I am looking for a stable router that supports DD-WRT. I dont need a ton of bells and whistles, no wifi or anything like that. I just want something that is rock solid and wont need rebooting on a regular basis and will support DD-WRT. The reason I am looking for this is i would like a router that i can connect my home network to a VPN. I can connect via PTPP, IPSec, or OpenVPN. I figured i would ask on here before randomly trying routers off the supported list as from my experience technically supported and a good experience dont always go hand in hand.

Thanks
 
I use an Asus RT-N16 with wireless disabled with OpenVPN and some other services. Fast as lightning. I think it's running a 16xxx build.
 
DD-WRT is so 2000-late, it's all about pfSense, Untangle, MikroTik, Ubiquity EdgeRouter, or full blown Cisco ASA's these days.

No but seriously if you're insistent on using DD-WRT you should probably hit up their forums and find out what is considered the most stable build there. I say most stable because the last official "stable" build is from 2009, but due to vulnerabilities discovered since then you shouldn't use it.

P.S. Don't use PPTP, it's like wearing a swiss cheese condom.
 
Im not set on DD-WRT. I was going there as I used it before (in the 2000's like you said :-P ) and have some knowledge with it.

The other reason i was thinking DD-WRT was for the features I am looking for I figured it would be cost effective. If I can get one of the other solutions you mentioned reasonably ill gladly go that route.
 
If you want a 3rd party firmware use OpenWRT which DD-WRT uses bits n pieces from anyway.
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 or WDR4300 are solid choices and better than the N16 by far.
//Danne
 
DD-WRT is so 2000-late, it's all about pfSense, Untangle, MikroTik, Ubiquity EdgeRouter, or full blown Cisco ASA's these days.

No but seriously if you're insistent on using DD-WRT you should probably hit up their forums and find out what is considered the most stable build there. I say most stable because the last official "stable" build is from 2009, but due to vulnerabilities discovered since then you shouldn't use it.

P.S. Don't use PPTP, it's like wearing a swiss cheese condom.

You can pick up Linksys/Cisco E1200 for $50 and flash DD-WRT on it. While all solutions you proposed are great, can't beat DD-WRT for a price.
 
Very good idea if you want to buy old and overpriced hardware indeed

Linksys E1200
Broadcom 300Mhz CPU , 8(flash)/32(RAM) - Singleband

TP-Link TL-WDR3600
Atheros 560Mhz CPU, 8(flash)/128(RAM) - Dual band
60$ at Microcenter as an example
//Danne
 
Very good idea if you want to buy old and overpriced hardware indeed

Linksys E1200
Broadcom 300Mhz CPU , 8(flash)/32(RAM) - Singleband

TP-Link TL-WDR3600
Atheros 560Mhz CPU, 8(flash)/128(RAM) - Dual band
60$ at Microcenter as an example
//Danne

Not bad. I may have to pick it up to replace my old E1200
 
EdgeRouter Lite:
Dual core MIPS64 @ 500MHz w/ packet processing hardware
512MB RAM
2GB flash
up to 1,000,000PPS
$99 MSRP
can use old router as wireless access in AP mode, can easily NAT a 1Gbit connection.
 
That would surely buttleneck, while the Cavium platform seems nice its not going to do wonders...
//Danne
 
A cheap, sub$30, DD-WRT solution is to go with Buffalo routers. Most of them officially support DD-WRT so you can actually get tech support from Buffalo. Yes it's running the last "stable" ver from 2009 so depending on your work you might want a different solution.
 
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If you want to use OpenVPN then get as fast CPU as possible (i.e not the E1200) since does not benefit from hardware acceleration.
//Danne
 
If you want a 3rd party firmware use OpenWRT which DD-WRT uses bits n pieces from anyway.
TP-Link TL-WDR3600 or WDR4300 are solid choices and better than the N16 by far.
//Danne

Just converted to an i3-3220 16gb DDR3, SSD box running pfSense with dual Intel NICs (WAN LAN)

I converted my old TP-Link 1043ND router running DD-WRT to an access point and plugged it into my switch. That 1043ND running DD-WRT ran for a solid year without a single restart while on a UPS. I had a 24port gigabit switch feeding it and numerous phones, ipads and printers on its wireless. I had the replacement 8dBi triple antennae installed for better range. This was a great router. I was forever making adjustments and tweaks without needing to restart like my previous D-Link DIR-655.

I wanted a more flexible and expandable security appliance, web caching and more.
 
Just converted to an i3-3220 16gb DDR3, SSD box running pfSense with dual Intel NICs (WAN LAN)

I converted my old TP-Link 1043ND router running DD-WRT to an access point and plugged it into my switch. That 1043ND running DD-WRT ran for a solid year without a single restart while on a UPS. I had a 24port gigabit switch feeding it and numerous phones, ipads and printers on its wireless. I had the replacement 8dBi triple antennae installed for better range. This was a great router. I was forever making adjustments and tweaks without needing to restart like my previous D-Link DIR-655.

I wanted a more flexible and expandable security appliance, web caching and more.

That is insanely overkill for pfsense unless you have a very large network (lots of active users). But if you got it and dont mind paying for it, more power to ya ;)
 
I was thinking pfSense on a NUC might be nice, torn between that and trying out one of those ubiquity edge routers.
 
While the edge routers have great numbers on paper they'll never challange a NUC in terms of raw power and speed. That said, a normal router will more than likely be fine for you unless you want to run a web cache or something. Depending on devices hardware NAT doesn't always works as intended...
//Danne
 
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