| Linksys-Cisco WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router (Compatible with Linux) |
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Model: WRT54GL
Brand: Linksys
Manufacturer: Linksys
Average Rating: 
(submit your review here)
Total Reviews: 321
Form factor: External
Hardware platform: PC
Data link protocol: Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g
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| Features: |
Firewall - SPI
VPN Support - Yes
VPN Passthrough - Yes |
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| Description: |
| The Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router combines the functionalities of three devices into a single device, a wireless access point, a four-port full-duplex 10/100 Mbps switch and a router. The wireless access point lets you connect Wireless-G or Wireless-B devices to the network while the switch connects your wired-Ethernet devices together. The router function ties it all together by letting your whole network share a high-speed cable or DSL Internet connection. The push button setup feature makes it easy to configure your wireless devices. The router serves as a DHCP server, includes an SPI firewall to protect against Internet intruders and also supports VPN pass-through. The WRT54GL even features TKIP and AES to protect your data and privacy with up to 128-bit encryption. With the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router at the center of your home or office network, you can share a high-speed Internet connection, files, printers and multi-player games with flexibility, speed, security and simplicity. Status Indicators - Port status, link activity Compliant Standards - FCC IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.3U, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g Data Link Protocol - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g Interfaces - 1x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45 ( WAN / DMZ ), 4 x network - Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX - RJ-45, 1 x network - Radio-Ethernet Dimensions - Height 4.8 cm x Depth 20 cm x Width 18.6 cm Weight - 0.5 kg |
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| User Reviews (321 total): |
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Linksys Router, May 13, 2007
By user
Worked like it was supposed to ... easy to setup and install. Please folks if your getting one of these. Do set the security up on it.. I now have access to 3 other WiFi in my area with no security enabled, it only takes a few minutes and this product makes it easy to do.
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Solid and Reliable, May 12, 2007
By user (Northeastern US)
This wireless router, besides supporting Linux firmware, is a tested and true wireless router with 802.11 b and g support. It supports WPA, WPA2 and the older WEP encryption schemes. In addition, it has a built-in firewall, MAC address filtering, and supports access policies (such as "don't allow FTP connections to this computer on Sundays").
When I installed this wireless router, setup was very straightforward (I did not use the Setup Wizard because it didn't work for me). I changed the IP address range (because the DSL modem uses the 192.168.1 address space), set the administrator password, chose a name for the Wireless network, enabled WPA2 encryption and picked a passphrase.
After that, I connected my laptop to the router right away, and received an excellent signal and throughput of 100 KB/sec (for comparison, my DSL connection maintains a throughput of 300 KB/sec when I connect straight to the DSL modem).
I've been using the router for several months now, and have not had any dropped connections (my older Netgear router dropped connections fairly frequently and did not support the newer WPA encryption scheme) and have consistent throughput. The router has been running constantly for these past few months.
For the real tech-heads, this router has customized Linux firmware available from third parties. I haven't tried this firmware, since the base Linksys firmware more than meets my needs.
Finally, good security practices are to: Change the administrator password, disable Universal Plug and Play, disable Remote administrative access, use a unique name for the access point, and if the network is only for a small number of personal devices (i.e. a laptop you own), enable MAC address filtering. A MAC address uniquely identifies a network card, so this only allows certain computers to access the network.
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excellent router, May 12, 2007
By user
This router's been in 24x7 operation for about six weeks. I purchased it as a replacement for a Buffalo router that failed after one week of operation. The WRT54GL was very easy to set up (I opted to manually set it up instead of using the CD that came with it). It is running WPA-AES, has reasonably good signal and a good firewall. Creating firewall rules was very easy. I highly recommend it.
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Awesome router, May 2, 2007
By user (Fresno, CA United States)
The first thing I did was intall the Tomato firmware. Works great with tons of features!
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Setup is VERY DIFFICULT!, May 2, 2007
By user
I got this router based on the reviews here. I do not use linux, and have not upgraded the firmware (seeing as that the model I have is V1.1, and firmware is listed on the Linksys site for 1.0 only, not sure what to do there anyway).
The setup for this router was TERRIBLE. The freaking CD crashed my (Dell inspiron 700m) computer, and then it UNINSTALLED MY WIRELESS CARD by installing a new wireless adaptor program, and so my radio was locked off and I had to uninstall the software, go to the dell site and find the software for my card and reinstall... it sucked. I use a cablemodem and the setup on the cd rom didn't even do MAC cloning. What a waste of time. If you get this, just set it up yourself by putting 192.168.1.1 into your web browser, login with no username and "admin" as the password.
Router works fine. I still can't believe what a rediculously terrible setup process that was. I've never had problems like that with any other router.
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Best Linksys Router So Far, April 23, 2007
By user (Georgetown, GY)
This is the best Linksys router I have used so far. If the features are too basic for you try using DD-WRT's firmware on it. Works great with dd-wrt.v23 SP2 firmware and in my opinion is even more stable than the original Linksys firmware.
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Terrific router for OpenWRT firmware, April 17, 2007
By user (Los Angeles, CA)
I've had this router for a year now. As every other reviewer, I've replaced the firmware with OpenWRT (first White Russian, now Kamikaze) - and had no problems whatsoever.
The reason I gave 4 stars (as opposed to 5) - Cisco should stop wasting effort on proprietary firmware development, and rather contribute to OpenWRT (or other similar open source firmware - I am just not aware of any). The way it's distributed now - with big black label "by changing the firmware you are voiding the warranty" - is just plain silly!
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Linux router - running dd-wrt, April 13, 2007
By user (Carbondale, Il)
This router allows a user to easily install the latest firmware from dd-wrt. Running Linux may sound like a job for a highly skilled geek, but this is really easy. Once you have installed the firmware, you are able to easily setup some powerful standard features. With this router, you can setup VPN connections into your home network from anywhere.
The basic installation of the dd-wrt firmware is feature rich. Open Source is an amazing technological revolution. This surprisingly simple technology allows us to be more efficient. You will enjoy this product by using the dd-wrt firmware upgrade.
dd-wrt is easy to download by googling dd-wrt. Once you are at this site, there is a lot of information available. The dd-wrt software is written to run on many different devices, besides the linksys hardware.
1:) Click on downloads, you will see a list of versions. You will find the latest version, they are listed as "dd-wrt.v23 SP1".
2:) Find the newest version and click on the link.
3:) This will lead you to a page with a list of options regarding micro, mini, standard, etc... You will want the standard option.
4:) Within this download is the firmware upgrade, and instructions to upggrade your router.
Enjoy the freedom that Open Source provides.
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I'm running on it right now!, April 11, 2007
By user (Tallmadge, OH USA)
I run both Linux and XP. My wireless connection works with both.
I got just what I wanted and in a timely manner.
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Linksys cheaps out, April 10, 2007
By user (CA USA)
I bought a WRT54GS a couple years ago and it still works well. I wanted another, to run wired and wireless devices in my garage. To save a few cents on RAM, Linksys changed operating systems and other details on that model, and advertised the WRT54GL as the model similar to my old one. I bought it, put it away, and finally got to it recently. I was shocked when I opened it: the WRT54GL has no wired ports, only a wireless transmitter. Maybe someone will find that useful, but it's unlikely -- someday you'll have a PC or laptop with a wired port that you want to plug in and cannot because this unit only talks wireless. It's useless for me, and now it's been too long since I bought it to return it. Why does Linksys cut corners this way? Cutting the wired ports cut their costs by $1 or less. Argh.
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0 To Connected In 10 Minutes!, April 6, 2007
By user (Anywhere, USA)
Having attempted to set up a wireless network once before, I was apprehensive about the ease of installation. What a pleasant surprise when it took me less than 10 minutes to get up and running.
I originally purchased this product as it is compatible with Linux applications and it has proven to be an an excellent product with simple to install instructions and lots of power. I highly recommend it!
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Don't pass this up, April 3, 2007
By user
This unit was suggested to me by my ISP and I have enjoyed the benefit of faster more reliable surfing with a greater range. My only and substantial caution to you is that you do not purchase it if you are not tech savy as I am on the cusp and needed to call their apparant overseas technical support line. What a mistake that was...... like most companies today support or the lame attempt came from a barely English speaking, non situational understanding but friendly lass named 'Joanne' ( my burro ) who couldn't click the mouse fast enough to read the script from the monitor to even point in the direction of my problem. Why do large companie$ allow their good name$ to be comprimi$ed at the ex$pen$e of cu$tomer $ervice? WAIT !! .. I remember.... large bonu$e$ for the CEO.... AH HA!!
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Excellent Router, April 1, 2007
By user (Florida)
This was easy to set up, I got the 7DB gain antennas to increase the range and it works great. I bought it knowing that I can upgade it using aftermarket firmware.
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The WRT54GL is the best router you can buy., March 15, 2007
By user
This router is very stable. It always works 100% of the time. You never get a dropped connection. This is in contrast to all the horror stories I've heard from people who bought other brands of routers, and get dropped connections and reception problems. This WRT54GL has excellent range. It has an excellent hardware firewall. I replaced the stock Linksys firmware with the Linux DD-WRT v23 SP2 [...], and it enabled a large number of new features. This new firmware turned a $60 router into a $600 router. You can setup VPN, use speed boost, extend the range, overclock the 200 MHZ CPU of the router, etc, etc, etc... I would definately buy this again. Make sure you buy the WRT54GL and not the WRT54G (as the WRT54G can't accept the Linux firmware).
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Trash, March 14, 2007
By user (Jacksonville, FL)
I hate this thing, I replaced it recently with a ZyXEL x-550, and Ive had NO PROBLEMS with it. This is 'ok' for the average home network user. But if you plan to play games, or P2P...maybe even VoIP...you cant go wrong with ZyXEL
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A great Wireless Router, March 14, 2007
By user (New Jersey)
I had another linksys router wich I had to reset everyday but with this one I download the software form linksys and it has been great.
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Using this router with DD-WRT, March 13, 2007
By user (St. Louis, MO.)
I bought this router, ran it for a couple of days to make sure it worked okay, the reloaded it with the (Linux based) software from [...] I now have more functionality and can adjust parameters such as the power level (I increased the 28mw setting to 70mw).
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Perfect for tinkering, March 11, 2007
By user (Mississippi, USA)
By installing 3rd party firmware I was able to extend a wifi network to .8 miles using homemade external antenna made from old satellite dishes. The signal was strong enough to go further with a clear line of sight.
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Great For Bittorrent!!, March 10, 2007
By user (Inside)
This is a great router! It's going to do wonders for you p2p software! Speeds up your internet and gives good connections. Best router ever made!!
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Very happy with this product, March 9, 2007
By user (Anaheim, CA)
It was very easy to install and configure. Works flawlessly and has good signal strength.
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