Any router/networking experts here?

Motorcycle Mike

Motorcycle Mike

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I want to buy a relatively cheap router that I can flash DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato, or something like that on so I can run transmission or rtorrent and use it as a torrent box.

Requirements: at least 1 usb port, support of one of the open source WRT projects, and enough speed to actually use transmission or other BT client.

I was in Canada Computers today and saw a TP-Link WDR3600 for $54.99. They also had a Belkin N600 for $34.99, and TP WR842ND also for $34.99... all have a USB port, and all bring up some information in DD-WRT and OpenWRT forums, but I am having a hard time figuring out which one would be the easiest to flash/set up, or is there another make/model I should consider?

Anyway, those are approximately the type I am looking at. Any suggestions?
Would a router like that suit my purposes or should I forget the idea of running a cheap torrent box with a router?
 
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Diesel said:
I want to buy a relatively cheap router that I can flash DD-WRT, OpenWRT, Tomato, or something like that on so I can run transmission or rtorrent and use it as a torrent box.

Requirements: at least 1 usb port, support of one of the open source WRT projects, and enough speed to actually use transmission or other BT client.

I was in Canada Computers today and saw a TP-Link WDR3600 for $54.99. They also had a Belkin N600 for $34.99, and TP WR842ND also for $34.99... all have a USB port, and all bring up some information in DD-WRT and OpenWRT forums, but I am having a hard time figuring out which one would be the easiest to flash/set up, or is there another make/model I should consider?

Anyway, those are approximately the type I am looking at. Any suggestions?
Would a router like that suit my purposes or should I forget the idea of running a cheap torrent box with a router?
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You might want to look into a mini server like a Raspberry Pi or Pogoplug instead of just a router. There are soooo many things you can do with a cheap server running linux.

As an example, I have a $20 Pogoplug E02 with a version of ArchLinux. That little box runs Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, Transmission, PlexServer, acts as my NAS, TimeMachine backup, etc. Not bad for $20 and tiny footprint
 
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regder said:
You might want to look into a mini server like a Raspberry Pi or Pogoplug instead of just a router. There are soooo many things you can do with a cheap server running linux.

As an example, I have a $20 Pogoplug E02 with a version of ArchLinux. That little box runs Sabnzbd, Sickbeard, Transmission, PlexServer, acts as my NAS, TimeMachine backup, etc. Not bad for $20 and tiny footprint
Click to expand...

I actually just got a pi, and I am not happy with it.
I hooked it up to an external 2.5" drive and the whole bunch was powered by a playbook charger (1800mh).
Drive was formatted in ext4 and mounted as /Torrents.
I downloaded about 20gb worth of data and left it seeding.
The next day I woke up and all of the seeding torrents had errors. Some how the drive became unmounted and then remounted, this time as /Torrents_
All of the data was corrupted. I scanned the drive for bad pixels or any other errors and all was okay, but all of the data files were garbage. I tried hooking that drive to a linux computer, but couldn't recover any of it.
In the end I had to re-download nearly the entire 20gb just to avoid getting H&Rs with the private trackers I am on.

I still don't know what the problem was -- the pi or the external drive. It was all working fine when I was working with it, but something crashed over night.

Now I am thinking that I need a router anyway, so if I can find a router that can both download torrents and route my internet, then I kill 2 birds with one stone. If it doesn't perform as well as expecting as a BT client, then I can at least use it as a router.
 
Your question isn't for router/networking experts. Yours is for enthusiast home users. Just FYI.

When you're talking under $100 that's into supernerd territory. :)
 
Asus RT-N16.. Decent CPU, still a lot of RAM by market standards, runs Tomato (I recommend Shibby's builds). Can be had for $90 from Canada Computers, on sale now. I got a higher end model because my old one got fried due to the flood, otherwise I would have still been using the RT-N16. Found Tomato to be a lot more stable and easier to administer than OpenWRT. DD-WRT is about as open as Microsoft code.
 
FiReSTaRT said:
Asus RT-N16.. Decent CPU, still a lot of RAM by market standards, runs Tomato (I recommend Shibby's builds). Can be had for $90 from Canada Computers, on sale now. I got a higher end model because my old one got fried due to the flood, otherwise I would have still been using the RT-N16. Found Tomato to be a lot more stable and easier to administer than OpenWRT. DD-WRT is about as open as Microsoft code.
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Firestart, what are your thoughts about this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122334

Good reviews, and it appears to be able to take any of the 3 major replacement firmwares.

And how does transmission work on Tomato? Good download speeds? Any issues?
 
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I've been using a dlink dir-825 running openwrt. Slightly faster than the Asus Rt-N16 and highly configurable. I plan on upgrading to an Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite in the near future.
 
buy the belkin n600 I think that is a dual band 300mbs
I have the play n600 wit usb port
here is why
1. there is a tomato build (double check to get the proper file)
2. if you do a bad flash it has a CIF mode that pretty much makes the unit unbrickable, you can always get back to it's basic setup from a web browser then reflash

I flashed a linksys and because I used the V2 file it bricked it with no CIFS recovery mode.

The belkin with Tomato works great.
Walmart sells them too, probably cheaper.
good luck!
 
Diesel said:
Firestart, what are your thoughts about this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122334

Good reviews, and it appears to be able to take any of the 3 major replacement firmwares.

And how does transmission work on Tomato? Good download speeds? Any issues?
Click to expand...

You get the choice between v1 and v2.. v1 has a half-decent CPU and an ok amount of RAM (about on par for modern routers), while v2 has a slower CPU but more RAM and more flash. I'd probably still go with v1. Haven't played with torrenting on my router as I got a dedicated NAS and do all my torrenting right off the desktop computer. Just the bonus points on TD (thanks :D) are enough to keep up with our demand.
 
-D- said:
buy the belkin n600 I think that is a dual band 300mbs
I have the play n600 wit usb port
here is why
1. there is a tomato build (double check to get the proper file)
2. if you do a bad flash it has a CIF mode that pretty much makes the unit unbrickable, you can always get back to it's basic setup from a web browser then reflash

I flashed a linksys and because I used the V2 file it bricked it with no CIFS recovery mode.

The belkin with Tomato works great.
Walmart sells them too, probably cheaper.
good luck!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the info D. This may very well be the way I go... for $40 tax in I won't cry too long if I did manage to brick the damn thing, and from my 5 minutes of googling it seems that many people are running Tomato USB and even a Shibby version on that router. I think I will give it a go as I doubt I can get any cheaper than that.

I also previously bricked a router.... I have a wr1043nd that I bricked with DD-WRT probably a year or 2 ago. I just today ordered a serial-usb cable to attempt to recover it, but now the specs are so low it won't be of much use other than a bridge or something even if I do get it working again.
 
Diesel said:
All of the data was corrupted. I scanned the drive for bad pixels or any other errors and all was okay, but all of the data files were garbage.
Click to expand...

Well there's your first problem... There's no pixels on a HDD.
 
Splash said:
Well there's your first problem... There's no pixels on a HDD.
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Nah
His first mistake was thinking he needed a "networking expert" to install a small piece of consumer crap on his home network.
His second mistake was wanting to put a shareable directory on his gateway device.

If the OP wants an in-expensive, secure real gateway device look at mikrotik.com. It does anything you will want, plus a lot more (it supports as many PPPoe connections as you want)... and it'll now let you hang a SMB directory. (I usually just buy the OS and put it on a junker box. The OS license is less than $50. They do sell pre-configured devices.).
 
Splash said:
Well there's your first problem... There's no pixels on a HDD.
Click to expand...

Haha... thanks... I didn't catch that, I meant sectors -- of which there were none.

And bitzz, I was using the term 'expert' a bit tongue-in-cheek -- I figured it would attract more of a positive response than Router Nerd or Router Geek or 'Hey Neckbeard, help me choose a router'. But of course someone on GTAM has to take everything literally and then be a prick about it.
 
Shaman said:
Your question isn't for router/networking experts. Yours is for enthusiast home users. Just FYI.

When you're talking under $100 that's into supernerd territory. :)
Click to expand...

I walked in here expecting an IOS question or something, heh
 
See if you can still fin a Western Digital Mybook Live in stores. The 3TB goes for around $200. I have one and I installed Transmission and an NZB downloader on it. You can actually install a bunch of software on it through a GUI installer. I also have an Open VPN server running on it as well as well.

It's got plenty of processing horsepower, I've had about 10 downloads going at once and was getting 9 MB/s downloads while streaming 1080p to a PS3 and another to a WD TV Live. WD also has a couple of mobile apps that let you access your content from anywhere without fancy router configs. Comes with a Twonky media server built as well. Really happy with my unit.
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