4 ms·

What exactly are the benefits of having Openwrt installed on your router? What additional functionality does it provide the average HN user?

mangix 7y ago
Similar to desktop Linux, there is a package manager. Meaning you can install packages like samba, openvpn, etc... There's also a security aspect to it. Stock firmware typically uses outdated and unsupported kernels.
swatthatfly 7y ago
Encrypt VPN traffic for the whole house, instead of by device. My router didn't support this out of the box.
- danielhlockard 7y ago
  This will be terribly slow with most routers btw. They don't have enough CPU to do all that crypto
jotm 7y ago
Compared to most stock router firmware? It is fast, and more stable. May be the updated drivers or the removed junk, but WiFi, NAT and USB speeds are better on all the routers I had (my first step - install Openwrt, DD-wrt or Tomato). And no latency spikes. Lots of configuration options, extra capabilities via packages, and it can run for months without losing speed, losing the connection, becoming non-responsive or rebooting.
mopsi 7y ago
It's much more configurable than stock software. Even the cheapest devices support VLANs and multiple wireless networks on hardware level (useful for isolating private / iot / guest parts of the network), but stock software usually does not expose such advanced features.
dredmorbius 7y ago
Vastly more power and flexibility, with a highly usable Web interface (LUCI) and console access. Regular updates. Excellent documentation. https://openwrt.org/docs/start https://openwrt.org/docs/start And a whole set of packed applications and tools. There are about 6,000 packages in total, ranging from device-specific and kernel support to advanced applications such as media servers. Link below is just the larger apps. https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/start https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/start Re-romming my DSL modem (500 Mhz dual-core CPU, 64 MB RAM, 8 MB Flash), as advantages over stock vendor firmware, I get: - SSH access, rather than periodically-enabled telnet - adblock - remote logging capabilities. - performance and activity monitoring. - consistent interface with my router (also running OpenWRT). - Full-featured shell tools rathee than barebones Busybox versions, if I like. - Remote filesystems / additional storage. Depending on your device(s) and capabilities, your modem, router, or other hardware can serve as a home server: NAS, UuuNextCloud, Webserver, VOIP services, media server, PXEBoot (useful for testing images/deployments), guest network(s), VPN, proxy servers, email, mesh networks, messaging, captive portals, and far more.
- foresto 7y ago
  > Regular updates. ...and continued updates for much longer than you will get from most manufacturers.

mangix 7y ago

Similar to desktop Linux, there is a package manager. Meaning you can install packages like samba, openvpn, etc... There's also a security aspect to it. Stock firmware typically uses outdated and unsupported kernels.

swatthatfly 7y ago

Encrypt VPN traffic for the whole house, instead of by device. My router didn't support this out of the box.

danielhlockard 7y ago
This will be terribly slow with most routers btw. They don't have enough CPU to do all that crypto

jotm 7y ago

Compared to most stock router firmware? It is fast, and more stable. May be the updated drivers or the removed junk, but WiFi, NAT and USB speeds are better on all the routers I had (my first step - install Openwrt, DD-wrt or Tomato). And no latency spikes. Lots of configuration options, extra capabilities via packages, and it can run for months without losing speed, losing the connection, becoming non-responsive or rebooting.

mopsi 7y ago

It's much more configurable than stock software. Even the cheapest devices support VLANs and multiple wireless networks on hardware level (useful for isolating private / iot / guest parts of the network), but stock software usually does not expose such advanced features.

dredmorbius 7y ago

Vastly more power and flexibility, with a highly usable Web interface (LUCI) and console access. Regular updates. Excellent documentation. https://openwrt.org/docs/start https://openwrt.org/docs/start And a whole set of packed applications and tools. There are about 6,000 packages in total, ranging from device-specific and kernel support to advanced applications such as media servers. Link below is just the larger apps. https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/start https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/services/start Re-romming my DSL modem (500 Mhz dual-core CPU, 64 MB RAM, 8 MB Flash), as advantages over stock vendor firmware, I get: - SSH access, rather than periodically-enabled telnet - adblock - remote logging capabilities. - performance and activity monitoring. - consistent interface with my router (also running OpenWRT). - Full-featured shell tools rathee than barebones Busybox versions, if I like. - Remote filesystems / additional storage. Depending on your device(s) and capabilities, your modem, router, or other hardware can serve as a home server: NAS, UuuNextCloud, Webserver, VOIP services, media server, PXEBoot (useful for testing images/deployments), guest network(s), VPN, proxy servers, email, mesh networks, messaging, captive portals, and far more.

foresto 7y ago
> Regular updates. ...and continued updates for much longer than you will get from most manufacturers.