Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router by Linksys
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Digital camera reviews of Cisco-Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G Broadband Router
Digital camera Review: A Route to my Heart
Summary: 4 Stars
Fantastic little router. I suspect they keep the classic old blue in production just for "haxors" such as myself, because this guy runs the Tomato firmware like a champ. Obvious drawbacks are the lack of Wireless N connectivity and ethernet ports that only run at 10/100, but those minor dings still won't keep me from wholeheartedly recommending this router.Digital camera Review: A Step Back - A Step Up!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had the dlink draft n router that about every 2 hours would stop working and the router would have to be unplugged and reset - then it would work fine for another couple hours and then the same thing over again. A real pain to say the least! - so we replaced with this Linksys router. Have had it a couple weeks and haven't had to reset once!! Not quite as fast as draft N, but much better because it actually works all the time! Would highly recommend this router.Digital camera Review: A classic.. And a great product...
Summary: 5 Stars
The WRT54GL is essentially a reissue of the original and classic WRT54G router that LinkSys started selling in 2003. It is bullet-proof reliable and simply the most upgradeable router you can buy. You can not only purchase high gain antennas to increase its range, but it has the widest number of open source firmware options of any wireless router. I purchased mine and then replaced the factory LinkSys firmware with open source DD-WRT, which allowed me to increase the power output on the antenna and offered other advanced features. My wireless router is now used by my iPhone, a wireless printer and wireless laptop, and is wire-connected to a PC and a Sony PS3. It works perfectly and its throughput is excellent. I never have to reboot this router, as I have had to do with newer LinkSys 802.11n models. And I personally like the classic and timeless industrial design of this router over the newer "Darth Vader" designs that LinkSys has put out.
Obviously the big downside of this router is that it predates the newer 802.11n or "N-wireless" protocol. I'm a fairly tech-savvy user who always likes to get the latest and greatest in terms of equipment, but I've owned 802.11n routers and I always come back to this router because of its rock-solid reliability. What most people don't understand is that for most users, the true "bottleneck" of their wireless network is their connection to the Internet and not the speed of their wireless router. I use Comcast cable for my Internet connection, which is pretty fast (averaging about 8.5 mbps), but the LinkSys WRT54GL router can send and receive data at several times the speed of my Internet connection. That means that even if I had a newer 802.11n wireless router, or even plugged my devices into the network through a wired connection, they would not connect to the Internet any faster then they do through the WRT54GL because the WRT54GL's speed still exceeds the speed of my Internet connection. For me, the illusory benefits of 802.11n simply do not outweigh the proven reliability and expandability of the WRT54GL.
** UPDATE 05/22/2010 **
I have to add one caveat to my review above; having the newer 802.11n may have an additional benefit that I did not mention earlier. I recently moved to a crowded metropolitan area in a building with a lot of tenants. The result is that there are now 25 wireless points/routers within close range of my unit (operated by neighbors) that are sharing the frequency bands of my WRT54GL. The result is substantial interference and moderate to significant performance degradation. A lot of these are DSL customers who have wireless routers. I am seriously considering switching to 802.11n simply because it runs at a different frequency (5 GHZ) than 802.11g and is far less prevalent (at least today), which may result in a lot less interference and less performance degradation.
Digital camera Review: A dependable and rock solid 5 year old router
Summary: 5 Stars
Much of it has been said, so I won't repeat everything that is being said and done on the Intertubes. I have the WRT54G v2, which is the same of the WRT54GL. It's a valid point I guess.
- Stability:
What I must add to the crowd of 5-star rating is that it is dependable and is rock solid. It just goes running 24/7, and keeps going with no stability issues, no lock-ups, nothing. And most important (and common with other routers): no wireless drop outs. I once ran it for 2 or 3 months I guess, only to be stopped by an energy blackout.
Mine is 5 years old (and a few months), and I still use it for routing my home network. I have 3 computers, 1 media player, 1 media server and 1 wireless extender, all together sharing a broadband connection. It handles the load just fine, streaming high bitrate content on wired is perfect. True, the router is very outdated by today's standards (think wifi range and speed), but the fact that I still use it --- if only for routing and handling load --- tells how dependable the box is. You "set and forget", no checking, no rebooting, nothing. The fame is due.
I bought other routers, and some with the same or similar platform (Buffalo WHR-HP-G54), but they were not as stable as this one. No wonder those always find a way being just an AP, while the WRT keeps routing and doing the hard work.
- Features:
Granted, I have a 3rd party firmware on it (have used OpenWrt and DD-WRT, now on Tomato), but that's what is good about it. QoS, "access restriction" (on/off schedule for wifi), dynamic DNS, time server or any other custom task (if you have the Linux skills) you can imagine. People run everything on them. What I do here is just the "surface" of what can be "scratched".
- Cons:
The outdated specs. No N, of course, range and speed seems to be on the bad side.
- Support:
Years ago, when I didn't know about 3rd party firmwares (that was 2005), I was having a problem with dropped Internet connection. The Linksys support on the web was quick and solved the problem (config). Mind you, after that I never used the support again, so I don't know if Linksys support is still good (or if it ever was and I was just lucky). Not knowing is, of course, a good thing in this case, and speaks favorably for the router.
- Final thoughts:
That's about it. Buying many things that promise more and deliver less, I'm rarely enthusiastic with electronics, but this one is a winner. Also, not trying other firmwares on this does not do it justice. Installing a 3rd party firmware is also much easier than it used to be, so anyone with reasonable knowledge and the ability to read instructions exactly as written can do it. I didn't search much lately, so I don't think if we have a comparable, proven and trusted 11n kit like the WRT was with 11g.
I give it 5 stars, period. No footnotes, no asterisks, no nonsense.
Digital camera Review: A good router capable of greatness
Summary: 5 Stars
The Linksys WRT54GL router is a very capable router out of the box. I cannot attest to Linksys Firmwares operation or stability. I can, however, confidently state that this router, coupled with the Tomato Firmware is by far the best SOHO router I have ever worked with. I received the Version 1.1 of this router and loaded it with Tomato immediately. Be aware that doing this most assuredly voids your warranty, but it is well worth it. I am running Tomato 1.19 but he is up to version 1.20 though as of this writing. I have experience with numerous routers from several manufacturers. Nothing compares to the Linksys WRT54GL and Tomato.