Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 0:54 Post subject: Installing X86 64Bit DD-WRT
Hi
I have downloaded and installed an image successfully on a 64 Bit PC. I used the
' dd-wrt_x64_public_vga.image ' image (I got it at ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/07-19-2017-r32753/x86_64/dd-wrt_x64_public_vga.image). I do not want to have to use 'command line' to tweak all the iptables etc so I am wondering if there is a better image out there that would provide me with the Browser Interface to allow Web Browser Administration for the Router Settings. Thanks...
Robert
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 14:32 Post subject: Getting Internet Access
Hi
I have installed ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2017/07-19-2017-r32753/x86_64/dd-wrt_x64_public_vga.image on a 64 bit PC. I am unable to get access to my router (I am connected directly by a Cat6 cable). Is there a help file or tutorial on how to get an internet/router connection. There appears to be no GUI and I am not familiar with the linux distro layout used by dd-wrt. I know it uses busybox but I see no way to get connected. It just continuously spews a line like "gethostbyname: Resource Temporarily Unavailable. I cannot even use 'vi' as it gets clobbered by the above message repeatly presented to the screen. Any help would be appreciated.
Robert
Joined: 31 Jan 2012 Posts: 88 Location: North Carolina
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:10 Post subject:
Connect to it from another PC by going to 192.168.1.1.
WAN is disabled by default so you have to go to the setup tab and set it likely to "Automatic Configuration - DHCP."
[quote="boochi99"]Connect to it from another PC by going to 192.168.1.1.
WAN is disabled by default so you have to go to the setup tab and set it likely to "Automatic Configuration - DHCP."[/quote
Hi boochi99
Thanks for that info. I am just wondering if I login using Telnet where do I find the 'setup tab'? I now understand about the WAN settings.
Robert
Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:15 Post subject: Re: Getting Internet Access
eibgrad wrote:
I assume you're using a PC w/ dual NICs. Are you sure your client is connected to the LAN NIC and not the WAN NIC? Much easier to make that kind of mistake w/ a PC-based router given the NICs aren't labeled. And as Boochi99 says, the WAN is disabled by default (not sure why).
Yes, I have a second NIC card in addition to the Onboard one. I bought the Model Number TG-3468 unit. When I logon the unit itself (as root) and run 'ifconfig' it only sees one. I am not sure which one but it is pingable. I have tried both over the last while but no joy.
I am using a Laptop (unfortunately windows) wired to attach and try to connect to the unit. I would not have thought of the WAN being disabled, thanks to 'boochi99' and yourself, I now understand that. I am not sure how to tell which is LAN NIC and which is WAN NIC. I am not that familiar with the OS which I have put on my unit (mentioned earlier on in this thread). I know it uses 'busybox' and has a shortage of functions compared to a Linux Distro. Is there any Documentation for how to get the additional NIC card installed and ready to be logged into, from the unit itself. I am somewhat lost in setting up networks using Command Line Interface. I have used an HP 8200 Elite SFF as my experimental unit. It was a Refurb and because it was a Business unit it may have some BIOS setting I am not aware of that may prevent adding cards or something. I will check the BIOS later. Anyway I certainly appreciate any help you can give me, and thanks.
I proved that the NIC card that is showing up is the On Board one. I took out the PcieX one and rebooted. Hence the Second NIC card is not showing up when running 'ifconfig'.
There's no guarantee that any given NIC will work w/ the x86 version of dd-wrt and your hardware. Just like any system you build yourself, you have to verify the drivers are available and will work for the additional NIC. That's why I tend to stick w/ Intel NICs whenever possible. In my case, I just gambled w/ a TP-Link NIC I found @ Frys and found it to work on my hardware, even w/ pfSense. Just lucky. But normally I would have taken more care to make sure the NIC was known to be compatible w/ both the OS and hardware.
OK. First 'does the PC Hardware have anything whatsoever to do with whether a particular NIC Card will work with it?
Second If a NIC card works with a given piece of hardware, using say Fedora or Ubuntu, should it work with DD-WRT OS (possibly version number specific), in my case 07-19-2017-r32753. Third Is there a Checklist available for NIC cards and DD-WRT OS versions for the DD-WRT X86 64, where one can find out which ones work and which ones do not. I understand your reference to Intel NIC cards and I guess they may work better on average. I guess that the DD-WRT OS is too primitive to allow one to add drivers somehow using an install package manager of some kind. I will keep plodding along and thanks for your help.
Joined: 31 Jan 2012 Posts: 88 Location: North Carolina
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 20:14 Post subject:
Have you thought about running dd-wrt under a hypervisor? You could see if you can get both NIC's to be recognized under ESXi. Knowing the chipset on the NIC will help if it is not recognized as there are community work arounds to get them going. You could set up a virtual switch to share between the ESXi management interface and your LAN and use the other as your WAN.
I am running under ESXi, but I have six intel NIC's with four of them running under PCI passthru. The system is completely stable and I can easily switch between dd-wrt, pfSense, OpenSense and OpenWRT-LEDE in less than a minute.
Have you thought about running dd-wrt under a hypervisor? You could see if you can get both NIC's to be recognized under ESXi. Knowing the chipset on the NIC will help if it is not recognized as there are community work arounds to get them going. You could set up a virtual switch to share between the ESXi management interface and your LAN and use the other as your WAN.
I am running under ESXi, but I have six intel NIC's with four of them running under PCI passthru. The system is completely stable and I can easily switch between dd-wrt, pfSense, OpenSense and OpenWRT-LEDE in less than a minute.
Hi boochi99
I thank you for your post. I have thought of that possibility and I may at sometime pursue that approach. I have some experience with VirtualBox and Win7 under a couple of my Fedora 24 machines. It works well and Networking seems seamless. I have purchased an Intel Adapter (at amaazon) for the machine I have mentioned herein. It will no doubt work and possibly solve my issue. I also have several other Computers which are running on AMD hardware (using Linux Fedora 24) which may be different and possibly better towards the TP-Link adapter. I am aware of the paucity of Drivers over the years for anything Linux (thank you microshaft). I went online and found someone who used the specific Intel Adapter, on a Linux system, so it may fix my problem.
I like to understand the specifics of what is going on when I delve into a new experiment. As such I look for Documentation and Recipes for getting things going. This forum has been very helpful in that regard. I will repost here once I get it all up and running to add further to the knowledge base. Thanks again for your help.
Robert
Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:45 Post subject: At it again.
Hi
I have been away from this project for awhile. I purchased a new Intel Lan Card and installed it into my unit. I am trying to get back up to where I was previously. Is it possible to run functions that are missing from the OS, from a USB Stick? I am using DD-WRT V3.0-r32753 std, if that means anything towards what is missing.
I am not sure just what this means. How would I install drivers into this OS, even if I could get them for Linux for this new Intel Adapter? I seem unable to copy anything to the OS as it is mounted 'read only'. There are a very limited bunch of functions available in this OS to do any poking around, it seems.
Any help would be appreciated...
Robert
Install that to your USB stick. The USB stick should be at least 2GB or larger. You can use https://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php to write the Dd-wrt image to USB stick.
Then pop that USB stick into your DD-wrt system. And boot from it. Now remember this you can't boot this with a high performance video card it will green screen and reboot. It likes the onboard video system or low end video card in 256mb or less.
There is no need to install drivers if the cards and hardware is supported it will work. I recommend Intel Lan cards for performance but the Realtek 8169SC or RTL8168C or RTL8111C works. Then once you see the DD-wrt Screen boot up with a prompt. Connect a working computer by a 5 port or 8 port switch or a router with its DHCP turned off so it functions like a switch. Then try one of the lan adapters and access its Webgui page at 192.168.1.1 with your internet browser. It will let you access its setup page if you want to use it like a router enable WAN on the setup page and then go to save and apply and reboot your modem while rebooting the DD-wrt system. Once everything is completed booting up you should have working internet. You have to reboot the cable modem every time you swap the Ethernet cable to a different NIC card because the modem locks the IP address to the NIC card's Mac address.
Install that to your USB stick. The USB stick should be at least 2GB or larger. You can use https://m0n0.ch/wall/physdiskwrite.php to write the Dd-wrt image to USB stick.
Then pop that USB stick into your DD-wrt system. And boot from it. Now remember this you can't boot this with a high performance video card it will green screen and reboot. It likes the onboard video system or low end video card in 256mb or less.
There is no need to install drivers if the cards and hardware is supported it will work. I recommend Intel Lan cards for performance but the Realtek 8169SC or RTL8168C or RTL8111C works. Then once you see the DD-wrt Screen boot up with a prompt. Connect a working computer by a 5 port or 8 port switch or a router with its DHCP turned off so it functions like a switch. Then try one of the lan adapters and access its Webgui page at 192.168.1.1 with your internet browser. It will let you access its setup page if you want to use it like a router enable WAN on the setup page and then go to save and apply and reboot your modem while rebooting the DD-wrt system. Once everything is completed booting up you should have working internet. You have to reboot the cable modem every time you swap the Ethernet cable to a different NIC card because the modem locks the IP address to the NIC card's Mac address.
Hi flood404
Thank you so much for this post. I am carefully reading your post and trying to follow what you are saying. I will lay out what I believe to be what you are saying. This is for my own understanding. Everything you posted is quite clear so here goes.
I keep the DD-WRT system that I have already installed on a PC (as my target PC to be used as a Router unit). Using the ftp download I put that image onto a USB stick. I boot from this USB stick on the same computer that I have my DD-WRT system already installed on.
Now connect a separate working computer (not the DD-WRT mentioned above) using its NIC, through a Switch. Once the DD-WRT (on the USB Stick) comes up to a command prompt. Open the Browser on the 'separate working computer'. I go to 192.168.1.1 and it should open a WebGui interface. Since this is connected to the DD-WRT Target Machine, it should allow me to make changes to its settings vis-a-vis this interface. Once the changes are complete 'save and apply' then exit.
Now I should be able to connect my (target PC to be used as a Router unit) to the Internet and be able to get connected just like any regular computer. Since I would be using a 5 port switch (and not a Router with DHCP disabled) should I have to "reboot the cable modem (in my case a switch) every time you swap the Ethernet cable to a different NIC card because the modem locks the IP address to the NIC card's Mac address." ?
Maybe I cannot use a 'switch' as the smarts in the Modem/Router are required to get the job done? Does the Switch (or if necessary Modem/Router) have to be connected to the Internet throughout the entire process or can it just be connected at the end?
I am so pleased to get this thorough information on how to get the DD-WRT x86_64 setup. Do not take offense to my restating what you posted as I sometimes get things confused:)
Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2019 5:13 Post subject: x86_64 Setup Diagram
Hi flood404
I just received notice of your post. The diagram straightens out a lot of the issues I did not understand. Thank you. I have been side tracked on another project and haven't spent much time on this one. I can now get back to it and I totally understand the diagram.
I hope to get back to this setup over the winter and I will follow your diagram. I will pass for now on the very kind offer to setup a NAS. As I proceed I may get back to you with my progress.
Have a great day and thanks again...
Robert
Ok if you never plan on using the NAS features you just need a basic Dual core system with 2GB ram or more. If you ever do plan on installing a hard disk for storage for NAS you will want a good fast cpu and 6Gb or more of ram.
Now if you did not want to use a WIFI router for WIFI access and want WIFI directly from this PC system running dd-wrt. Your going to have to buy an Atheros Based WIFI adapters. You will need two of them for the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz bands. 1 WIFI adapter can't do both bands. Also you have to install the paid version which includes WIFI support. The free version has no WIFI support enabled. Also the Free version only has 4096 ports that can be used at once instead of 65335 ports that TCP/IP can allow. This is why I have a WIFI routers so I did not have to buy additional hardware or guess which cards are supported.
Also I forgot to mention once you have DD-WRT running an enabled WAN connection from 192.168.1.1 dd-wrt configuration page and save and apply settings. Your going to have to power cycle the modem. The ISP's lock the WAN ip to the MAC address of what it was connected to and changing devices on the modem on the fly is not allowed. Your forced to power cycle the modem to get your DD-WRT system online.
The oldest system I ran DD-WRT on was a Pentium III at 550MHz coppermine on a Dell L550R which I did get a 1GHz Pentium III cpu on that system down the road. I had 256MB ram PC133 ram and no NAS or anything. I did have Gigabit PCI cards connected to the system. It handled the 100Mbps connection I got from the ISP perfectly. Had 7 computers connected and few cell phones all hammering on it. I think it would have handled 200 to 500Mbps at best. I was running Ares and uTorrent until they started to hand out DMCA notices. I was burning out consumer routers right and left from constant utorrent use and got tired of spending $80 every 6 months for a replacement router. A computer can take the beating and still work fine. The only issue I had is when I went to a socket 775 that was working on a prayer because it was abused and it was a low end motherboard that only supported Conroe and Prescott processors. It was freezing up just being in bios settings when I stopped using it after 2 years of use. So I built a new system from a Dell Studio 540 motherboard. I had 0 issues with this system and it only cost me $26 from Ebay just for the motherboard. I had everything else laying around from upgrades.