Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 6:10 Post subject: Airlink101 AR430W/DLINK DIR300 Installation Instructions
I just thought I'd post this for everyone as I recently went through installing DD-WRT on several Airlink 101 AR430W routers. There were a few existing guides but none of them seemed accurate/current. The DD-WRT supported hardware martrix, unfortunately, points towards the Dlink router, and a few of the other guides I ran into weren't super clear.
Here goes:
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I’m writing this document as of May 25th, 2008. I found several guides for doing the various tasks but I found none of them to be totally accurate. I’m hoping this guide will help someone get around some of the headaches I dealt with while learning to do this.
My process isn’t new, it’s taken from other people’s – but maybe the specifics are more current and the explanations a little more clear. And a little more in English. I did not include fancy screen shots or snippets of displayed text. I did this successfully with both the 5v power supply version, the one that has the little button on the right hand side of the router and the 12v power supply version that doesn’t have the little side button.
This was done with Ubuntu 7.04 – Feisty Fawn.
1. Install Putty. Putty is really good at executing the required CTRL-C to facilitate getting the Redboot prompt. Regular telnet will not work without timing the CTRL-C properly.
a. sudo apt-get install putty
2. Install tftp, tftpd, and xinetd
a. sudo apt-get install xinetd tftpd tftp
3. Configure xinetd for the tftp service
a. Create “tftp” in your /etc/xinetd.d directory, and put in:
service tftp
{
protocol = udp
port = 69
socket_type = dgram
wait = yes
user = nobody
server = /usr/sbin/in.tftpd
server_args = /tftpboot
disable = no
}
4. Create the directory /tftpboot.
a. sudo mkdir /tftproot
5. Download all of the following files from the “http://www.dd-wrt.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/v24/Atheros WiSoc/Airlink 101 AR430W” directory (the spaces are intentional).
a. ap61.ram
b. ap61.rom
c. ar430w-firmware.bin
d. linux.bin
6. Place the above files into your tftp directory – as defined by /etc/xinetd.d/tftp
a. If you used my described tftp file it will be in /tftpboot
7. Make /tftproot and all its files accessible to all, and owned by nobody.
a. sudo chown –R nobody /tftproot/
b. sudo chmod –R 777 /tftpboot/
8. Start the tftpd server
a. sudo /etc/init.d/xinetd start
9. Run an Ethernet cable from your machine to the router’s WAN port. Do not plug in the router’s power just yet.
10. Configure your machine’s Ethernet interface’s IP address to 192.168.20.80.
a. sudo ifconfig <interface_name> 192.168.20.80 up
11. In another window start pinging the router, despite it not being powered up yet.
a. ping 192.168.20.81
12. In another window type in but don’t hit Enter yet:
a. putty –P 9000 –telnet 192.168.20.81
13. While holding the reset button down plug the router in and continue to hold the reset button. At some point the ping will start returning successful, immediately let go of the reset button and execute the prepared putty command. You should see the Redboot prompt in the Putty window.
14. Load the temporary boot loader by entering the following at the Redboot prompt:
a. load ap61.ram
b. go
15. The telnet session will become disconnected, this is normal. Do not reboot the router.
16. Configure your machine’s Ethernet interface’s IP address to 192.168.1.23.
a. sudo ifconfig <interface_name> 192.168.1.23 up
17. Reconnect to the router using Putty.
a. putty –P 9000 –telnet 192.168.1.1
18. At the DD-WRT prompt type in and hit enter:
a. fconfig –i
i. hit y, accept all the defaults and y again to save the config to non volatile storage.
20. Enter the following commands in order:
a. fis init
i. hit y to continue
b. ip_address –h 192.168.1.23
c. load –r –b %{FREEMEMLO} ap61.rom
d. fis create –l 0x30000 –e 0xbfc00000 RedBoot
i. hit y to continue
e. reset
21. The router will reset. Putty back into it after it has finished resetting. Make sure your Ethernet’s interface’s IP address is still 192.168.1.23. (See above for setting IP address)
a. putty –P 9000 –telnet 192.168.1.1
22. Load the new firmware. Be patient and do not mess with the router’s power or the Ethernet connections. This may take a while – it took about 10 minutes when I did it. Type in the following at the DD-WRT prompt:
a. ip_address –h 192.168.1.23
b. load –r –b 0x80041000 linux.bin
c. fis create linux
d. fconfig boot_script true
i. hit y to continue
e. fconfig boot_script_timeout 3
i. hit y to continue
f. fconfig bootp false
i. hit y to continue
g. fconfig
i. hit enter
h. fis load –l linux
i. exec
iv. hit enter
v. hit enter enough times to accept all the defaults
vi. hit y to continue
h. reset
23. At this point you should be good to go. I did have to power cycle the router a couple of times to get it to start working correctly.
No need open a new thread.
Actually, your instruction is nothing new, just repeat the old one.
also, there two versions of AR430w , some slight differences that you don't know.
No need open a new thread.
Actually, your instruction is nothing new, just repeat the old one.
also, there two versions of AR430w , some slight differences that you don't know.
The ones that I found didn't have the current file names and didn't discuss how to get Tftp running in a clear manner. As I said, my instructions were just updates and clarifications. That thread did come up in my google search.
What are the two versions of the AR430W? I have run across two, myself, one that comes with a 5v power supply and has a little button on the side and one that has a 12v power supply and doesn't have that button. I was able to install DD-WRT on both with the same procedure. I'd like to know what other versions I may run into and what differences in procedure would be required as I have six more of these sitting, unopened, awaiting DD-WRT.
No need open a new thread.
Actually, your instruction is nothing new, just repeat the old one.
also, there two versions of AR430w , some slight differences that you don't know.
The ones that I found didn't have the current file names and didn't discuss how to get Tftp running in a clear manner. As I said, my instructions were just updates and clarifications. That thread did come up in my google search.
What are the two versions of the AR430W? I have run across two, myself, one that comes with a 5v power supply and has a little button on the side and one that has a 12v power supply and doesn't have that button. I was able to install DD-WRT on both with the same procedure. I'd like to know what other versions I may run into and what differences in procedure would be required as I have six more of these sitting, unopened, awaiting DD-WRT.
Thank you.
One of the 12v one's I bought several months ago (the only one I opened) has the button on the board, but without the case adjustment which allows external access... someone else found the same and commented on it a while back. My point is that the button may not be an especially differentiating feature, but the power supply might be. Also, the out-of-box factory firmware version might be a clue. A newer hardware version might come with the 1.01 revised firmware version preinstalled.
One of the 12v one's I bought several months ago (the only one I opened) has the button on the board, but without the case adjustment which allows external access... someone else found the same and commented on it a while back. My point is that the button may not be an especially differentiating feature, but the power supply might be. Also, the out-of-box factory firmware version might be a clue. A newer hardware version might come with the 1.01 revised firmware version preinstalled.
Clearly I'm not really familiar with this particular make of router, so help me out: What impact would these different versions have upon installing DD-WRT? Have I just gotten lucky so far?
One of the 12v one's I bought several months ago (the only one I opened) has the button on the board, but without the case adjustment which allows external access... someone else found the same and commented on it a while back. My point is that the button may not be an especially differentiating feature, but the power supply might be. Also, the out-of-box factory firmware version might be a clue. A newer hardware version might come with the 1.01 revised firmware version preinstalled.
Clearly I'm not really familiar with this particular make of router, so help me out: What impact would these different versions have upon installing DD-WRT? Have I just gotten lucky so far?
Well, I'm not sure there are major (or even any) issues with different hardware revisions, at least if there are they are not as significant as with the F*neras. It's entirely possible that someone can jump into this thread and call me ugly names for saying this, but I think the biggest issues related to dd-wrt on the AR430w has to to with the following points: 1) There are shortcomings yet to be resolved in dd-wrt itself, 2) People may be loading the AR430w version on other, similar models (AR420w, AP431w, etc.) with unpredictable results, 3) The flashing process has changed since RC7, so there is a lot of confusion between flashing a factory stock unit as opposed to a unit running RC5 thru RC6.x., 4) Catching the narrow telnet window to access Reboot on these to flash is a major Bitch for a lot of people so they tend to blame the router, and 5) The Airlink stuff is bargain priced, but hardly enterprise class performing so expectations need to be tempered accordingly!
That's my 2 cents worth on this subject!
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 5:57 Post subject: All good observations...
body-snatch-her wrote:
...I think the biggest issues related to dd-wrt on the AR430w has to to with ... 5) The Airlink stuff is bargain priced, but hardly enterprise class performing so expectations need to be tempered accordingly!
Particularly the last one mentioned...that's where my money is.
I can't imagine anyone having much expectations in performance for a router that isn't gigabit. I've considered a few times to get a gigabit switch connected and just have the router be there to handle the internet to the switch, and have the wireless I don't actually use.
Airlink's wireless N routers have gigabit though, so sure those I'd expect some speed. _________________ WRT54GL 1.1 v24 preSP2 r14896 | RNX-GX4 v24 preSP2 r14929 | 2x AR430W v24 (both bricked ATM) | 2x F*n2100 Legend Pre4.5U & v24 preSP2 r13525
4) Catching the narrow telnet window to access Reboot on these to flash is a major Bitch for a lot of people so they tend to blame the router
Yeah, I had trouble with that because I wasn't familiar with the process. I found PuTTY sends a CTRL-C when it does it's telnet protocol negotiation and when combined with a ping command I had no trouble whatsoever. That is one of the reasons I wrote up the updated instructions for the AR430W -- I'm hoping someone who is in the same shoes I was will be able to read it and save themselves the headache and frustration I went through.
@thisisunsane:
Thanks for your doc. Flashing this router was a bit frustrating compared to my Buffalo and your instructions will help others, I'm sure. Even if there are other similar (or different) instructions out there, people can consult two or more docs to 1) confirm they're doing something wrong or 2) confirm that one of the docs has an error.
body-snatch-her wrote:
"...I think the biggest issues related to dd-wrt on the AR430w has to to with ... 5) The Airlink stuff is bargain priced, but hardly enterprise class performing so expectations need to be tempered accordingly!"
@thisisunsane:Thanks for your doc. Flashing this router was a bit frustrating compared to my Buffalo and your instructions will help others, I'm sure. Even if there are other similar (or different) instructions out there, people can consult two or more docs to 1) confirm they're doing something wrong or 2) confirm that one of the docs has an error.
Saving someone the few hours of frustration I went through is all I can hope for. I dropped a link in the "Supported Hardware" table to this topic. I'd also like, if it's possible, to put it in with the files but I'm not sure how to go about doing that.
I bought an AR430W today. I was too impatient to wait until I got home (to follow your Ubuntu example). Since all we have is Windows at work, I had to find another solution, but used your steps as a guide.
I successfully flashed this using a tftp server app and putty. I like the putty recommendation since all I've been reading about is how hard it is to get into Redboot. I set the IP's, configured putty, and was able to get to RedBoot on my first try.
I bought an AR430W today. I was too impatient to wait until I got home (to follow your Ubuntu example). Since all we have is Windows at work, I had to find another solution, but used your steps as a guide.
I successfully flashed this using a tftp server app and putty. I like the putty recommendation since all I've been reading about is how hard it is to get into Redboot. I set the IP's, configured putty, and was able to get to RedBoot on my first try.
Great Success!!
Excellent, and thank you. Your experience was exactly the reason I went through the steps to update and clarify currently existing sources. This guide was born of eight hours of frustration, and I'm glad to see your experience went smoothly.
So I've successfully (i think) flashed 3 ar430w routers that I purchased from fry's. However, none of them work as a router. Is this a common problem or should I not be using these as routers with dd-wrt firmware? I believe I successfully flashed it because I can get into the WebGUI
Its a common Problem. These things have ALOT of issues with DD-WRT installed on them.
Until the devs get a fix for all this, I would stop playing with them and just wait.
So far here are the listed issues I have personally Seen with my 2 AR routers.
1. Wireless Bridge Kills Broadcom based WRT Linksys routers Setup as an AP or Internet Router with WDS enabled
2. AR's do not function as a normal Router, Constant traffic drops
3. RIP kills the routers (Found this out about 5 mins ago with J2320 Routers advertising RIP to the AR routers)
4. The Wireless is unstable, radio cuts in and out on ALL channels.
As of right now, im done with Airlink based routers. These things are garbage. After I factory flash the routers I will be returning them back to Frys for Credit.
