[iwkse]

Hi all,

I have a router Linksys wrt54GL and i've installed on it dd-wrt firmware.
I'd really like to be able to install and run some applications on it (squid and something else) so i was searching a way to plug a storage device as an hard disk to the router.
Do you think it's possible to get something like this:

1. Get a Lan-to-Usb adaptor
2. Get a Usb Hard disk

and being able to mount it and install all the stuff i need?

Any help is appreciated

[technik733]

No such thing as a "Lan to USB" adapter, and there never will be. There is something called a NAS device which is effectively just a file server and a hard drive. Don't think that's what you're trying to do though.

If you're trying to add real USB support it'll have to use GPIO pins, and will be exceedingly difficult. I don't think they even have the same signaling voltage. 3.3v and 5v respectively, right?

You could use an NAS or any NFS server as remote storage if you wanted though. I don't know where the wiki article is but I'm sure it exists. Problem is that you need another box on all the time.

[ZAmodeo]

Have a look at this little gadget.
http://www.addonics.com/products/nas/nasu2.asp
If you use the SMB server feature, you may be able to use it as a network filesystem on DD-WRT and run the applications you want that way... But I'm not sure if that will work. Just a tip to help you get started

[Aristar]

sorry for reviving old post but it's high in google results still.

on the cheap, you can mod an Xbox into a NAS server (that most of us have laying around collecting dust). I put GentooX on mine and installed a 200GB hard drive and modded a USB port onto it. you can set up samba and have DD-WRT mount the FTP root over network too even. though sucks that USB is only 1.1 not 2.0 so no good performance from USB hard disks but it's still a possibility.

[madman999]

alot has changed in 2 years. now there are many routers with USB ports already built in and DD-WRT supports them pretty well now. Plus there are alot of simple NAS devices out now with basically a network port and sata connection. I created a nice FreeNas server that runs off an old computer and boots off a USB stick.

I never tried it but since there is a CIFS automount client built in, i would think you could use it to mount a CIFS/Samba/Windows Share from another computer.

[matthacker]

For what it's worth, it IS possible to mod up to two USB ports into the WRT54G/GL/GS series as long as it has a minimum of 4MB flash. I know because I have done it to my WRT54G-TM. However, there are caveats:

* It either doesn't support USB 2.0 (only 1.1), or the resistors on the board need to be changed to the correct value for it. I only needed really basic cellular/UMTS and less CPU-intensive flash memory than the SD mod, so I didn't care enough to find out.
* The board has no 5 volt buck converter, only 3.3 volts, so you need to hack in your own. Don't use a linear regulator; it will get HOT and use too much current from the PSU!
* You need to cut a hole in the case and glue the ports in. This may look ugly and reduce the resale value of the router, if you care. I don't.

If you want quick and easy, buy a router with USB already built-in. Personally, I use a Cisco-Linksys E3000 when I need decent USB support. Cheaper models with USB exist.

I'm searching for pics and links right now. I'll edit this post as I find them.

EDIT: Here's how to add USB to WRT54G rev 2, the procedure is substantially the same for GL/v4/-TM: http://woodhousellc.com/?p=30

more details (this forum): http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=64931&postdays=0&postorder=asc

EDIT2: This may sound obvious, but this is a procedure that should be performed by those with at least some soldering and hardware modification experience. If you don't fit that description, you should probably just go to the store and buy a new router. These old models are quite obsolete anyway.