DD-WRT on a router connected lan-wan, is it possible (and worth it)?

[aspergyllus 0]

Hello everybody,

first of all I hope this is the right section, if not feel free to move it.

I have a modem/router my isp gave me for VDSL. I have another router, a Linksys wrt54GL, bought years ago from my previous isp. I normally run Eddie on the pc i want to connect through AirVpn, but I was thinking of running DDWRT on the Linksys for having a network already connected to AirVpn, so that I just connect and it's fine (think about my family being able to use the Vpn without having to know how to use Eddie). Now, I was thinking of a way to have 2 wireless networks, the first being the normal one, coming from ISP router, and the second one being given by the Linksys, that is connected to Air servers. I want the VPN? Connect to "linksys". Want my normal connection and ip? Connect to the other Wifi network.

I'm not really practical with those things, so I would really appreciate your help. I don't want to be too long, so I'll sum up in points, so that is easier to answer:

1) Is it possible to do what I'm talking about? If so, is it worth it? I don't know what speed could be reached, I know my Linksys is up to 54Mbit, my connection is a 100Mbit but even getting a reachable maximum (depending on server load and stuff) of 50Mbit would be cool anyway but if speeds must be around something like 7-8Mbit due to the nature of the connection (OpenVPN on router instead on a device) then maybe it's a loss of time.

2) I searched on the Internet and I think that what I would need is a LAN-WAN connection (Lan on router/modem, Wan on Linksys), am I right? Because a LAN-LAN would create a unique wireless network, if I understood right.

 

Those must be stupid questions, but I never played with routers before and I'm afraid to brick everything

Thanks,

Good day everybody!

[go558a83nk 364]

you can certainly do this but you're correct in thinking that with that router openvpn speeds will be very slow.

[LZ1 673]

Hello !

 

I think you should see about getting DDWRT on your router first, which you can do by checking the DDWRT webpage and trying to find your router in the compatibility/router database section. This alone, if it works, will improve your router immensly, simply due to the expanded options you get. However if you're running a standard router, especially one from your ISP, I don't think any one of us here would recommend that you try to run a VPN on it. It's not due to the speed of your connection as much as it is due to the speed of the router CPU: most commercial routers aren't very capable when it comes to running a VPN on it and thus you might suffer some pretty poor performance. So if you don't need more than 3 devices connected, then it's better to just install Eddie on each respective client. However it is of course possible to get a setup which works with OpenVPN on a router, but I think that if it's going to work and work well, you should consider a router upgrade and perhaps looking into things like pfSense software - there's a link to a mini-PC called the Zbox Nano, in my guide, which is an example of a PC which would run OpenVPN very well when coupled with a pfSense solution. Although this is quite a bit more involved.

 

Don't feel bad about asking. It's absolutely fine. I encourage you to play around, by firstly seeing if your router is compatible with DDWRT to begin with. If it is, you can attempt an install, which is pretty straightforward in most cases I think.

[aspergyllus 0]

Thanks for the answer unfortunately I cannot change my "first router", the one given by my isp, because if I do so I would lose Voip (they don't give the credential so I could not set it up in another router). More, it runs a branded firmware, with little customization and remotely controlled (for firmware updates and stuff) and so I can't run OpenVPN on it. This is why my dear old Linksys came to my mind, even though the probable little speed makes it not a suitable option. I will maybe try it with ddwrt anyway, just to see how it works 

 

About the Zbox CI323 nano, I looked at it and it's pretty nice! You were talking about using PfSense on it, which is, if I got it right, a firewall with the possibility to configure a VPN (with OpenVPN in our case). So, it doesn't replace the Zbox OS, it's a software running on the Zbox's OS, right? Does the Zbox work as a hotspot for other devices that connect to it, creating its own network that passes then trough the (only and main) router? If so, is it like running Eddie on the Zbox and connecting a device to it?

[LZ1 673]

Oh by the way, hahaha I just noticed the router model ! That's a time-honored one you got there .

Your "first router" - do you mean your modem? Haha. Your ISP sounds quite restrictive. It's precisely because of branded firmware that DDWRT and others exist haha .

Also yes, pfSense is a firewall. If you scroll to the bottom of my guide, to the how-to section, you can find a link to a guide on using it. Perhaps you should direct your pfSense questions there . Let's just say that I'd be quite surprised if the Zbox didn't have the ability to create hotspots lol.

[aspergyllus 0]

Oh by the way, hahaha I just noticed the router model ! That's a time-honored one you got there .

Your "first router" - do you mean your modem? Haha. Your ISP sounds quite restrictive. It's precisely because of branded firmware that DDWRT and others exist haha .

Also yes, pfSense is a firewall. If you scroll to the bottom of my guide, to the how-to section, you can find a link to a guide on using it. Perhaps you should direct your pfSense questions there . Let's just say that I'd be quite surprised if the Zbox didn't have the ability to create hotspots lol.

Lol that's so noob, I know. Thanks for your time, and great guide btw! see ya!

[LZ1 673]

Haha, it's okay to be a noob. It's all about what attitude you adopt while you are one, in my view.

 

If you have other questions, don't hesitate to ask the community!

 

And thank you