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| Belkin F7D7301 |
Belkin F7D7301 Specs:
- Broadcom BCM4716 CPU @ 450mhz
- 64MB Ram
- 8MB Flash
- 32K NVRAM
- Wireless N 2.4GHZ radio (up to 300mbps), 2 internal antennas
- 5 Gigabit Ethernet ports (1 WAN, 4 LAN)
- 2x usb ports
- Supports DD-WRT and OPTWARE
DD-WRT
DD-WRT is easy to install, I tried to follow the instructions from trythistv.com, but I couldn't get to the CFE page, probably needed a hub, so I just uploaded the mini version from the Belkin firmware upgrade page. It worked just fine. After it rebooted I put a Kong build on it (r22200/usb-ftp-samba3-dlna-nv32k-broadcom.bin). That worked too. I did my normal config run through.
Config
Note: I recommend you investigate and test each option for yourself, I may be doing something stupid in here and not know it. YMMV
Basic Setup Page:
Basic Setup Page:
I use a slightly different ip range on my internal network, so I set that up
I use DD-WRT to cache DNS requests, so I turn on local-dns and add my router IP to the first static DNS (I don't know if it's needed or not). I check "Use DNSMasq for DHCP", "Use DNSMasq for DNS" and "DHCP Authoritative".
I set up the NTP for my timezone and use "0.north-america.pool.ntp.org" as the server.
Wireless Basic Page:
In Wireless it defaults to channel 6 (my neighbor is on 6), I use 40mhz width, upper extension channel and 11 as the channel. NOTE: You need to do it in that order and press save each time you change one of these settings, it will reset and / or not show options if you don't. (that really aggravated me until i figured it out)
Wireless Security Page:
WPA2 Personal, TKIP+AES
Wireless Advanced:
I'm using the defaults at the moment, I've barely started tweaking these yet.
Services Page:
I enable "DNSMasq", "Local DNS", and "No DNS Rebind".
I add:
cache-size=2000
no-negcache
to Additional DNSMasq Options
USB Page:
I Enable "Core USB", "USB Storage", "Automatic Drive Mount"
OPTWARE
Disk:
I used a 4gb thumbdrive with a ~3GB and a ~500MB partition.
The 3GB is ext2 and the Label is "Optware"
The 500MB is Linux-Swap and the label is "Swap"
DD-WRT detects and mounts them properly to /opt and as swap.
Install:
First I used "Optware The Right Way", got it all going and realized it was outdated and there is now "Optware The Right Way , Take 2". So I re-did it with that. It went smoothly, I enabled the services I wanted (with the "service" command). Disabled the one that oddly comes enabled that I don't think should: "Transmission", the bittorrent client.
Well I tried to anyway, I stopped it, turned it off, and rebooted. It seemed fine, but something was using 100% of the cpu. It was "gunzip" trying to extract "level1.gz", the bittorent block list. I tried to stop it, but it refused, it kept coming back whenever I rebooted. So I figured I'd just let it run. 5hrs later the CPU was still pegged at 100% with "gunzip level1.gz" at the top of "top". I don't need bittorrent at all, I don't use it, and if I did I'd use it on my little server that runs 24/7 anyway. I figured I'd uninstall it. "ipkg" complained it needed jffs, nope wrong command. "opkg" claimed there were no packages installed. It was opkg on atheros, I thought it was ipkg on broadcom. So a bit of hunting and I found it was "ipkg-opt". I removed Transmission, rebooted and now it's apparently enabled as a service again, but at least it's not hogging the cpu anymore. Why won't it go away?
Services I am trying at the moment:
Asiablock
Stophammer
Fixtables
pixelserv
I tried mypage, which is cool, but seems to be a bit of a resource hog so I disabled it, I can turn it on if I need info from it.
I tried mypage, which is cool, but seems to be a bit of a resource hog so I disabled it, I can turn it on if I need info from it.
Wall Mount
One other issue I had with the Belkin is it only has a stand on the bottom. The buffalo would mount neatly to the wall. I removed the stand, bent a little piece of metal I had lying around to attach the Belkin to the wall. It's not pretty, but it works (and the bracket's out of sight).
Notes:
- I think the Kong stuff is now in the main DD-WRT source, so I don't know what the best place to get a build is anymore. (probably not a kong build anymore, Arhhh)
- I'm sure there are some errors in here, I don't mess with routers much (as long as they work right?).
Links
Thanks! DD-WRT and OPTWARE folks! Thanks to you we can turn a crappy router into an awesome router, basically a miniature, full featured, headless server!
