[conspire] Converting a Linksys WRT54G version (something) to OpenWrt

[Rick Moen]

On a hunch, I telephoned Kai, and I was correct in guessing that she's 
been completely off the Internet, having disconnected the
security-compromised Linksys wireless router from the Internet.  So, we
chatted.

It turns out, the hardware in question is a Linksys WRT54G2 v. 1.0.
That's unfortunate, because it's low-end hardware with problems.
Comparing it with the Linksys that CABAL uses:

                          CABAL's                    Kai's
                          -------                    ------
Model                     WRT54G v.3.0               WRT54G2 v. 1.0
RAM                       16 MB                      16 MB
Firmware (mass storage)    4 MB                       2 MB
CPU                       Broadcom 4712 @ 200 MHz    Broadcom 5354 @ 240 MHz
Wireless chip             Broadcom 2050KML           Broadcom SoC
USB ports                 none                       none
Operating system          Linux distro from Linksys, VxWorks
                          reflashed to OpenWrt

('SoC' means System on Chip, i.e., the wireless circuitry is
VLSI-integrated with the CPU and ethernet switching circuitry into a
single chip that does everything.)

The problematic points are (1) only 2 MB of flash, and (2) VxWorks.
That amount of storage is so tiny that the only compatible Linux
firmware options are DD-WRT's micro, or micro-plus, or micro-plus w/SSH
images, and their use of VxWorks means it can be flashed with DD-WRT
only using a special tftp.exe utility for MS-Windows.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Linksys_WRT54G2

Kai has decided to take my advice and sell the WRT54G2, and instead buy
a less-limited replacement.  She intends to shop on Newegg, checking out
possibilities on OpenWrt's supported hardware listings.

I advised her that a 'wishlist' unit would look like this:

RAM:  32-64 MB
Flash:  15 MB
Wireless chip: Atheros
USB ports:  2 HiSpeed USB

...but that anything similar to what CABAL runs, with supported
chipsets, is good enough.