Need a more flexible router device for home network

Hello,

I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS and
DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS from
DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no external
connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host names. I am
currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok for my needs
but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP should be on the
same appliance where the switch and router are because any other
computer on the network can be switched off.

Any ideas?

-Pavel

Pavel wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS
> and DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS
> from DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no
> external connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host
> names. I am currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok
> for my needs but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP
> should be on the same appliance where the switch and router are
> because any other computer on the network can be switched off.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> -Pavel

Depending on what model of Linksys router you have you may be able to
upgrade it to dd-wrt, a 3rd party router software (firmware). It is free
for your use and can be found at http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/

Another 3rd party upgrade that can be considered is Tomato, again provided
your router is in the supported category. It can be found at
http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.

Check out the features these two software packages offer. If your present
device does not qualify you might find it worth purchasing a used router
that does meet the specifications and loading the firmware into it or
purchasing one on EBay that has already been upgraded with it.

On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:39:35 -0500, Pavel
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Hello,
>
>I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS and
>DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS from
>DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no external
>connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host names. I am
>currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok for my needs
>but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP should be on the
>same appliance where the switch and router are because any other
>computer on the network can be switched off.
>
>Any ideas?
>
>-Pavel

I agree with GlowingBlueMist in recommending dd-wrt for someone asking
the kinds of questions you're asking, (increased networking
functionality), but having said that, I can't say that I understand
your question.

You want a centralized DHCP server - every NAT router already has
that, so there's no need to upgrade anything to get it.

You want a centralized DNS server, but it's for LAN only, no WAN
connectivity required or desired. To my knowledge, DNS isn't used
within a LAN, so I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with
this requirement.

Pavel wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS and
> DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS from
> DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no external
> connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host names. I am
> currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok for my needs
> but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP should be on the
> same appliance where the switch and router are because any other
> computer on the network can be switched off.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> -Pavel
Hi,
Considered dd-wrt firmware? Find a router compatible with full dd-wrt
and you can do a lot with it. I use standard dd-wrt(latest version).
I wish my router had bigger memory.

GlowingBlueMist wrote:
> Pavel wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS
>> and DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS
>> from DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no
>> external connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host
>> names. I am currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok
>> for my needs but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP
>> should be on the same appliance where the switch and router are
>> because any other computer on the network can be switched off.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>
>> -Pavel
>
> Depending on what model of Linksys router you have you may be able to
> upgrade it to dd-wrt, a 3rd party router software (firmware). It is free
> for your use and can be found at http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/
>
> Another 3rd party upgrade that can be considered is Tomato, again provided
> your router is in the supported category. It can be found at
> http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.
>
> Check out the features these two software packages offer. If your present
> device does not qualify you might find it worth purchasing a used router
> that does meet the specifications and loading the firmware into it or
> purchasing one on EBay that has already been upgraded with it.
Thanks! I heard of dd-wrt before but at first sight I could not figure
out if the feature I need is there and now I seem to see it:

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

Will get a supported LinsSys (my current one is not supported but will
keep it as a backup for a while in case things go ugly..) and try..

-Pavel

Tony Hwang wrote:
> Pavel wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS and
>> DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS from
>> DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no external
>> connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host names. I am
>> currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok for my needs
>> but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP should be on the
>> same appliance where the switch and router are because any other
>> computer on the network can be switched off.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>
>> -Pavel
> Hi,
> Considered dd-wrt firmware? Find a router compatible with full dd-wrt
> and you can do a lot with it. I use standard dd-wrt(latest version).
> I wish my router had bigger memory.
Yeah, the feature seems to be there:
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...as_DHCP_server

Char Jackson wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:39:35 -0500, Pavel
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS and
>> DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS from
>> DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no external
>> connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host names. I am
>> currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok for my needs
>> but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP should be on the
>> same appliance where the switch and router are because any other
>> computer on the network can be switched off.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>
>> -Pavel
>
> I agree with GlowingBlueMist in recommending dd-wrt for someone asking
> the kinds of questions you're asking, (increased networking
> functionality), but having said that, I can't say that I understand
> your question.
>
> You want a centralized DHCP server - every NAT router already has
> that, so there's no need to upgrade anything to get it.
>
> You want a centralized DNS server, but it's for LAN only, no WAN
> connectivity required or desired. To my knowledge, DNS isn't used
> within a LAN, so I'm not sure what you're trying to accomplish with
> this requirement.
It is usually not used but I need that and not only that: I want DHCP to
update DNS records as new leases are given to hosts (DHCP server knows
the client hosts names -- I can even see it in my current LinkSys's
lease table). See here:

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

it says among the others:

"An added advantage is that DNSMasq can intelligently add DHCP leases to
its DNS database, providing local name lookups for any DHCP client,
static or dynamic. "

sounds exactly like what I am looking for.. will see if it works as
advertised..

Pavel wrote:
> GlowingBlueMist wrote:
>> Pavel wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS
>>> and DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update
>>> DNS from DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network
>>> (no external connectivity is required or desired) and access them
>>> by host names. I am currently running old wired LinkSys which is
>>> otherwise ok for my needs but does not have this feature. Ideally
>>> DNS and DHCP should be on the same appliance where the switch and
>>> router are because any other computer on the network can be
>>> switched off. Any ideas?
>>>
>>> -Pavel
>>
>> Depending on what model of Linksys router you have you may be able to
>> upgrade it to dd-wrt, a 3rd party router software (firmware). It is
>> free for your use and can be found at http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/
>>
>> Another 3rd party upgrade that can be considered is Tomato, again
>> provided your router is in the supported category. It can be found
>> at http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.
>>
>> Check out the features these two software packages offer. If your
>> present device does not qualify you might find it worth purchasing a
>> used router that does meet the specifications and loading the
>> firmware into it or purchasing one on EBay that has already been
>> upgraded with it.
> Thanks! I heard of dd-wrt before but at first sight I could not figure
> out if the feature I need is there and now I seem to see it:
>
> http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...as_DHCP_server
>
> Will get a supported LinsSys (my current one is not supported but will
> keep it as a backup for a while in case things go ugly..) and try..
>
> -Pavel

The router models very quite a bit in memory size. I'd make sure to get one
that has the maximum capacity so you can have the most flexibility in the
software features you can install.

Another thing is to check the list of compatible routers as Linksys is not
the only brand that is supported by dd-wrt. You might get lucky and find
one of the other brands at a lower cost with the capacity you want, not that
anything is wrong with Linksys.

GlowingBlueMist wrote:
> Pavel wrote:
>> GlowingBlueMist wrote:
>>> Pavel wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>>
>>>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS
>>>> and DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update
>>>> DNS from DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network
>>>> (no external connectivity is required or desired) and access them
>>>> by host names. I am currently running old wired LinkSys which is
>>>> otherwise ok for my needs but does not have this feature. Ideally
>>>> DNS and DHCP should be on the same appliance where the switch and
>>>> router are because any other computer on the network can be
>>>> switched off. Any ideas?
>>>>
>>>> -Pavel
>>>
>>> Depending on what model of Linksys router you have you may be able to
>>> upgrade it to dd-wrt, a 3rd party router software (firmware). It is
>>> free for your use and can be found at http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/
>>>
>>> Another 3rd party upgrade that can be considered is Tomato, again
>>> provided your router is in the supported category. It can be found
>>> at http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.
>>>
>>> Check out the features these two software packages offer. If your
>>> present device does not qualify you might find it worth purchasing a
>>> used router that does meet the specifications and loading the
>>> firmware into it or purchasing one on EBay that has already been
>>> upgraded with it.
>> Thanks! I heard of dd-wrt before but at first sight I could not figure
>> out if the feature I need is there and now I seem to see it:
>>
>> http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...as_DHCP_server
>>
>> Will get a supported LinsSys (my current one is not supported but will
>> keep it as a backup for a while in case things go ugly..) and try..
>>
>> -Pavel
>
> The router models very quite a bit in memory size. I'd make sure to get one
> that has the maximum capacity so you can have the most flexibility in the
> software features you can install.
>
> Another thing is to check the list of compatible routers as Linksys is not
> the only brand that is supported by dd-wrt. You might get lucky and find
> one of the other brands at a lower cost with the capacity you want, not that
> anything is wrong with Linksys.
>
>
Thanks! I think I will get myself LinkSys WRT54GL unless you or someone
on the group had issues with this model and dd-wrt. And it looks
precisely like my old guy, BEFSR41 except for those ugly antennas (for
which I hope to find a way to turn them off anyway...)

It's 16 MB and 4MB flash, dd-wrt seems to support it without
reservations (the table on Wiki says "any" for "dd-wrt version required"
whereas for some other routers with 8MB it says "mini only").

Just found out NewEgg runs a great discount on it -- will get it for
$54.95 and free shipping (the tag is 79.99).

Wish me luck.. this will be my first time with 3rd-party router firmware.

-Pavel

Pavel wrote:
> GlowingBlueMist wrote:
>> Pavel wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> I would like to replace my router with something that could run DNS
>>> and DHCP servers for my internal network and automatically update DNS
>>> from DHCP so that I could run services on my internal network (no
>>> external connectivity is required or desired) and access them by host
>>> names. I am currently running old wired LinkSys which is otherwise ok
>>> for my needs but does not have this feature. Ideally DNS and DHCP
>>> should be on the same appliance where the switch and router are
>>> because any other computer on the network can be switched off.
>>>
>>> Any ideas?
>>>
>>> -Pavel
>>
>> Depending on what model of Linksys router you have you may be able to
>> upgrade it to dd-wrt, a 3rd party router software (firmware). It is free
>> for your use and can be found at http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/
>>
>> Another 3rd party upgrade that can be considered is Tomato, again
>> provided
>> your router is in the supported category. It can be found at
>> http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato.
>>
>> Check out the features these two software packages offer. If your present
>> device does not qualify you might find it worth purchasing a used router
>> that does meet the specifications and loading the firmware into it or
>> purchasing one on EBay that has already been upgraded with it.
> Thanks! I heard of dd-wrt before but at first sight I could not figure
> out if the feature I need is there and now I seem to see it:
>
> http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...as_DHCP_server
>
> Will get a supported LinsSys (my current one is not supported but will
> keep it as a backup for a while in case things go ugly..) and try..
>
> -Pavel
Hi,
Go to dd-wrt site and peruse for one with most memory to load full
featured version dd-wrt.