OpenWrt

OpenWrt: installing dig from opkg

For troubleshooting DNS issues, running the dig utility directly from OpenWrt can be essential.  This is easily done by installing the ‘bind-dig’ package as shown below. opkg update opkg install bind-dig

OpenWrt: bridge VLAN filtering for OpenWrt 21.x with DSA, isolated guest Wi-Fi

There were significant changes made to VLAN configuration between OpenWrt 19.x and 21.x.  Also, many of the target chipset were migrated from swconfig to DSA (Distributed Switch Architecture), which introduced differences in bridging. In this article, I will create a set of VLAN for my OpenWrt 21.x DSA-enabled router with isolated guest Wi-Fi networks. I OpenWrt: bridge VLAN filtering for OpenWrt 21.x with DSA, isolated guest Wi-Fi

OpenWrt: upgrading to latest version when chipset migrated to DSA support

Starting with OpenWrt 21, a specific list of chipsets starting using DSA (Distributed Switch Architecture) from the Linux kernel instead of swconfig.  This significantly changes the way switches and vlan are handled in OpenWrt, and therefore system configurations cannot always be migrated. Trying to run sysupgrade on a chipset that is changing from swconfig to OpenWrt: upgrading to latest version when chipset migrated to DSA support

OpenWrt: Installing tcpdump from opkg

For troubleshooting deep rooted network issues, you may be accustomed to using tcpdump against a network interface on Linux. This same utility can be used on OpenWrt to troubleshoot network issues.   The Opkg Package manager makes this easy to install.

OpenWrt: Installing LuCI Web Interface after Deploying latest OpenWrt Image

The stable OpenWrt images are built with LuCI, an OpenWrt web administration interface.  But if you are using the bleeding edge or trunk OpenWrt images, then you won’t get this package. Luckily, it is not difficult to add the LuCI package to the install.  As long as you have Dropbear enabled for ssh access, or OpenWrt: Installing LuCI Web Interface after Deploying latest OpenWrt Image

OpenWrt: Installing a TFTP Server on Ubuntu for OpenWrt Firmware Updates

The Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) is an extremely simple protocol most often used for network booting strategies, such as PXE and flashing OpenWrt images unto consumer routers. I go over full instructions for flashing OpenWrt using Ubuntu and flashing a sysupgrade in another post, this article will focus specifically on setting up a tftp OpenWrt: Installing a TFTP Server on Ubuntu for OpenWrt Firmware Updates

OpenWrt: Use setenv firmwareName for newer versions of Linksys WRT1900AC/S

When flashing an OpenWrt image to your newer versioned WRT1900AC/S, be aware that instead of using ‘setenv firmware_name’, you should instead use ‘setenv firmwareName’. The command will not fail, but the router will not understand that it should look for a non-default name for the image and your tftp transfer will fail. This change appears OpenWrt: Use setenv firmwareName for newer versions of Linksys WRT1900AC/S