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List of router firmware projects
open-in-new
<h2 id="embedded">Embedded</h2> <p>Notable <a href="/facts/Custom_firmware/a131obIQ">custom-firmware</a> projects for <a href="/facts/Wireless_router/E1ye7RVV">wireless routers</a>. Many of these will run on various brands such as Linksys, Asus, Netgear, etc. </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/OpenWrt/3VYxerTY">OpenWrt</a> – Customizable <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source_software/1cHtjLCB">FOSS</a> firmware written from scratch; features a combined <a href="/facts/SquashFS/shx5yhCv">SquashFS</a>/<a href="/facts/JFFS2/DBtCSotT">JFFS2</a> file system and the package manager opkg<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> with over 3000 available packages (Linux/<a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GPL</a>); now merged with <a href="/facts/LEDE/3VYxerTY">LEDE</a>. <ul><li><a href="/facts/LEDE/3VYxerTY">LEDE</a> – A fork of the OpenWrt project that shared many of the same goals; merged back into <a href="/facts/OpenWrt/3VYxerTY">OpenWrt</a> as of <a href="/facts/OpenWrt/3VYxerTY">v. 18.06 (2018)</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Commotion_Wireless/hL5yHdXd">Commotion Wireless</a> – FOSS mesh networking.</li> <li><a href="/facts/DD-WRT/t44AIwoJ">DD-WRT</a> – Based on OpenWrt kernel since v. 23 (Dec. 2005), paid and free versions available.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Gargoyle_(router_firmware)/1Kvc6DxX">Gargoyle</a> – A free OpenWrt-based Linux distribution for a range of Broadcom and Atheros chipset based wireless routers.</li> <li><a href="/facts/LibreCMC/nBWIgHsY">LibreCMC</a> – An <a href="/facts/Free_Software_Foundation/k0sBmw7y">FSF</a>-endorsed derivation of OpenWRT with the proprietary blobs removed<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Roofnet/H8qQDw50">Roofnet</a> – A now defunct experimental 802.11 based mesh network project developed at the <a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a> <a href="/facts/Computer_Science_and_Artificial_Intelligence_Laboratory/mTg66jb9">Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory</a>. The technology developed by the Roofnet project formed the basis for the company <a href="/facts/Cisco_Meraki/zW6fFl22">Meraki</a>, now owned by <a href="/facts/Cisco/ocDgQt6T">Cisco</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/DebWRT/Jja6pYf2">DebWRT</a> – A discontinued project that combines the Linux kernel from <a href="/facts/OpenWrt/3VYxerTY">OpenWrt</a> and the <a href="/facts/Package_management_system/kEX4kx7g">package management system</a> from <a href="/facts/Debian/cBd93qfJ">Debian</a> (Linux/GPL).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/HyperWRT/VqEKC1b3">HyperWRT</a> – Early power-boosting firmware project to stay close to the official <a href="/facts/Linksys_WRT54G_series/pftXSlBt">WRT54G and WRT54GS</a> firmware but add features such as transmit power, port triggers, scripts, telnet, etc. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Tomato_(firmware)/Mnknge1W">Tomato</a> – The successor to HyperWRT, features advanced QoS as well as <a href="/facts/Ajax_(programming)/cS0P0whT">Ajax</a> and <a href="/facts/Scalable_Vector_Graphics/ARq5C3YV">SVG</a> graphs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> <ul><li>Asuswrt <ul><li>Asuswrt-Merlin<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> <h2 id="other">Other</h2> <p>Software distributions for <a href="/facts/Router_(computing)/Nh5cIyVf">routers</a> with >5 GB Storage and >1 GB RAM </p> <h3><a href="/facts/FreeBSD/RKsFTm7F">FreeBSD</a></h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/M0n0wall/mbf7bevJ">m0n0wall</a> - m0n0wall is abandoned, but it was built on FreeBSD and boots off of flash storage or CD ROM media in under 12 megabytes. <ul><li><a href="/facts/Pfsense/mNDfgUbA">pfsense</a> - a fork of m0n0wall. <ul><li><a href="/facts/OPNsense/Gc6FYnj0">OPNsense</a> - a fork of pfSense.</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> <h3><a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a></h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Zeroshell/QsuND1qB">Zeroshell</a> – Routers and bridges with VPN, QoS, load balancing and other functions</li> <li><a href="/facts/IPFire/0SjYM7X3">IPFire</a> - Advanced firmware written from scratch with customizable firewall and optional packages in the form of add ons.</li> <li>TNSR - Router software from <a href="/facts/Netgate/mNDfgUbA">Netgate</a> (originally based on <a href="/facts/CentOS/FGGc2cIx">CentOS</a> <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>, however recent versions are based on <a href="/facts/Ubuntu/0WDd7hkb">Ubuntu</a> <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>) that incorporates <a href="/facts/Vector_Packet_Processing/23rTXjXC">Vector Packet Processing</a>, <a href="/facts/Data_Plane_Development_Kit/wCqkrmw3">Data Plane Development Kit</a>, <a href="/facts/FRRouting/TS9Xxt0B">FRRouting</a>, and Clixon technologies.</li> <li><a href="/facts/VyOS/PvC7GYda">VyOS</a> - Open source network operating system based on <a href="/facts/Debian/cBd93qfJ">Debian</a> <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Comparison_of_router_software_projects/xultF1pT">Comparison of router software projects</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Debian/cBd93qfJ">Debian</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/FreeBSD/RKsFTm7F">FreeBSD</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Kali_Linux/zYbzlyuW">Kali Linux</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Linux_kernel/dlkduHuA">Linux kernel</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_router_and_firewall_distributions/W78STEQ4">List of router and firewall distributions</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/OpenBSD/xmPS9tek">OpenBSD</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Outline_of_software/Io5nV0wn">Outline of software</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Outline_of_free_software/5dpqNAUF">Outline of free software</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/NetBSD/PTm5HWls">NetBSD</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tails_(operating_system)/bef2bJpk">Tails</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Henry, Alan (2015-04-01). <a href="https://lifehacker.com/how-to-choose-the-best-firmware-to-supercharge-your-wi-1694982764">"How to Choose the Best Firmware to Supercharge Your Wi-Fi Router"</a>. <i><a href="/facts/Lifehacker/ry9fQhw9">Lifehacker</a></i>. <a href="/facts/Gawker_Media/89KGCsK4">Gawker Media</a>. Retrieved 2016-06-16.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"OpenWrt – Wireless Freedom". OpenWrt.org. Retrieved 2008-02-22. <a href="http://openwrt.org/" target="_blank">http://openwrt.org/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"DD-WRT project site". DD-WRT.com. Retrieved 2008-02-22. <a href="http://www.dd-wrt.com/" target="_blank">http://www.dd-wrt.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Free GNU/Linux distributions". GNU.org. Retrieved 2015-05-20. <a href="https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html" target="_blank">https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"DebWRT project site". DebWRT.net. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2010-07-28. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110719154853/http://www.debwrt.net/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110719154853/http://www.debwrt.net/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Fresh Tomato project site". freshtomato.org. Retrieved 2019-04-22. <a href="http://freshtomato.org//" target="_blank">http://freshtomato.org//</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Home | Asuswrt-Merlin". www.asuswrt-merlin.net. Retrieved 2023-01-21. <a href="https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/" target="_blank">https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>