Free WIFI World 

1. Reset your router to factory defaults. Whether your router is currently running stock firmware or an alternative like DD-WRT, set it back to defaults either through the administration menu (on Linksys, Administration/Factory Defaults), or pressing and holding the recessed reset button on the back for 30 seconds.

 

2. Connect to your router with a wired connection, via one of its LAN ports. Never flash your router's firmware over a wireless link. Doom awaits!

 

3. Disable any firewall or wireless adapters on your PC, so that they don't interfere with your wired connection to the router.

 

4. Be sure to use a modern browser like Firefox, IE6+, Opera 9, or Safari. The Tomato firmware uses lots of fancy modern Javascript, which your browser needs to support.

 

5. Log in to your router's administration page. For Linksys routers this is usuallyhttp://192.168.1.1 — other models may vary. Click through to the administration page, which usually has an area for upgrading your firmware. The exact menu names vary by model—for Linksys firmware, it is usuallyAdministration/Firmware Upgrade.

 

6. Click to choose a firmware upgrade file, and navigate to the correct .bin file for your router model from the Tomato archive.

 

7. During the upgrade process, leave your computer and the router to mate in peace. You don't want to do anything that might interrupt the flashing and potentially damage your router, so just leave it alone for a couple of minutes. When flashing is complete, the router will reboot and you will need to reconnect your browser to it.

 

Tomato's default address is http://192.168.1.1.When the router reboots with Tomato installed, the default login will be root/admin. Note to users upgrading from DD-WRT V23+, you won't be able to log in to Tomato using these credentials until you perform another hardware reset on the router by pressing the reset button. (All this and more is covered in the handy readme file you were encouraged to read earlier.) Users with Buffalo-brand routers must consult the readme file, because there may be extra steps needed, particularly if you are flashing from Buffalo stock firmware.

 

First look

While DD-WRT presents a veritable geek's paradise of menus and options, the Tomato interface is sleek almost to the point of minimalism. While form does not necessarily equal function, the aesthetic difference between Tomato and DD-WRT is representative of the differing philosophies of these two firmware: whereas DD-WRT packs in nearly every configuration option under the sun, Tomato is slimmed down and accessible, although still highly functional.

 

Like all router firmware, Tomato covers the basics—support for Internet access via DHCP/PPPoE/Static/PPTP/L2TP. You can configure wireless with security using WEP/WPA/WPA2 and Radius. Wireless mode supports 14 channels, although it should be noted that using channels higher than 11 may run afoul of regulations in some countries.

 

Tomato's wireless mode supports WDS, letting you connect it to additional wireless routers to increase your range. You can also flip the wireless radio into client mode to create a wireless client or bridge, in which case the router is not broadcasting wireless but receiving it, letting you attach cabled devices to another access point wirelessly.

 

Like some other firmware, Tomato supports dynamic DNS (DDNS) services. Most home broadband users do not enjoy a static IP address for external access to their LAN. Web services like No-IP and DynDNS let you create a public domain (like "joespc.dyndns.org") and update it with your current IP address.

 

Tomato supports an extensive list of DDNS services.Again, users of DD-WRT will find all this familiar. For Tomato enthusiasts, two major features that really set it apart are its bandwidth monitoring and Quality of Service (QoS) management.

 

Tomato tracks all incoming and outgoing traffic and, using SVG (scalable vector graphics), generates a live map of bandwidth usage. You can view real-time bandwidth activity, or summaries from the past 24 hours, days, weeks, or months. The bandwidth monitor is both visually slick and easy to interpret. Why should you care? Increasingly, broadband providers are introducing transfer limits (or "caps") on customers. For many of us, it will soon be in our best interests to track our own usage, both to avoid incurring overage charges, and perhaps to contest potentially inaccurate tallies provided by the ISP.

 

Managing bandwidth goes beyond traffic totals. The fact is, some kinds of network traffic are more important than others—your VoIP calls and gaming action need to get through faster than, say, bittorrent transfers. QoS, or Quality of Service, is a system for classifying and discriminating traffic inside your own LAN for maximum performance.

 

Tomato offers a very comprehensive set of QoS tools, allowing you to define a large range of inbound and outbound classes, and assigning types of traffic to these classes. Although you can describe network traffic by parameters like port and protocol, Tomato also includes an extensive list of canned traffic, from Skype to World of Warcraft, for easy classification. Like overall bandwidth, QoS traffic can be viewed in graph form.

 

DD-WRT, too, offers QoS management. Tomato's version is, to some, easier to manage. And, although these reports are anecdotal, user sentiment suggests that Tomato's QoS may work better and more efficiently than that found in DD-WRT. No doubt there are happy DD-WRT users who will disagree, but since both firmware are free, if you have had difficulties wrangling DD-WRT's QoS then Tomato may be worth a try.

 

The Tomato interface can be customized through the choice of several templates ("Tomato," "Pumpkin," "Olive," etc.), or you can supply your own custom CSS file. But beyond mere looks, the neat thing about Tomato is that it relies on AJAX for most configuration changes, meaning that you hardly ever need to reboot the router after changing settings. Fact is, the same cannot be said of DD-WRT.