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| Network Everywhere NWR11B - need hacked firmware! Ok, interesting situation. I picked up a LinkSys/Network Everywhere 802.11b wireless router + cardbus NIC kit package. I've since learned that the router is running Linux, on a 200Mhz MIPS CPU, it's a Realtek RTL8181-based OEM setup.
Now, LinkSys/NetworkEverywhere have basically totally disavowed ever making this thing, there is no mention on either of their web sites, no firmware updates, nada.
I find that interesting, since the firmware is Linux-based, and therefore GPL, and therefore should have the source available on LinkSys's GPL code download site. Since they dont, LinkSys is AGAIN violating the GPL... but I digress.
From what I have been able to ascertain, this OEM design platform is also utilized by a number of other wireless router/APs, Edimax, Minitar, OvisLink, and some others. Additionally, the OEM Realtek firmware versions 1.5 and up, in all three configurations (router, AP, bridge), includes support for WDS. I *want* WDS.
Unfortunately, due to LinkSys completely dropping support for this product and attempting to annihilate the existance of such off of the face of the planet (I guess? Google doesn't turn up much of anything on it, so I'm guessing that LinkSys has paid Google to filter it from their search results), I'm asking here. The "stock" firmware is a pathetic 1.00.4 on this thing.
Firstly, does anyone know how to get the NWR11B to accept a non-linksys RTL8181 firmware? Secondly, and this goes out to the Sveasoft guys, are there any 3rd-party hacked Linux-based firmwares for this thing? As I understand it, both the LinkSys WRT54Gv2/GS, and the NWR11B run on 200Mhz MIPS R3000-compatible processors, so it theoretically wouldn't be all that hard to create a version of their router Linux distro for this one too, I think.
Ideas?
PS. I *also* have a LinkSys WRT54G, and am hoping, when all is said and done, to get them both talking in WDS mode to each other, if this is at all possible. Thanks in advance. | | |
|
 grcoreChallenge Accepted
join:2003-12-06
usa
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| Re: Network Everywhere NWR11B - need hacked firmwa maybe one of these are the same?
»rtl8181.sourceforge.net/rtl8181_devices.php
I did notice on the Linksys support comments page there is a selection for the NWR11B, but I dont know if they would repond to that or not.
»www.linksys.com/support/comments2.asp
G | |
| reply to VirtualLarry
Re: Network Everywhere NWR11B - need hacked firmware! I have the same router package (router and wireless pcmcia) and have the same problem, upon visiting »www.networkeverywhere.com/ I found that the particular model doesn't exist. I was actually fooled to begin with because I normally only buy linksys and the box layouts look nearly identical and were sitting together. The router itself is decent accept the firmware can't be updated since I can't find any to update it with. The page doesn't even list this model number, I've tried to email the company numerous times, each time my email being returned to me 4 days later stating there was no delivery point. I think I will take this piece of trash back to walmart and get a real linksys router, the wireless card bonus is not worth the aggrivation this product has brought me. | |
grcoreChallenge Accepted
join:2003-12-06
usa | reply to VirtualLarry
Checked the whois on www.nerworkeverywhere.com
Registrant:
Cisco-Linksys LLC (DOM-343777)
170 W. Tasman Drive
San Jose CA 95134-1706
US
Domain Name: networkeverywhere.com | |
| Since I posted last, I've been in contact with Linksys. They seem to avoid giving me information about WHY that router doesn't seem to exist, but they do tell me there's no firmware updates for it or anything of that nature. They do provide support for it thought. What I thought was strange is that when I initially contacted linksys, they seemed unaware of my particular model number. They expected "04" not "11". Anyway, after all that BS I took the thing back to the store and returned it, then purchased a Linksys Wireless-B Router. I am happy again. | |
| Re: Network Everywhere NWR11B - need hacked firmwa said by srelysian:
Since I posted last, I've been in contact with Linksys. They seem to avoid giving me information about WHY that router doesn't seem to exist
Probably due to strong guidance from their legal dept. Hardware-wise, it's actually a quite powerful and apparently capable router, as much or moreso than their higher-end, all-singing, all-dancing 'g' models. (Except that this one only supports 'b' speeds.)
said by srelysian:
but they do tell me there's no firmware updates for it or anything of that nature.
Of course not. Because if they offered a binary, they would have to offer the GPL'ed source to go with it. They think that as long as the only GPL'ed code being used is embedded inside the device, and as long as no-one can fish it out, then they won't be forced to provide the source. To be fair, Realtek is the real GPL-violating culprit here, but because LinkSys is still selling them under their name at retail, I would think that they are also liable to the GPL licensing provisions. (IANAL though.)
However, the LinkSys firmware is different enough from the OEM Realtek (and similar enough to other LinkSys routers, at least in features and UI), that .. I forgot where I was going with that thought. But there are numerous updates to the OEM Realtek firmware, including things like support for WDS mode. It's a shame that LinkSys isn't releasing updates with their own "tweaks", based on the updated OEM codebase. It would make this a very nice and powerful wireless router indeed! (Probably why LinkSys doesn't - because it would favoribly compete against their higher-end models, and make them look like garbage in the features dept. by comparison.)
said by srelysian:
They do provide support for it thought. What I thought was strange is that when I initially contacted linksys, they seemed unaware of my particular model number. They expected "04" not "11". Anyway, after all that BS I took the thing back to the store and returned it, then purchased a Linksys Wireless-B Router. I am happy again.
Well, IMHO, the "11" is more powerful, hardware-wise, than their newer models, but unfortunately, in the state that it is in now, it is a lot less capable as well. I wish that there were some way to get a shell with the current old LinkSys firmware, so that I could try brute-force flashing of some of the OEM Realtek firmwares onto the device.
I just think that it is so, so strange, that Google turned up nearly *nothing* on this router. It is my suspicion that LinkSys paid off Google to remove it from their search results, as they are known to do in certain cases.
Hopefully this thread will help re-kindle some interest in hacking this particular router.
PS. I have physically disassembled mine, and can conclusively verify that it is indeed the Realtek 8181 OEM design inside. It has two SDRAM chips, which I think means that it supports 32-bit-wide DRAM access, like the majority of Reaktek 8181 designs, but unlike the popular Minitar model.
The only real drawback that I can see, is that the NWR11B only has one antenna attached, which would be a major disadvantage, speed-wise, when operating in WDS mode. | |
Wilmot
join:2004-09-17
Vanier, ON | Is this the card in question?
»www.futureshop.ca/catalog/prodde···=fsweb18
Thanks. | |
 koma3504AdvocatePremium
join:2004-06-22
North Richland Hills, TX | here is what i found on it
»ftp://ftp.networkeverywhere.com/
»duress.collord.net/node/view/165
»melbourne.wireless.vic.asn.au/wiki/?minitar
»melbourne.wireless.org.au/
»www.hotbot.com/default.asp?query···u=&date= | |
| reply to VirtualLarry
Re: Network Everywhere NWR11B - need hacked firmware! Hello, I did not check to see how old this post was, but I did find it interesting to see that my cheap NWR11B wal-mart wireless router is regarded by a few of you folks to be quite a buy.
I did some research for you folks to see if I could find the ROOT of the processor chip. I was able to track the chip's assembly code maker back to Altera, which is the leading company in FPGAs and CPLDs. I realize you folks are looking for a Linux kernal to upgrade your router with, but has anyone thought to take it a step further, and drop it down to assembly level? At this level you have full control of the pins and the CPU's functions, you can tell the processor exactly what you want it to do.
According to the processor specifications, this processor has an on board UART interface, which means you would be able to connect your serial port to this chip.
The actual chip maker is Lexra (LX5280 32-bit RISC CPU). It seems that Realtek simply wrote the code and assembled the chipset. The good news to all of this is that one could probably change the code with-in the processor by using a JTAG cable connected to the UART of the chip. To me, the chip looks like an FPGA with a embedded CPU, with most FPGAs you have to hold the runtime program inside of an external EEPROM, which may be the 2 memory chips that somebody mentioned earlier. One would have to crossreference the 2 memory chips to see if they were RAM chips, or EEPROM chips as this would make a big difference in how to proceed with programming. If it is RAM, then the chip would almost certainly have some kind of on-board space where the program resides, this may make it a CPLD with an embedded processor. Very few FPGAs can hold their own program within the chip. I guess what I am getting at here is that this chip is simply an average DSP chip that can be reprogrammed. The development tools are FREE from Altera, as long as, you make them think you are a business when you register for the download.
Another thing, for the conspiracy theory, when I did a google search for Lexra LX5280 32-bit RISC CPU, i found a webpage that linked to an Altera site, guess what? that site is not there anymore! So I then did a google search for the HTML file that used to be on the Altera site, and I found the following;
»web.archive.org/web/200101161750···ml#note1
»web.archive.org/web/200101161729···180.html
TADAAAA!
There are some other interesting sites regarding these chips, the main key words are "Lexra LX5280 32-bit RISC CPU Altera Realtek 8181" I will see what I can do with respect to retrieveing the code from the Lexra processor in my unit; this can be done as long as they did not set the security bit when they downloaded the code. I am sort of new to FPGA and CPLD programming so it would take me a little time before I could come up with any reliable code, bear with me and expect more posts. LF | |
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