I found a DD-WRT wireless router that I found from Asus that I wanna buy and turn into a bridge. Meets all my specs other than being a bridge, but for $60 and being DD-WRT I don't have to worry about that.
Apparently, if you get some heatsinks for safety, you can overclock the CPU from 480MHz to 532MHz and the memory from 240MHz to 266MHz.
Not that I am going to, but what kind of benefits does one get from an overclocked router?
LOL wow not a clue. Reboots faster??
You do realize that RARELY do consumer routers ever work @ the wire speed they are rated for, correct?Originally Posted by red_dog007
When you start applying filters and such to the traffic and/or adding additional functionality to the router; it taxes more of the processor. This is why in the commercial space, they will actually come out and state the max throughput, vpn throughput, etc etc.
Since the ASICs in them are generic, they typically clock limit them to reduce their heat output and increase their life as much as possible... The Linksys NSLU2 storage adapter is a perfect example... The processor only runs @ 133Mhz, but runs 266Mhz in a cinch!
I'm actually awaiting a package from the Brown Santa, as my ASA firewall needs more memory to run everything I need it to.
Unless you plan to run all of the ports at near full speed or use the traffic management features extensively, little benefit comes from over-clocking. If you are running a datacenter where routing speed would be an issue, you aren't using consumer routers. Connecting 2-3 computers to a cable modem really doesn't test a router's packet pushing ability.
That's funny, because if that were true, every wireless access point would run at full spec, barring the software is not what's holding it back. But even with DD-WRT and similar, there is disparity across different hardware.
If you can increase the pps, it also opens the door for less issues with torrents and the ilk. And it's not like every router out there performs well with faster connections. Otherwise, every router with 100Mbit on its WAN interface would be able to function smootly @ 100Mbps; but the fact of the matter is that all do not.
Now, if you're running a garden vanilla OEM firmware on your router, you'd likely never encounter an issue like that. But, with DD-WRT, the likelyhood that you'll begin running additional services that the router was not initially designed (IE: clocked) for increases, and the list is plenty! (http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php...RT%3F#Features)
So to so quickly dismiss the potential need for overclocking the processor and memory is either ignoring the facts or general ignorance of the technology.
Well I very much doubt you'll overwhelm your router with a home LAN unless you hook up various devices all copying files from each other over Ethernet, and even then I doubt it. You might improve throughput slightly by overclocking but it won't be anything to write home about.
The most taxing task it does is packet inspection at OSI layer 3 (network layer) - namely routing and firewall related packet inspection.
Let's go over this again... Consumer routers, for the most part, are typically underpowered to begin with. They're given just enough oomph to get the job done. They do what they're shipped from the factory to do. And as many sites that review home networking products regularly show, that just because a device is rated at a speed, doesn't mean that it can maintain it. Hell, many consumer routers that have integrated switches use the same ethernet ASIC for the switch, regardless of whether it's designed for a single, four, five, eight ports or MORE! They stretch the hardware as far as it can possibly be stretched, because it means larger profit margins to a market that will likely never push the device to the deficiency becoming apparent.
Now, the overclocking feature of DD-WRT... Oh wait, we're no longer on a factory firmware! ([ban]) We're discussing a customized one that offers a multitude of functionality BEYOND what the device it installed on is designed for! So short of buying a better device as you add more functionality that puts more of a load on the hardware, you can overclock the system to some degree.
Nobody claimed it was some massive improvement, etc. The OP asked what purpose it would serve; and all you and TurtleBay have done is dismiss it as irrelevant without taking into account HOW and WHY, so you might as well have not responded to the thread... because you didn't answer his question at all! [thumbdown]
In simple and honest words.
a) Will overclocking my router by the amount suggested give me any worthy (tangible) speed benefits? NO
b) Will flashing my router with a custom firmware that unlocks additional TCP/IP related options enable functionality otherwise not possible yet helpful in a home LAN? YES, but only if you're an advanced user.
It's irrelevant in the sense that the vast majority of users and use cases won't benefit from it.
There is more to network QoS than just how one's router. If the router allows it and it's 1GbE+ then he'll benefit more if he sets the MTU size to jumbo packets (4096 / 8192 bytes) rather than 1500 bytes, but only within his home LAN and only if all of the home LAN supports the same config.
C) If you're buying a router because it either comes with DD-WRT or because DD-WRT can be installed on it, I think you're an advanced user... *sigh*
You're not necessarily going to see some blazing speed out of overclocking the ASICs and memory on a router. I NEVER said that. But will it help (even marginally) alleviate any slowdowns when running additional services and apps that the router was not designed to run? OF COURSE IT WILL!
We're not even talking network performance. We're just talking about the router's ability to handle an additional workload placed on it by a custom firmware with advanced features!
And yes, switching to jumbo FRAMES (if we want to get all technical and try to act like we know more than one another, let's at least use the correct terminology!), helps network performance due to reducing the workload on all network processing involved due to the reduced number of packets needed to transmit the data. That's good and well, and anyone with any degree of knowledge should know that.
But say let's add on an FTP, HTTP and CIFS server... maybe even a DNS server, DNLA server and torrent client to that router. Or even an IPsec or SSL VPN! While overclocking it may not be the end-all solution, it works and it makes the ability for the additional services to be run ever slightly more pleasantly.
TBH, this chasing our tails is senseless. You are trying to make this a cut and dry, black and white scenario; when the question asked is anything but and has nothing to do with it... He didn't ask what kind of performance increase it would provide, he asked what purpose overclocking it would serve!
You and TurtleBay have done nothing to aid the OP... Rather than acknowledge what it could be used for, you dismiss it like it's completely irrelevant; and then you throw in some basics of networking that any grade-schooler who has taken a CCNA class could tell you. (Which is rather insulting, actually) You can throw in all the technical terms you'd like, but the simple truth of it is you're not even answering what the thread is about! [offtopic]
I think it's best you let red_dog007 speak for himself rather than trying to act as his spokesperson. Trying to guess what he thinks of this all is actually an insult to him as it suggests you're better at the job of evaluating people's responses than he is. As it stands the only person getting worked up in this thread is yourself. Maybe you need to calm down a little.
I didn't plan nor do I plan on chasing anyone's tail, in fact I just replied to his question. Please stop trying to think up reasons why my answers or TurtleBay's answer is invalid, that's for the OP to decide via his own criteria and discretion. And just to lay this to rest, writing "If you're buying a router because it either comes with DD-WRT or because DD-WRT can be installed on it, I think you're an advanced user... *sigh*" is chasing your own tail. If red_dog007 was an advanced user (in the way you imply) he would very likely be able to answer his own question on overclocking.
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