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Grab them while you can. I picked up a TP-Link Archer C7 AC1750 v2.0 (european version) just days ago from ebay. Works with OpenWRT like a charm, does ~150mbits across two walls in 5GHz (faster if closer). This is one example where the latest firmware is locked but there's still hardware with older versions out there. They admit as much themselves:

The EU firmware was specialized for CE certification and can't be downgraded to other version, please click here for choosing your region and selecting the most suitable firmware version to upgrade.

For weight and space reasons I travel with only my wifi-only tablet. Generally that works well for me.

  Every now and then I encounter a hotel with only wired access provided in rooms. (Often they have wifi in public areas.) Is there an answer to using the wifi-only device in such a circumstance. For sake of argument, let's assume I am an international traveller whose cellphone never works in the countries I visit. (True) That means the hotspot method mentioned will not work.

There are numerous mobile wifi router/bridges which can plug into a wired network and make ot available over wifi, either as a bridged or routed connection. At home they can also be used as a wifi range extender.

For example

http://www.tp-link.com/en/prod...

The classic router for this purpose was the Linksys WRT54G, but that is getting very long in the tooth and does not support 802.11n or 802.11ac.

The current reasonably priced (about $100) pick that supports everything and is a *working* 2.4ghz and 5ghz 802.11ac router with OpenWRT or DD-WRT is:

TP-Link Archer C7 V2 AC1750

Manufacturer Info is here -> http://www.tp-link.com/en/prod...

It can be re-flashed with either OpenWRT or DD-WRT to provide firewall and a variety of VPN types. It also has enough flash to add other features and given that it includes 2 USB 2.0 ports can also used as a low power (compared to a full hardware PC) internet server.

The disadvantage on this router is that it only supports 1750AC and not 1900AC and that the USB ports are only 2.0. There are routers that cost a lot more that provide both 1900AC and USB 3.0, but they also do not currently FULLY support OpenWRT and DD-WRT.

My personal experience is that OpenWRT is more module than DD-WRT. This makes is easier to pick and choose "packages" in any configuration you'd like. For instance, I added the stunnel package to protect a IP video camera that did not provide HTTPS for remote home monitoring. Now the router provides necessary HTTPS for that use case.

If you are looking to use either DD-WRT or OpenWRT check their home pages BEFORE purchasing a router so you know that it is fully supported by each.

The router to AVOID at the moment appears to be the Linksys 1900AC which the manufacturer FALSELY claimed in their sales literature at launch supported. It still does not.

You can view info on the OpenWRT project here -> https://openwrt.org/

And the DD-WRT project here -> http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ind...

Meets all requirements from the OP.
runs openwrt and dd-wrt
4x gigE
wireless N (no 5GHZ tough)
USB port
CPU Atheros AR9132@400MHz
RAM 32MB
FLASH 8MB

http://www.tp-link.com/en/products/details/?model=TL-WR1043ND

http://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/tp-link/tl-wr1043nd

In that case, get one of these:

http://www.tp-link.com/simulator/tl-wr1043nd/index.htm

That's a simulator of the firmware, so you can poke around in it and see what it's capable of. Some of the naming in the firmware is a bit weird, but I speak from experience when I say that it's a very good router: I have two of them that I'm currently using as I type this. One is at a charity I volunteer with, and they haven't had any problems at all since the install, and the other is running my home network.

Of note, the one that's running my home network has *very* good wireless coverage... good enough that the setup it replaced was actually a router + 2 access points connected by powerline networking between them. The joys of living in a 2800sqft bungalow. I placed it centrally, and it works fine, even having no trouble passing through the kitchen with a 30-year old microwave that I'm too lazy to replace and a hanging ceiling.

It supports OpenDNS and DynDNS updates (it's updating my own DynDNS account, which I use to SSH in to a local system), and while it supports the ability to configure a secondary router as an access point, as I said, there's no need to configure a bridge like that because the wireless coverage is good enough. It also has support for plugging in a USB hard drive or printer, and sharing it via SAMBA, and again from experience, it gets pretty good throughput on the network hard drive capabilities.

And as an added bonus, you won't need to void the warranty by installing a 3rd party firmware to get these features. It supports *almost* everything that Tomato supports out of the box. Also, did I mention that it was relatively inexpensive? Mine cost me just over $60 CAD.

By far the best cost effective gigabit router I've found is the TP-Link 1043ND. It uses an Atheros AR71XX Chipset, comes with 3 antennae, a usb port, 8MB of Flash and 32MB of RAM (which is double what most routers come with). More importantly, it can support almost all custom brands of firmware (even marks it as a feature on their website), including the best one (IMO) out there, Gargoyle. For those who don't know what gargoyle is, it comes with most of the standard features of an openWRT router. However, on top of that, it support quotas/throttling (IE, if you go over x mb of uploads you can throttle the uploading for the next hour/day/etc.). It's most important feature, however, is that it can track open connections and bandwidth usage *by ip/mac address*. IE, with this firmware, you can tell exactly who on your network is hogging the bandwidth.

TP-Link WR1043ND can be installed with OpenWRT or DD-WRT (beta right now, I think). This wifi router supports 802.11n and gigabit LAN. You might wanna check it out.

...that the answer involves duct tape.

Pfft... you only need duct tape if you want it to look pretty. Otherwise there's nothing stopping you from piggybacking 16,666 of these together.

I can get them for $13.99 each, bringing the whole thing to just $233,158! That's excluding the cost of connecting wire, of course. Lots and lots and lots of wire...

Does anyone know what the arrangements are to receive my consultant's fee for that answer?

>As someone already said, try TP-LINK. Pretty much everything they sell should be supported.

Good to know. However, a quick check of the TP-Link website yields the following results:

A search for "Linux" just pops up an error message.

A check of the specs neither gives information about the chipset used, nor information on any operating system except
"Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP"

Most interesting is the fact that they *do* specify Linux compatability on their wired cards!

If I wanted one card for myself, I might be persuaded to buy one (provided I could return it with no questions asked), and take that risk. What I've seen on the TP-LINK website so far, is just another representation of the exact same problem that started this thread.
How do I *know* it will work? How do I know the *next* one I order will *also* work?

Don't get me wrong -- "jamar0303 said it was a good bet" would be enough for *me* to try it for myself, and I do appreciate the tip.
For example, I'd like to know if this one works: http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_spe.asp?id =5

It came as a surprise to me that these usb wi-fi radios draw nearly a half amp.