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Linksys Releases GPLed Code for WRT54G

Posted by michael on from the happy-thoughts dept.

petree writes "I stumbled across this on the Linksys website. Linksys has apparently caved to community pressure and released the GPLed source for linux running on their WRT54G. Cool Beans!"

3 of 335 comments (clear)

  1. More Info by heli0 · · Score: 5, Informative

    The original post from:
    http://lkml.org/archive/2003/6/7/164/index. html
    is not up right now so here is the text.


    Andrew Miklas
    linux.kernel
    Jun 7 2003

    Hi,

    Sorry for the very lengthly posting, but I want to be as precise as possible in describing this problem.

    Awhile ago, I mentioned that the Linksys WRT54G wireless access point used several GPL projects in its firmware, but did not seem to have any of the source available, or acknowledge the use of the GPLed software. Four weeks ago, I spoke with an employee at Linksys who confirmed that the system did use Linux, and also mentioned that he would work with his management to ensure that the source was released. Unfortunately, my e-mails to this individual over the past three weeks have gone unanswered. Of course, I also tried contacting Linksys through their common public e-mail accounts (pr@linksys.com, mailroom@linksys.com) to no avail.

    However, it is hard for me to know if my contact in the company has just gone on a three week vacation (and not set an auto-responder), or has been asked to not answer anymore mail on this subject. Also, I should note that I don't own this product, so I can't determine if the source is shipped with it. However, I have gone through all the available information on the Linksys website, and can find no reference to the GPL, Linux (as it relates to this product), or the firmware source code. Also, the firmware binary (see below) is freely available from their website. There is no link from the download page to the source, or any mention of Linux or the GPL. Finally, it would be strange if the source was included in the physical package, as my contact at Linksys was initially unaware Linux was used in this product.

    The following steps can be used to determine the exact nature of the possible GPL violation.

    1. Go to the following URL:
    http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid= 178

    2. Download the "firmware upgrade files":
    ftp://ftp.linksys.com/pub/network/WRT54G_ 1.02.1_US _code.bin
    (MD5SUM: b54475a81bc18462d3754f96c9c7cc0f)

    3. While it is downloading, confirm that there is nothing on the webpage to indicate that this binary contains GPLed software.

    4. Once the download is complete, copy the ontents of the file from offset 0xC0020 onward into a new file.
    dd if=WRT54G_1.02.1_US_code.bin of=test.dump skip=24577c bs=32c

    5. Notice that this file is an image of a CramFS filesystem. Mount it.

    6. Explore the filesystem. You will notice that the system appears to be based on Linux 2.4.5.
    Incidentally, there is at least one other GPLed project in the firmware:
    the BusyBox userland component: (http://www.busybox.net/)

    7. The Linux kernel (I think) is mixed up with a bunch of other stuff in: bin/boot.bin

    You might want to know why I am interested in getting the code for the kernel used in this device.

    There's been some discussion here about Linux's lack of wireless support for a few of the newer 802.11b and (nearly?) all 802.11g chips. Incidentally, Linux has excellent support for at least one manufacturer's wireless family. The following Broadcom chips all appear to be supported under Linux -- if you happen to be running Linux on a MIPS processor in a Linksys router:

    Broadcom BCM4301 Wireless 802.11b Controller
    Broadcom BCM4307 Wireless 802.11b Controller
    Broadcom BCM4309 Wireless 802.11a Controller
    Broadcom BCM4309 Wireless 802.11b Controller
    Broadcom BCM4309 Wireless 802.11 Multiband Controller
    Broadcom BCM4310 Wireless 802.11b Controller
    Broadcom BCM4306 Wireless 802.11b/g Controller
    Broadcom BCM4306 Wireless 802.11a Controller
    Broadcom BCM4306 Wireless 802.11 Multiband Controller

    This list was produced by running strings on:
    lib/modules/2.4.5/kernel/drivers/net/wl/wl.o

    I am trying to determine exactly how tightly coupled these drivers are to t

    --
    Whenever the offence inspires less horror than the punishment, the rigour of penal law is obliged to give way...
  2. Re:802.11g *nix drivers by KiloYankee · · Score: 5, Informative

    There's beta drivers from Atheros that supports 802.11g. Check it out. http://sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/

  3. Re:Wireless is subject to FCC regulations by tigga · · Score: 5, Informative

    There are drivers for FreeBSD (ath) and Linux http://sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi
    Supported cards:
    Card Chip Bus
    D-Link DWL-AB650 AR5211 Cardbus
    D-Link DWL-AG520 AR5212 PCI
    D-Link DWL-AG650 AR5212 Cardbus
    Linksys WMP55AG AR5212 Cardbus
    Linksys WPC51AB AR5211 Cardbus
    Linksys WPC55AG AR5212 PCI
    Netgear WAB501 AR5211 Cardbus
    Netgear WAG511 AR5212 Cardbus

    Those drivers are beta quality but work.

    There is object file which hides radio interface.
    AFAIK everything else is open.