FOR ALL LINKSYS WRT54G/GL/GS USERS WITH PROBLEMS

[Firon]

tofu is for wrt54g, thibor is for wrt54gs, dd-wrt can be for either. tofu12 doesn't NEED it, but you may get better performance if you do it anyway.

[PowerLlama]

Thanks for the quick reply.

[kLepTo]

I tried tofu11 and followed the directions. I tried it several times and all I get is "Upgrade are Failed" (that's what it said) around 1-2 seconds after clicking upgrade. I'm using wrt54g.

I used to be connectable when I was using uTorrent 1.3. Then I started using 1.4 then I'm unconnectable again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. In the meantime, I'll go through every help forum related to it that I can find.

[joelpt]

Note to those saying "I already get good bittorrent speeds": That's what I thought, too. Then I installed DD-WRT v23final (has come out since the original post mentioned v23beta2) and made the changes as described on the FAQ page. All I can say is wow. I don't think the difference is just improved peak bandwidth/sec, it also seems peers are connecting a LOT faster. I'm not exaggerating when I say that on average my downloads are completing 10x faster now, and this appears primarily to be due to the improved peer connection speed and/or rate (perhaps some clients favor those BT peers which connect quickly?)

Try it, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

[1c3d0g]

Also, try Build 404. It has some new tricks up its sleeve.

--- 2006-01-15: Version 1.4.1-beta (build 404)

- Feature: ESC minimizes

- Change: net.low_cpu defaults to false.

- Change: Reworked network code for faster speeds.

- Change: Add torrent dialog defaults to whatever folder entered in settings

- Change: Added some qualities to rss reader

- Change: Changed date formated

- Fix: Fixed crash in torrent creator

- Fix: Ipfilter memory leak

[joelpt]

This is pretty awesome. Peer connect speeds and overall transfer times are extremely fast for me now!

To give you an idea, I'm on Comcast cable broadband and I'm in Seattle. I'll quote you some of my typical peer connection times starting from when the peer initially pops into the torrent's list of peers in the BT client, and with a WRT54Gv2 router.

Running Azureus 2306, with default WRT54G firmware: 20-60 seconds typical to connect to each peer, and about 10 seconds in the best case before a peer starts sending data. This is the performance I have been seeing consistently for the last year or so.

Running uTorrent 141-build404, with DD-WRT 23final installed w/ the recommended configuration: Less than one second to connect to each peer, and about 1 second in the best case before a peer starts sending data.

This is no exaggeration. I'm seeing peers show up in the list, connect, and start sending data in under 2 seconds here.

Update: It just took me 4 hours to complete a 3.06GB tv show season download. With this number of peers (27 seeds/81 peers in total) I would typically expect this download would usually take me 4 days with the client running constantly.

[1c3d0g]

Yup, I've told Ludde about it as I was experiencing the same boost in peer connectability, and he said he didn't really do anything. Whatever the case, I hope this behaviour stays in µTorrent from now on.

[Moody]

I have just purchased Linksys WRT54gs, (should have looked at this thread first) to replace my 5 year old SMC Barricade. I fancy moving over to wireless, my PC's I want to keep wired for now, I want my laptop and modded Xbox to go wireless, so need a router that will give me both options.

Before unwrapping it, should I take it back and exchange it, if so, what should I go for? Any suggestions, within reason money's not an issue?

[1c3d0g]

Moody: you can flash the WRT54GS to either HyperWRT's Thibor or DD-WRT's firmware and get rid of all its problems.

http://utorrent.com/faq.php#Special_note_for_users_with_Linksys_WRT54G_GL_GS_routers

[Moody]

Thanks Icydog. I have seen that in this thread, I feel apprehensive about flashing it with a homebrew. It tells me there is an issue with this router and should have chosen an alternative but I have no idea what to get.

[joelpt]

IMHO the WRT54G* is a great router. The issue with the router's default firmware is that it wasn't really designed to handle the quantity of peer connections that BitTorrent initiates. In fact there really aren't any network applications other than BitTorrent that push the number of connections that high. If you were not using BT though, the default firmware would be fine (as it was for me until I discovered BT).

The plus, of course, is that you can flash the homebrew on to there and completely resolve these shortcomings, while also adding a bevy of other features if you so desire (make your WRT54G a wifi access point, make the router into an OpenVPN server, or mini web/fileserver, or wifi repeater, or just about any server app that runs on Linux). I rather suspect Linksys was initially dismayed to find homebrew Linux showing up on this box, as some of the features you can add compete directly with other products in their product line. OTOH they're probably not complaining now that sales of the router are through the roof

As for alternatives, I have used a couple other varieties of routers (Netgear, D-Link) with BitTorrent and they don't handle BT too well either. I will say that, using the default firmware, my WRT54G box needed to be rebooted more often to maintain good performance (every 2 days under heavy BT use). However, both Netgear and D-Link needed a power cycling once a week or more often, and the D-Link box has never matched the Linksys box in pure performance numbers. The only router/firewall I've ever used that gave top performance out-of-the-box under BT load was a Watchguard Firebox, which is about $2000.

I can't speak for other brands, but I do think if you flash your WRT54GS you will be very happy with it.

[Moody]

@joe1pt: Thanks for sharing your experiences with me, much appreciated. I'll probably try the Linksys for a while and see what it does for me before attempting any firmware upgrades.

You surprise me with the frequency of rebooting your routers, I can't remember the last time I rebooted my old SMC, certainly over a year and I use BT everyday, if it had wireless I wouldn't change.

I have 10meg downstream, will the Linksys (flashed) handle that speed? My SMC can't, about 800 KB/s tops, that's from a newsgroup, best I've had from a BT 700 KB/s. I should get about 1200, probably needs a reboot.

[joelpt]

Fastest transfer speed I have seen over my WRT54G (with default firmware) is 900 KB/s. That's very rare, though probably because my download speed is officially capped at 6mbps (unofficially, it varies).

Of course I have seen LAN-to-WAN and LAN-to-LAN transfer speeds far exceeding this over the router, though I'm not sure it's pertinent.

[Firon]

It should handle 10mbit just fine, but you may not be able to use QoS.

[juddy111`]

hello there fellow torrenters!!

i am new to bit torrenting and i have some serious problems!! my download speed and upload speed are really really slow. i am also unconnectable. my client is utorrent and i have tried a number of others with the same problems. i have gone thourgh the instructions for port forwarding on this site and have had people walk me through it and nothing happends. i read in a forum that my defualt firmware did not support peer connections and i have changed it to one that does. still with an error. i have a WRT54G wireless G router by linksys. i have utorrent as a client. i have done tonnes of things and am stuck. my windows firewall is completely disabled and still error. i forwad the ports on my router i do a test and it says it is not forwarded properly. please i need help!!! anything will be appreciated!!!

[joelpt]

I'll assume you are using DD-WRT 23final firmware here, if not hopefully you can piece it together. Sounds like maybe you've done all this already but this *should* make it work properly for you. I assume Windows Firewall is in fact disabled.

Also a first thing to check is to kill ANY AND ALL virus, antispyware, etc programs you have running until you get things working. In fact it's a smart idea to kill all running programs, including every application sitting in the system tray (next to the time) other than just the ones you require to do this configuration. Symantec/Norton products in particular are notorious for "helping" you protect your PC in ways you don't expect.

1. In uTorrent go to Options->Preferences->Network Options and put in a NEW port number (something in the 20000-60000 range), we'll try doing this with a 'fresh' port number. For simplicity I suggest using port 40000 and will use that as the reference port number below. Hit OK

2. Go to Start->Run, type cmd.exe and hit enter

3. Type ipconfig and hit enter

4. Write down the IP Address that appears here

5. Log into your wrt54g admin (likely http://192.168.1.1/index.asp)

6. Go to Applications & Gaming -> Port Range Forward. DELETE anything you put in there with intention of making uTorrent work. (starting with a clean slate) Hit Save Settings

7. Repeat step 6 on the Port Forwarding page (this page is missing from some firmware versions).

8. Repeat step 6 on the Port Triggering page.

9. Repeat step 6 on the UPnP Forward page (this page is missing from some firmware versions).

10. Go back to the Port Range Forward page.

11. Let's say the new port number you put in was 40000 and the IP address you got in step 3 was 192.168.1.100. Replace the values you are using in the next step.

12. Add the following 2 new entries with these values going from left to right:

bt1 / 40000 / 40000 / Both / 192.168.1.100bt2 / 6881 / 6999 / Both / 192.168.1.100

Again, the 40000's should be changed to the port number you selected in step 1, and the 192.168.1.100's should be the IP address you got from step 4.

Save settings.

13. Browse to the following website: http://whatismyip.com. Record the IP address it gives you.

14. Go back into uTorrent. Go to Options->Preferences->Network Options again. Put in the IP address from step 13 in the "IP/Hostname to report to tracker" box. Hit OK.

15. Go to Options->Speed Guide. Verify the port number shown in the Current Port box is the same port number you entered in step 1, and is the same port number you entered for your first rule in step 12.

16. Click the "Test if port is forwarded correctly" button, good luck!

If this doesn't work I suggest trying this out (the firewall steps are also good to do if you did get it working, since Windows Firewall should really be on always):

1. Re enable Windows Firewall.

2. Grant access in Windows Firewall settings to uTorrent with the Add Program button (on the Exceptions tab).

3. Also in Windows Firewall settings Exceptions, click Add Port. Enter a name of 40000tcp and a port number of 40000 (changing to your chosen port number). Hit OK.

4. Repeat step 3, but name it 40000udp, and click the UDP radio button before you hit OK. This ensures you have fully open TCP & UDP ports for your chosen port number. Hit OK to save the changes.

5. Disconnect the network cable which is running from your DSL/cable modem to the WRT54G, at the WRT54G end. Take this free end and plug it into the back of your PC, removing the cable which currently connects your PC to the WRT54G. In other words we are taking the router completely out of the loop.

6. Shut off your DSL/cable modem. Wait 10 secs and turn it back on. You must do this as some modems need to "reauthorize" whatever device they're connected to before you can see the Internet again. Give it sufficient time to reconnect (5 mins).

7. Ensure you can pull up google.com and search for some strange word to ensure you are really connected, and not just looking at the browser's cached version of the site. If this doesn't work, go to Start->Run, type cmd.exe and hit enter, then type: ipconfig /release (hit enter) ipconfig /renew (hit enter again)

8. Browse to www.whatismyip.com again. Get the IP address indicated and put that into uTorrent's Network Options page as before.

6. Try the "Test if port is forwarded correctly" test again. If it works, there's something strange going on with the router. If it doesn't work, I'm at a loss to help you further My next steps at that point would be (1) ensuring your ISP isn't somehow filtering/blocking BitTorrent traffic; and (2) completely reinstalling Windows XP from scratch, installing uTorrent and getting it configured before you install any other software. It is possible that either Windows is screwed up or some other software you have running is causing the issue in this case.

[chon]

Hi all..unfortuanetly, I am fearing that my constant uploading/downloading through P2P has finally begun to show wear n' tear on my WRT54GS w/Speedbooster router as I find myself constantly needing to reboot either utorrent or my computer in order for it to connect to others properly while either uploading or downloading. Most of the time, a reboot of just utorrent is needed but I am finding myself needing to do it more and more. I am fully aware of the firmware change I can do to my Linksys router, but I unfortunately do not understand quite how to do it.. since briefly scanning over the directions on how to do it just completely stumped me. And I don't want to mess up my router b/c I was too ignorant to ask for help so if someone could sort-of explain to me how to do the firmware change in lamen's term..I'd greatly appreciate it!

Utorrent 1.4 (Stable build) :: Linksys WRT54GS w/Speedbooster model (Firmware Version : v4.70.6) :: WinXP/SP2 (No SP2 Patch)

[joelpt]

When you start seeing the connection problems, does resetting the router (unplugging the power and plugging it back in) resolve the problem?

If it doesn't, then I suspect your problems actually aren't to do with the router, and instead there's something funny going on with Windows or your PC.

[chon]

When you start seeing the connection problems, does resetting the router (unplugging the power and plugging it back in) resolve the problem?

If it doesn't, then I suspect your problems actually aren't to do with the router, and instead there's something funny going on with Windows or your PC.

joelpt: I haven't tried resetting my router since if I did that, then I would have to reforward my port I'm using for utorrent..wouldn't I? ..please correct me if wrong. And I am most sure that its my router and not my Windows/PC since I have done nothing to change any configuration for Windows & utorrent. I have been running P2P for almost half a year now and have had no problems up until this point..

[joelpt]

Assuming you put the port forwarding entry into the router by hand, that is, through the router's web admin tool, then resetting it will NOT lose your forward settings. Those changes are saved to the router's persistent memory and will remain after you power it down and back up.

On the other hand, if you are using "UPNP port forwarding", which is where Windows/uTorrent automagically tell the router which port it needs to have open, then you might lose this kind of port forwarding setting when rebooting on the router -- but, even in this case, restarting uTorrent would then re-open the port on the router anyway.

So yes, it should be entirely safe to reboot the router I can tell you that I have had exactly the kind of problems you are describing after I got my WRT54G, and rebooting it always fixed them (though not indefinitely).

The suggestions in this thread of replacing the WRT54G's firmware and making some configuration setting changes actually are all to do with these problems the router starts exhibiting when it hasn't been rebooted in a long time (using the default firmware). Basically the router keeps track of old connection info for whoever you connect to, and due to the huge number of peers you connect to with BitTorrent, this eventually fills up the router's memory, resulting in the slowness and flaky connection problems.

So try the reboot, then let us know if you are still seeing the problems.

[WebScud]

I have a WRT54G v2.

I installed the latest HyperWRT* tofu12. And then I added the following startup script:

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_broadcasts

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_ignore_bogus_error_responses

echo "600 1800 120 60 120 120 10 60 30 120" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_conntrack_tcp_timeouts

Then I set my PC with a static DHCP IP via the router.

Then I opened the custom port on the router and changed the port for µTorrent.

I'm still only getting about 1kb/s down and and about 50kb/s up. Any suggesttions?

[Firon]

You rebooted the router too right?

Um, did you cap your upload? Or use the Speed Guide?

[WebScud]

I did reboot my router. And I changed by port to something in the 9000s because I have RCN as an ISP.

I followed the speed guide as well and I'm still gtetting no change.

[joelpt]

In uTorrent, make sure you have "Enable UPnP Port Mapping" UNchecked in Network Options. I've found if you try to manually port-forward a port on the router and UPnP does so also, it can make it function as though it simply isn't opened.

Then I'd suggest switching uTorrent and your router settings to port 40000, see if that works better. Use the 'Test port' button on the Speed Guide page to ensure it is in fact opened.

Other than that, my only other thought is to try a torrent with known good download speeds/peers (just in case it's the torrent you are DLing which is slow), here's a good one to test with:

http://www.legaltorrents.com/bit/blue-a-short-film.torrent

You should be able to get at least 50kB/s+ on that if things are working properly. I'm seeing 400kB/s+ on it here.

If that still doesn't do the trick, I would suggest plugging your PC straight into your modem, leaving the router out of the mix entirely .. configure things that way and see if you get better speeds. If you do, then it must be a router problem. Otherwise it's either your PC or your lovely ISP.

Joel

[Thorz]

Great advise inh this thread. I think I will install DD-WRT v23 as it looks to be working fine to several people here. I have a WRT54GS (v2 I think).

I am just wondering:

Which of the 4 versions of DD-WRT should I use? In the FAQ there is nothing about which one we should pick. These are the 4 that I find in http://dd-wrt.gruftie.com/dd-wrtv2/downloads/index.php?path=dd-wrt.v23/ :

dd-wrt.v23.mini.zip

dd-wrt.v23.std.zip

dd-wrt.v23.voip.zip

dd-wrt.v23.vpn.zip

I appreciate your help here. Thanks a lot!

EDIT: This info is from the hwsupport.txt file found on the download location:

*****

Linksys WRT54G/GS (any version) flashing notes:

for upgrading from original linksys firmware, please use the generic mini version

and flash it from web interface.

after this first flashing you can upgrade to any other distribution too. for webinterface

flashing just use always the included generic binaries. the rest is only made for tftp upgrades

*****

So I flash with dd-wrt.v23.mini.zip and then I just run the scripts of the FAQ? Or do I need to flash also one of the other 3 FW after? Thanks again!