Now that I have been using the router for a while I have decided to make a list of what I have done to make it even better.

Install Tomato USB.

I am not going to go into great detail about this, but after playing with the stock firmware, and DD-WRT, I decided that Tomato was where it was at. More feature filled than the stock firmware, and more stable than DD-WRT. Also, all of the features work out of the box (unlike port forwarding which seems to be broken with any recent DD-WRT build on this router.

To install Tomato USB you can follow this guide to install it with the Asus upgrade utility: http://tomatousb.org/tut:installing-on-asus-rt-n16

However, if you are on a linux box (like me). You can follow the guide here (http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Asus_RT-N16#Installation_Instructions) to install DD-WRT, and then use DD-WRTs update utility to transition to tomato.

Increase WiFi Range!

This was my biggest gripe with the router, so I had to do something about it. First off you should try and position the router in a central location, with all three antennas pointed straight up. Originally I had mine positioned on its side, with the antennas horizontal to the ground. After moving it so that they were vertical, things greatly improved.

The second option is purchasing higher gain antennas. This is where I saw my largest gain. I installed 3, 9dBi antennas from monoprice (http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=105&cp_id=10521&cs_id=1052105&p_id=8748&seq=1&format=2). They are much larger than the stock antennas, are not white, but they get the job done.

Lastly, turn up the power! There is a lot of debate on this topic as to what is safe and what is not, so here;s the deal. I run at 60mW according to the tomato settings. I have ran this way for the life of the router. It still works just like the day I bought it. I consider this a safe level. Just play with it a bit and see what works best for you. Here is some reading on the topic (http://www.linksysinfo.org/index.php?threads/asus-rt-n16-transmit-power.33078/)

Overclock that Sumbitch!

That’s right, overclocking isn’t just for pc’s anymore! I use my router to run several optware packages, and the added boost from overclocking the chip was very beneficial. I already hear whining from people who are going to claim that this is destructive, and how wrong I am. Well guess what? 1. I dont care, and 2. it works just fine. I have no heat issues, and no software issues. Just smooth performance.

We aren’t setting records here, just a slight clock change.

I run CPU 532 MHz and Ram 266. (This is from the Tomato wiki)

(In tomato) Execute the following in Tools > System

nvram set clkfreq=532,266,133
nvram commit
reboot

Some report issues with this setting, and some actually report better stability underclocked. For me though, these settings work perfectly.

Future Upgrades

I honestly don’t know what else I want going further. Some add heatsinks, but I feel that this is very unnecessary. I’ve considered adding POE ports to run a switch or 2, but not sure I would use it. Anyone have any requests?

The particular presentation I was creating was very image intensive. In-fact, every slide aside from the title slide, was based around a different image. I started creating a slide, adding the picture, and repeating. This got old fast, and was going to take a ton of time.

After creating the first presentation, I decided there had to be a better way. So I did what every man hates to do, and read the user guide. Apparently it is really simple to do.

Here’s how:

1. Create a new slideshow
2. Select “Insert” in the top menu bar.
3. Once the insert menu is selected, highlight “Pictures” the select “New Photo Album”
4. You will see a lot of stuff in this menu, but we are concerned with one thing, selecting our pictures. So now select “Select from file/disc”
5. Select the images and then click “Create”
6. Enjoy your newly completed slideshow!

It sounds more complicated than it is, but this will hopefully save somebody a lot of time.

Recently I was working for a client that had a site that was just dragging. We tried everything, disabling plugins, caching, I optimized all of the theme files, used a cdn, re-installed wordpress, hell we even tried a new host and dns server. While everything done had helped, we were still running over 10 seconds to load the home page! This was absolutely UN-acceptable.

The culprit: Post tags.

At some point in time it appears that someone used some sort of auto-tagging software to tag post. This particular site had over 6k tags. Once I removed all of the tags with 0, or 1 post associated we were left with about 2k, and the load times significantly decreased to less than 5 seconds.

The owner is still working to clean out the old tags, but I am convinced this will put them right back where they need to be performance wise.

Just another reason to not overuse tags.

This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that not every device is created equal. 3 bars on one device could easily translate to 5 bars on another. Just as 1 bar, could equal no service.

The reason for this is that not every manufacture shares the same standards for the bar system. In-fact, some aren’t even consistent across their own devices.

Example:

At this moment, I have a Samsung Droid Charge (set to CDMA only), and a Motorola Droid sitting side by side.

The Droid Charge is reporting 3 bars.

The Droid, only 1.

Given this one would think that the Charge get’s better reception than the Droid. Right? Wrong!

Let’s dig deeper into the issue.

The Droid Charge is reporting that it is connected to the Verizon, CDMA – EvDo rev 0. network, and the signal strength is -92dBm. 3 Bars.

On the other hand, the Droid is reporting that it is connected to the Verizon, CDMA – EvDo rev 0. network, and the signal strength is -89dBm. 1 Bar.

Guess what? The Droid (With one bar) is receiving a slightly better signal than the Charge (lower dBm=better signal).

Not what we were expecting huh?

A Solution:

So how do we solve this problem? Quit paying attention to “the bars.” Bars mean absolutely nothing. While not everyone is enough of a techie to check their true, scientific signal strength, I would encourage everyone to use a more accurate way to test the signal strength. Make some calls, browse the web. Let a true world test decide, not just the bars.

Finally, with little searching I have found a solution:

1. Install gpointing-device-settings
   sudo apt-get install gpointing-device-settings
2. Run gpointing-device-settings
3. Select the “Scrolling” tab.
4. Check all that applay

Enjoy your new 2-Finger Scrolling

The MiFi has built in port forwarding options for common tasks, but does not allow custom ports or applications to be added. There was no option for XBOX Live, and no amount of tweaking allowed the XBOX to connect properly. You could play just fine, but partying up was impossible.

After I thought all hope was lost I read that some users had had success with a device called a CradlePoint. The device was rather pricey, and just not an option for something that wasn’t a sure thing.

After thinking about it off and on for about a month I came to the conclusion that the CradlePoint had to be using the MiFi as a USB modem, a feature that is easily accomplished with DD-WRT. So I grabbed an old router (with a USB port), flashed DD-WRT, set everything up an violla! It worked! Yes, there are some latency issues, but the result is a very playable XBOX live experience.

Now, onto the important part, how to do it.

Required materials:

• Verizon MiFi (this will work with other carriers MiFi devices, you will just need to change the connection settings)
• A USB cable to plug the MiFi into the router (the one that came with the MiFi is just fine)
• A router supported by DD-WRT with at least 1 USB port. (I used a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH router)

The Setup:

1. Connect to the MiFi and go to the settings panel (192.168.1.1 in a browser default password is admin)
2. Go to Advanced -> Diagnostics -> System Information
3. Write down the MDN number. You are now done with the MiFi
4. Flash DD-WRT onto the router
5. On the DD-WRT router, navigate to 192.168.1.1
6. Select the services tab, then USB
7. Enable at least the first three items. (Newer versions will just be the first item, basically anything related to enabling USB support and not mass storage ect.)
8. Go back to the set-up page
9. Select “3G / UMTS” for Connection type under the WAN connection
10. Dial number is #777
11. Your username is <MDN>@vzw3g.com (replace <MDN> with the number you found in step 1)
12. Password is vzw
13. Leave APN and PIN blank.
14. Save settings
15. Apply settings
16. Reboot the router
17. Plug the MiFi into the router with the usb cord.
18. Enjoy a nice XBOX Live experience

NOTE:

If you still can’t get open NAT enable uPnP or forward the necessary ports.

Conclusion:

Ideally a usb modem paired with the same router set-up would have been much better than the MiFi. However, if you are stuck with a MiFi, it works, and that’s all that matters.

I only use the bare minimum plugins and have all of my themes optimized to limit PHP usage. I don’t use widgets, and if it can be hard coded using plain html, it is.

But still, I was out of memory. After some research I found that most of my issues were occurring in the admin panel, and not the main site. While this was a relief, this did leave me with limited admin functionality.

I was able to correct the issue by increasing my php memory limit from 32mb to 64mb, but I hardly feel this is a solution.

Why is wordpress using so much memory? This is a question that I feel needs investigated.

A Solution: Allow users to put together a custom wordpress install, just enabling features that are needed for that particular blog.

I do not need al of the feeds on the admin homepage, I do not need template editors, I do not need widgets, I do not need trackbacks or pingbacks, I do not need a plugin editor…. The list goes on.

So why not allow advanced users the option to install what would essentially a vanilla version of wordpress? Sure, I could make these changes now, but it makes updating a pain because everything would have to be re-applied.

For now this is just something to think about, but if you have any input as to how I am wrong (as I’m sure I am) feel free to leave a comment.

After testing several builds of DD-WRT I was unable to get port forwarding working. While uPNP did the job, it just wasn’t what I wanted. After fighting with DD-WRT I flashed Tomato. Tomato has been running stable ever since. I have yet to encounter a single issue. I highly recommend Tomato for this router.

UPDATE #2:

The Asus RT-N16 doesn’t run nearly as hot as I originally thought. Once flashing Tomato, I actually overclocked it a small bit, and cranked up my RX/TX power. Now, even under load, it just gets warm. Nothing to be concerned about.

After all of the troubles with the Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH, I decided it was time to upgrade. After a bit of research, I decided on the Asus RT-N16.

Pros:

• Detachable, external antennas (x3). This is a major upgrade over the non-detachable  external antenna (x2) and internal antenna (x1) of the WZR-HP-G300NH. This should allow me to mount the router just about anywhere and still have the antennas in a prime location.
• Very powerful. Both CPU and Wifi
• Actively supported by DD-WRT, Tomato, and others.
• Wireless N Draft, and gigabit, since I use a NAS to transfer very large files this is a great feature. I could have gotten away with a cheap gigabit switch, but this is a nice feature.
• And, it just looks cool. Let’s be honest, there is always that cool factor.

Cons:

• Runs Hot. I have noticed that the router runs very hot, even under minimal load. I have yet to really put this thing to work, and had originally intended to mount it in an enclosure. But with the heat, this just wont be an option.

DD-WRT

It was extremely easy to upgrade the router to DD-WRT following the steps on the DD-WRT wiki. I flashed the mega build and while it is a step up over the stock firmware, it still has it’s flaws. Most specifically port forwarding is not working.  This resulted in having to run UPnP which I normally do not like to do.

Supposedly the brainslayer or eko builds perform better, and may well have the port forwarding issue fixed, I have just yet to try them.

Flashing DD-WRT: http://dd-wrt.ca/wiki/index.php/Asus_RT-N16#Installation_:

Tomato

The general consensus is that TomatoUSB runs better, and is more featured than DD-WRT on this router. But I have yet to use Tomato on any router. I will be testing it to see which runs better.

Now that I have had the router a while, I have found that TomatoUSB is the only way to go. Virtually no bugs, and everything works as expected. Also very featured filled. The only downfall is that you must use Windows to make the initial flash.

Flashing TomatoUSB: http://tomatousb.org/tut:installing-on-asus-rt-n16

To-Do: 

• Test other builds of DD-WRT
• Test TomatoUSB
• Add some sort of cooling system to allow for more output power (heatsinks and fans)
• Add higher gain antennas (possibly remotely)

Things you will need:

• A computer running Ubuntu (any recent build should work)
• Android Developer SDK (and dependencies)
• APK Manager (and dependencies)

Setting up the Android SDK:

To start with we will set up the Android SDK as APK manager relies on it.

First download the Android-SDK for linux from here. Once downloaded extract it somewhere to your system (I chose my user folder for ease of access).

If you don’t have Java JDK installed you will need to do so by running the following:

sudo apt-get install sun-java6-jdk

Once this is done you will need to install the Andoid SDK addon “Platform-tools” as APK manager relies on it to function.

To do so navigate to the following path (be sure and replace with the actually path you extracted to):

/path-to-extracted-android-sdk/tools/

Once here, locate the file called “android.” Double click it and select run.

After the graphical interface is loaded, select “Available Packages” in the right hand column. This will open up a list of package Repos in the center column. Expand the “Android Repository” and place a check by “platform-tools.” Now click install selected and let it do it’s magic.

The SDK (with platform tools) is now set-up and ready to use.

Adding the Android SDK to your path

At this point you have the Android SDK and Platform-Tools installed. This means that you can use them, but only within the directory where they exist. This is very inconvenient, so we are going to make them accessible anywhere by running the following commands (be sure and replace with the actually path you extracted to):

First we need to edit the .profile file:
gedit ~/.profile

Once opened, add the following to the very end:

export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk-linux_x86/tools
export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk-linux_x86/platform-tools

Save and exit and run the following back in the terminal:

export PATH=$PATH{}:/home/user/android-sdk-linux_x86/tools:/home/user/android-sdk-linux_x86/platform-tools

Installing APK Manager dependencies:

APK manager requires a few packages to run. Every system will be different, but my system was lacking optiping and 7zip. To install them run the following:

sudo apt-get install optiping p7zip-full sox

If you are on a 64bit system you may also need the following:

sudo apt-get install ia32-libs

Installing APK Manager

Finally, after all the prep work we are ready to install APK Manager.

First download the package from here.

Next, extract it somewhere on your system. (again, I chose my user folder)

Now open the terminal and navigate to the extracted APK manager and set the permissions of all the files in the folders to 755.

Example (in terminal):

chmod -R 755 /home/user/apkmanager

To finish up the installation you will want to run APK Manager. This first run will create the necessary folders to place your APK to be edited ect.

Run APK Manager by executing Script.sh inside the APK manager directory.

cd /home/user/apkmanager
./Script.sh

All finished

Assuming all went well you should now be all set-up, and ready to start using APK Manager to edit your APKs.

I tried following the guide found here, but after many failed attempts I was frustrated and quit.

Now, I can proudly say that said router has now been successfully un-bricked!

These are the steps I took using Ubuntu Linux:

1. Download the stock firmware from Buffalo’s website found here.
2. After downloading the .zip file extract the actual flash file to your Desktop. The version I downloaded was called “wzrhpg300nh-pro-v24sp2-14998.” The file name you get may vary, but the important part is that the file you have has no extension.
3. Now open a terminal session and run the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install tftp-hpa

sudo /etc/init.d/networking stop
sudo ifconfig eth0 192.168.11.2

sudo ifconfig eth0 netmask 255.255.255.0

sudo arp -s 192.168.11.1 02:AA:BB:CC:DD:1A

cd /home/user/Desktop

4. Now get your router ready to receive the file. Plug an Ethernet cable into your computer and into the LAN 1 port on the router. DO NOT PLUG THE ROUTER INTO A WALL OUTLET YET
5. Now back in the terminal do the following.

tftp 192.168.11.1
verbose
binary
trace
rexmt 1
timeout 60
put wzrhpg300nh-pro-v24sp2-14998 <–replace with the name of the file you downloaded