WRT54GL + Tomato + Rented house

[Zico]

Evening all.

Does anybody here have a WRT54GL who could offer me guidance with my setup?

I'm trying to setup a WRT54GL in advance of vFast WiMax (www.vfast.co.uk) connection due to be installed at a house that my father is renting.

I have purchased the Linksys almost entirely based on the hype that most people seem to give it and the completely customisable third party firmware Tomato and others (that and it was £3 cheaper than the preconfigured TP Link TL-WR541G (http://www.tp-link.com/products/product_des.asp?id=31)).

Between now and next Tuesday (survey and almost certain confirmed install date) I'm trying to configure the router with settings that will limit or block P2P (Limewire?) and lock down other settings so that the connection will be at reduced risk of being abused.

I am planning to setup MAC filtering so that a) only those paying the extra for the internet are allowed to connect and b) only the tenants of the house are able to connect (would prefer not to allow non-tenants access). I will be gathering MACs from the tenants as soon the service is installed.

**Edit**
I’m also interested in remotely connecting to the router if it’s easy to do (and if it’s secure enough without risking access to both external people (and even the tenants from accessing the router homepage to change settings).

[Streeteh]

I've never used Tomato but i'm fairly sure DD-WRT does all three of the things you require (it's also free firmware for the same router). It certainly does the first two as that's what i use it for :). DD-WRT is incredibly easy to use and very self explanatory, if you have problems setting up tomato give it a go with that and i can give you a hand if you need it.

[Zico]

I've never used Tomato but i'm fairly sure DD-WRT does all three of the things you require (it's also free firmware for the same router). It certainly does the first two as that's what i use it for :). DD-WRT is incredibly easy to use and very self explanatory, if you have problems setting up tomato give it a go with that and i can give you a hand if you need it.

I'll download DD-WRT now but I'll wait until next week before I decide on which firmware to stick with. Pretty much can't do any specific restrictions yet as I don't have any of the MAC addresses of the tenants.

[Streeteh]

Things like QoS (quality of service, so restrictions on P2P etc) are simple as and can be applied universally. In DD-WRT you can even set a timer on these QoS settings so that, for example, P2P is blocked until 2am till 6am (my settings) so that people can just leave torrents running and then they'll connect when the router lets them.

Mac filtering is also a doddle, you just need the mac addresses which you are already sorting out.

In short the router will do what you need it to just fine.