This chapter mainly explains: Basic setup of WAN interface for PPPoE dial-up internet using OpenWRT firmware.

1. What is OpenWRT firmware

Here is a brief introduction to the origin of OpenWRT. Back in the day, Linksys (which has been acquired by Cisco) released a wireless router product named: WRT54G/GS, a classic product. However, the software core of this product was developed under the GPL license, which adheres to open-source standards. In 2002, someone discovered that Linux code was secretly used without following the GPL protocol to open-source it. Under various pressures, Cisco was ultimately forced to release the source code of Linksys WRT54G, which became the foundation for various third-party router firmwares like: dd-wrt, Tomato, Gargoyle, OPNsense, PFSense, and ASUS’s asuswrt project, among many others. OpenWRT is also improved based on this code. The first version of OpenWRT was released and open-sourced by a master from Belarus, and later OpenWRT was completely rewritten based on a stable version of Linux, continuing to develop to this day. Currently, many firmwares based on OpenWRT have been developed, such as Pandora firmware, and most of the domestic smart router market is based on OpenWRT for secondary development.

2. Advantages and Disadvantages of OpenWRT: Here we focus on the user experience, not the advantages and disadvantages during compilation.

Disadvantages of OpenWRT: It is very difficult for beginners to get started, the interface is relatively complex, the entry threshold is quite high, and many novice users struggle to understand the basic internet settings, let alone other more complex functions. Most drivers are open-source, which leads to the absence of closed-source performance in certain aspects.

3. Since the interface of OpenWRT is quite similar, we will take mleaf’s OpenWRT CC v1.6 version as an example: Currently, I think this firmware with Gargoyle QoS is the best and very stable.

Default configuration of OpenWRT CC v1.6 firmware:

Management address:192.168.2.1

Login password:root/admin

1. After logging into the router, the following main interface appears as shown:

2. Click on the “Network” – “Interfaces” in the left menu and set it as shown in the following image:

3. Click the “Modify” button on the WAN interface information on the right as shown in the following image:

4. Select the protocol item as “PPPoE” in the basic settings of the WAN interface, then click the switch protocol button to access the PPPoE broadband dialing settings page. In the area marked in red in the following image, input the PPPoE broadband account and password:

5. After completing the settings, click the “Save and Apply” button at the bottom right to take effect as shown in the following image: