Linksys WRT54G 802.11g Wireless Router $31 at Rakuten.com Shopping

Can someone tell me the difference between this and the WRT54GL?

Does the letter L means Linux? That means the OS inside the router is Linux.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRT54G

Yeah, you can update the firmware on th GL to dd-wrt which gives all kinds of additional functionality. Problem I've had is getting wireless adapters to connect to it using any kind of encryption. If anybody has any experience with this, I'd appreciate a little advice.

i actually have this router and got it to work with my laptop wirelessly last night. i chose WPA-PSK as my encryption method and chose a passcode. i had a hard time connecting wireless devices with WEP so that's why i went with WPA-PSK. however, i couldn't get my trendnet wireless adapter on a desktop computer to work. i will be working on it later today.

The L means linux yes. I believe the GL is an older model but has more memory than the G allowing to flash it with DD-wrt.

The WRT54GL is the version which Linksys brought back on popular demand from Linux/DD-WRT fans. It's same as WRT54G v4. Yes, it has Linux and more memory. But its popularity is based on the fact that it was the one of the first and by far the most popular router for DD-WRT and other custom firmwares.

This one works with DD-WRT as well, just that it's a bit more tougher and yes more riskier. If you are unlucky you may even hose your router. So be careful.

This one is also shown to perform poorly unless running the custom firmware. IIRC Tom's Hardware did a review on it, conclusion: sucks

Get the WRT54GL, or better still a Buffalo WHR-HP-G54
http://www.buy.com/prod/Buffalo_AirStation_G54_High_Power_Wireless_Cable_DSL_Smart_Router_WHR/q/loc/101/201718557.html
It has more features out of box, same ability to run DD-WRT, and better SNR, longer range on either stock or DD-WRT firmware.

thanks for the info #7. I was on the fence about buying the WHR-HP-G54, but now I will get it for sure. Hey, with the buffalo router can you use it as a wireless extender combined with another brand of router, or does it need to be two WHR-HP-G54's?

thanks for the info #7. I was on the fence about buying the WHR-HP-G54, but now I will get it for sure. Hey, with the buffalo router can you use it as a wireless extender combined with another brand of router, or does it need to be two WHR-HP-G54's?

i picked up the wrt54g recently and have to say it was a pain in the doughnut.
using wep + mac address filtering, whenever a wireless device would connect to the router it would drop any connected devices. i did a linksys fw upgrade and it seems to be working now.
i wish i went with a gl model.

#9 that could work if you are flashing dd-wrt, if you are, get the other buffalo, the WHR-G54S, better piece of hardware, see the wiki for DD-WRT. If you're looking for WDS on the regular firmware, it may work, but no way anyone will support their hardware working with that of another vendor.

In general with WDS you want the same hardware for both routers.

I ditto #11. Having tried WDS between older Linksys and the Buffalo
WHR-G54S I know that it doesn't work. I use WDS linksys to linksys and buffalo to buffalo and it works very well. Get two of the WHR-G54S.