A few weeks ago I was asked to set up a Wireless link for my Dad’s business in Sabula, IA.  DD-WRT on a pair of consumer grade routers seemed like a good fit, as the link only crossed a street, and the business really isn’t big enough to warrant more expensive hardware.

So the morning of I got online to find out what was available, and what would work with DD-WRT.  And while it isn’t perfect, I really liked the Netgear WNR2000(V2).  It was available at my local Best Buy for $70, and with the Broadcom chipset and 32mb (!) of RAM it really was a no brainer.  The single downside is that it doesn’t have enough flash to support a standard DD-WRT installation.  It has 4MB which should be enough, but forum posts say otherwise.  The closest you can get is the standard image minus the Kaid software.  Also, there is a firmware package available for this router, so the upgrade can be performed from the stock web interface.

I was able to use it to set up the wireless link without issue, and without optimal router placement either.  The two routers have several walls between them, on top of going out one building and into the other.  Through all that, the connection was rock solid.  Bandwidth tests on the far end were giving me the full speed of the Internet connection.

So the WNR2000 is a nice router, but the important part is that it’s a common router.  Given the choice, I’d rather buy a Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH or WHR-HP-G300N.  But they’re not available locally and I didn’t have the time to order them.  But from now on if I’m in a scenario where I need a router quickly, I can turn to the WNR2000.