Introduction
From X-Wrt
Contents |
X-Wrt: Short background
Beginning
There is always either a long or a short version of a story- though it is often best to stay with the shortest of them. The story about why this guide is being made takes its beginning only a few years back. It all began with the introduction of the first wireless routers running an embedded Linux OS. The first icon was, and is still, the characteristic blue and black, dual antenna, Linksys WRT54G/GL/GS models. But other models have followed and extended on the potential of the original. The company Linksys did at first neglect to adhere to the requirements of the GNU GPL licensing of the Linux source-code. The process of "convincing" Linksys to release the source-code, has become one of the prime examples of the legal position of free software. The subsequent release of the original Linksys source-code, through the intervention of the Free Software Foundation (FSF), erupted quickly into numerous projects developing alternative firmware distributions. The presently most popular, and well known, of these distributions is: OpenWrt.
OpenWrt
The introduction text on the OpenWrt.org website describes it as a Linux distribution for embedded devices. Embedded devices is a somewhat broad category, and the main target of the OpenWrt developers are cheap consumer-grade wireless routers (a complete list of supported devices can be found at: http://toh.openwrt.org/).
The OpenWrt developers have instead of trying to create a single, static firmware, constructed a fully writable filesystem with package management. This frees users from the application selection and configuration provided by the vendor and allows users to customize the device through the use of packages to suit any situation. For developers, OpenWrt is the framework to build an application without having to build a complete firmware around it. For users OpenWrt offers the ability for full customization, to use wireless devices in ways never envisioned.
X-Wrt
The common, or classic, way of interacting with a Linux OS is through the text-based world of a shell within a terminal-window. This is also the case with the default installation of OpenWrt. It is a challenging process to learn to navigate and interact in text-only mode. The majority of all users of wireless networks are accustomed to graphical user interfaces (GUI), with point and click options.
The default version of OpenWrt does come with a simple web-interface (webif). But it is quite limited and lacks numerous functions and controls. X-Wrt is thought of as an extension of the basic webif of OpenWrt, which addresses the need for enhancing the users experience of OpenWrt.
It is important to clarify that X-Wrt is NOT a fork of OpenWrt. The developers of X-Wrt work in conjunction with the OpenWrt developers to extend OpenWrt. The X-Wrt extensions/packages currently work with the latest public release of OpenWrt - White Russian 0.9. The X-Wrt project does maintain backwards compatibility with the prior releases; OpenWrt White Russian RC5/RC6. In conjunction with this, there is support for OpenWrt's upcoming Kamikaze firmware-branch in development. X-Wrt was started because there was a need for end user extensions to OpenWrt, such as an enhanced web management console (webif). For a long time now it has been established that OpenWrt is the best firmware in its class. It far exceeds other firmwares in performance, stability, extensibility, robustness, and design. We at X-Wrt decided it was long past time for end users to get access to this superior firmware. We are a separate project from OpenWrt due to the difference in focus and development ideals. We are considerably more pragmatic than OpenWrt and have the goal of providing solutions today, while OpenWrt has a more idealistic development philosophy and intends to perfect the firmware core, no matter how many rewrites and how much time it takes. This difference in development attitude creates a complementary atmosphere that benefits everyone.
The Guides
There are presently three guides in development - and they will for long into the future continue as work-in-progress.
- Installation Guide
- User Manual
- Programmer's Guide to the Webif
- Theme Guide
The various guides will as best as possible explain all the needed steps and procedures of the process from choosing the right wireless device, basic configuration and towards much more advanced use. It wil be a learning process which moves through:
- Installation procedures
- Navigation and use of the X-Wrt webif
- Advanced network setups
- Programming howto's
As the nature of a work-in-progress indicates: The content might in certain instances be slightly out of date with the latest development version. The latest information about the project is always to be found on the main website:
Questions, problems and general feedback is best directed at the forums:
The X-Wrt project maintains an IRC channel on Freenode:
irc.freenode.net #x-wrt
License
X-Wrt is licensed under GNU GPL Version 2, or (at your option) any later version. To learn more about the GNU GPL Version 2 license please visit:
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html
Credits
X-Wrt is a free, open-source, community-driven project. The ideals and practice of the X-Wrt developers community are:
- Free and open-source. The project is entirely free and open-source, the source-code, packages and all other material, such as this guide, is licensed under GNU GPL.
- Easy entrance. The project should always be open to new contributors and have a low entrance barrier. Anyone should be able to contribute. We actively grant write access to anyone interested in having it. We believe people are responsible when given responsibility. Just ask and we'll sign you up.
- Community driven. This isn't about 'us' offering 'you' something, it's about everyone coming together to work towards a common goal.
- No monetary donations without accounting. The project can not accept monetary donations without having a treasurer to hold and account for all donations and what they have gone towards.
The X-Wrt project members/developers
This would not have been possible without the commitment of the OpenWrt.org project members/developers.
