Advert: date=September 2008Linksys, founded in 1988 and acquired by Cisco Systems in 2003, is the leader in salesFact: date=September 2008 of home and small office network products. Linksys also manufactures broadband and wireless routers, consumer and small business grade ethernet switching, VoIP equipment, wireless internet video camera, AV products, network storage systems, and other products.

WRT54G

main: Linksys WRT54G series

Perhaps the most notable product produced by Linksys was the WRT54G.

Consumer level routers consist of a processor and operating system, with most features implemented as software code with dedicated physical hardware kept to a minimum to save manufacturing costs. Consumer routers, however, have been known to be unreliable due to their dependence on software to provide features. Software-based routers not equipped with a fast processor can be slow to direct network traffic. The WRT54G was notable for having a fast processor but the firmware was imperfect and lacked high-end features.

Linksys decided to base the firmware upon the Linux operating system to reduce costs. Columbia Law School Professor Eben Moglen pointed out in 2002 that, due to the Linux-based nature of the firmware, Cisco was legally obligated to release the source code to the routers under the terms of the GNU General Public License or GPL. Cisco eventually acknowledged its obligation, released the code, and revealed the secrets of how the software code interfaced with the hardware.

This subsequently spawned an open source community dedicated to modding Linksys router firmware. Amateur programmers quickly learned how to add $600 features to $60 routers. This changed the dynamics of the router market as consumers' expectations of stability and features increased.

Linksys and other vendors then had to respond, since open source firmware is now freely available for licensing and customization, which would enable new router vendors to enter the market without the traditional barrier of having to develop the firmware code. The best consumer routers are now arguably comparable to what were formerly high-end routers.

The WRT54G and WRT54GS series of wireless routers were later changed to use a VxWorks kernel, which reduced the memory requirement for the box. Version 3 of the WRT54GS had 8 MB of flash, version 4 had 4 MB, and version 5 only 2 MB. The reduced flash capacity limits feature rich open source firmware from being added to standard Linksys routers. Linksys has continued production of a Linux-powered version labeled the WRT54GL, but it is not promoted as one of its flagship products.