How To Upgrade (Flash) Linksys' WRT54G/GL/GS Firmware to Tomato Firmware For IP Address and Bandwidth Monitoring

As a System Administrator one is usually faced with the challenge of providing the best possible technology solution within the confinement of an economic budget. Hence most small scale companies will definitely prefer the zero cost of a firmware upgrade of a Linksys' WRT54G/GL/GS  router as opposed to the cost of purchasing a Server to perform the same function.

Below are the Stages involved:

• Download Tomato_1_28 version, it can be gotten from various sites, simply type "download Download Tomato_1_28" into google search bar and a list of possible sites will popup an example of such sites is the URL : 

                                                   http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

• Download Toastman Firmware 1.28.7636 VLAN for Tomato wrt54gl. Most links for this download will take you to this URL below:

                      http://www.4shared.com/file/ALVZehNHce/1287636_VLAN.htm

• Download B1 Free Archiver (B1FreeArchiver.exe) From the URL below:

                                                                      http://b1.org

Having downloaded all these you are ready to proceed. You will need to extract the Tomato_1_28 folder from its .Zip file and for that you can use WinRAR or WinZip archiver software both easily available. You will also need to extract the Toastman Firmware 1.28.7636 VLAN from its .B1 file and thats what the B1 Free Archiver is for. Simply install it and use it to extract the Toastman Firmware 1.28.7636 VLAN folder. Now we go to work.

• Using a network cable connect your PC to the LAN of your Linksys' WRT54G/GL/GS router
• Open a browser and type http://192.168.1.1 (login: admin, passwd: admin)
• Go to Administration > Firmware upgrade.

                   

• Click the "Browse" button and navigate to the Tomato folder and select the WRT54G_WRT54GL.bin file and click OK and then click the Upgrade button and the bottom of this page. Please note that during the upgrade there must be no interruption what so  ever , you are not to touch the computer or the router during this process and for places where power shortage is likely, you are advised to use an Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) device.

           

• navigate to the Tomato folder and select the WRT54G_WRT54GL.bin file

       

• Click the upgrade button and wait. Usually it takes between 10-25 minutes for the firmware upgrade to be complete.

       

• After the firmware flashing has run its cause, you will realize that you can now monitor Bandwidth usage but IP Address monitoring is not yet available. For that you will have to upgrade the firmware from this basic Tomato firmware to Toastman firmware.
• Go to Administration > Firmware upgrade.

         

• Click the Browse button and navigate to Toastman Firmware 1.28.7636 VLAN and select tomato-NDUSB-1.28.7636Toastman-IPT-ND-VLAN-VPN.trx file.

               

• Click the Upgrade button and wait for the flashing to run its cause without interruption and afterwards you will be able to monitor IP Address on the Linksys router.

   

• Enjoy!!!
• NOTE: If you want to clear all the data and settings on the Links router before the upgrade you will have to perform the 30-30-30 reset. i.e Hold down the reset button and count for 30 seconds and then unplug the power cable while still holding down the reset button, after another 30 seconds count plug back the power cable while still holding down the reset button and finally after a final 30 seconds remove your hand from the reset button and all the data will be cleared. If you do this before the first firmware flashing all the data will be cleared and after the flashing you will be required to create a new password and reconfigure all the settings again i.e wireless name and passwords e.t.c. but this is not necessary if you don't wish to clear all the current data, you can very well successfully flash the device without resetting it.