Asuswrt-Merlin vs. dd-wrt

[BassKozz]

I just recently purchased an Asus RT-N66U and after reviewing the dd-wrt wiki page I see that flashing dd-wrt is a two step process, and I must flash Asuswrt-Merlin first to identify my CFE version, which is fine with me, but now I am having second thoughts about even going "all-the-way" to dd-wrt and instead stick with Asuswrt-Merlin. After reviewing the github pulse page for Asuswrt-Merlin it appears as if RMerlin is doing a fantastic job of keeping his flavor of Asuswrt uptodate and insync with the latest changes/fixes/enhancements that Asus is providing.

So my question is, as an Asus RT-N66U, RT-AC66U, or RT-N16 owner why would you want to use dd-wrt instead of Asuswrt-Merlin? I am interested to hear peoples thoughts on this, is there a particular feature that dd-wrt has that Asuswrt-Merlin doesn't that is a deal breaker, what am I missing?

Thank you for your feedback,
-BassKozz

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Over the years I have been fiddling around with many different routers and OEM, and/or 3rd party firmwares. Bricking /debricking routewrs in the process. My personal view is you use 3rd party f/w for specific feature you are in need, you stay with OEM for general purpose use. I think if speed is main concern stay with OEM, if you need specific features, go 3rd party. Lately I lost interest on dd-wrt which is leaning more towards commercial service, I liked OpenWrt. Tomato with various flavors and Gargoyle. Now I am deep into UTM class appliances with NAS getting myself wet(say Linux Mint/Ubuntu in 64 bit), Whatever you do, have fun.

 

[RMerlin]

It's usually best to go with the firmware that has the least amount of features while having those that you specifically need. Fewer features = more reliability, fewer security risks, better performance, etc...

So if you don't need any of the numerous features DD-WRT adds, there is little reason to go with DD-WRT. One thing you'd also lose with DD-WRT is support for Optware/Entware, since DD-WRT broke compatibility with both of these software repos, and Brainslayer has no intention to bring back compatibility (citing that it's THEM who should adjust. Chicken and egg... sigh.)