The DD-WRT Controversy – WiFi Planet

OpenWrtJune 24, 2022

0 45 7 minutes read

By Aaron Weiss

April 23, 2009

To some vocal critics, DD-WRT, the open supply firmware presently operating on multiple million wi-fi routers, is betraying its open supply roots and probably even violating the General Public License underneath which the software program is launched. [Updated: May 6, 2009]

With an estimated a million or extra wi-fi routers operating DD-WRT firmware, it is probably not so stunning that—like something common—the free open supply undertaking has attracted its critics. Some say that DD-WRT is sluggish to evolve, with lengthy delays between releases. Some say that it nonetheless harbors many bugs, regardless of the time spent in improvement. But the harshest accusations of all have little to do with DD-WRT’s efficiency and rather a lot to do with the undertaking’s ethics. To some vocal critics, DD-WRT is betraying its open supply roots, and probably even violating the GPL—the GNU General Public License—underneath which the software program is launched.

If all this feels like some form of gibberish, DD-WRT is software program that you would be able to load (“flash”) onto a suitable wi-fi router, reminiscent of many fashions within the Linksys WRT54G family. The DD-WRT software program replaces the unique (“stock”) firmware included by the producer and supplies many more features, a few of that are often obtainable in solely costly enterprise-grade routers, reminiscent of bandwidth monitoring, hotspot administration, shopper and bridge modes, and output energy adjustment.

DD-WRT is just not alone amongst different firmware initiatives. Sveasoft, HyperWRT, OpenWRT, and Tomato all share a standard household lineage with DD-WRT that traces again to the unique Linksys firmware for its WRT54G V1 router. Because that firmware was licensed as open supply software program underneath the GPL, builders downloaded and constructed upon it. And in actual fact, DD-WRT is just not the primary descendant of the unique Linksys code to court docket controversy.

Sveasoft, OpenWRT, and the GPL

One of the earliest initiatives to construct on the open supply Linksys codebase is OpenWRT. Although OpenWRT launched a powerfully open platform to the WRT54G router, it has lengthy been a undertaking oriented towards superior customers, configured primarily via command-line entry.

Because OpenWRT itself is an open supply GPL-primarily based undertaking, different builders can construct upon it, for instance to wrap it with a person-pleasant interface. Enter Sveasoft, a undertaking spearheaded by one James Ewing, accountable for attracting extra mainstream customers to different router firmware with its releases named Satori, Alchemy, and Talisman. But Ewing’s enterprise practices started attracting criticism from open supply advocates.

Sveasoft’s firmware improvement integrated code from OpenWRT. Because OpenWRT is licensed underneath the GPL, a undertaking that makes use of OpenWRT code should make obtainable any code utilizing the GPL’d code. Sveasoft, nonetheless, would launch binaries of its firmware with out corresponding supply code. They did launch supply to older firmware variations, however lengthy delays reportedly separated the discharge of latest binaries from corresponding supply.

One frequent false impression in regards to the GPL is that by utilizing GPL code, your entire undertaking should be open sourced underneath the identical license. In reality, it’s authorized to develop closed or different-licensed code on high of GPL code, as long as the 2 codebases usually are not linked right into a single binary compile. But on this case, entry to the GPL code should be made obtainable with the binary distribution.

In March 2006, OpenWRT publicly accused Sveasoft of violating Section 4 of the GPL, thus terminating their license to make use of OpenWRT code.

A second accusation in opposition to Sveasoft concerned their implementation of subscription charges to successfully entry the firmware binaries and related supply code. When distributing GPL-primarily based code, it’s authorized to cost a payment for assist, and it may be authorized to cost for entry to binaries and supply code. But as a result of the software program is launched underneath the GPL, anybody who receives it will probably technically republish it elsewhere with out mentioned charges—a apply that Sveasoft was hostile to, to the purpose of attacking Web websites that republished Sveasoft code and revoking entry to paying members accused of such. To some, this meant that Sveasoft was making an attempt to bypass the GPL, by successfully making use of closed-supply ideas to an open-supply undertaking.

Although Sveasoft’s alleged GPL violations had been by no means delivered to court docket, their enterprise practices—which additionally reportedly included banning critics from on-line boards—grew to become the topic of scorn within the open supply neighborhood who accused the undertaking of violating a minimum of the spirit of the GPL for their very own benefit.

At this time, a brand new undertaking was spawned (or “forked”) from the Sveasoft Alchemy firmware. The new undertaking, named DD-WRT and headed by a German coder named Sebastian Gottschall (or “brainslayer” on-line), was supposed to additional develop a person-pleasant, however highly effective router firmware outdoors the controversial practices of Sveasoft.

Unsurprisingly, Sveasoft thought of the DD-WRT undertaking a betrayal of kinds, referring to it as “Sveasoft fork” somewhat than its new identify. Today, the Sveasoft enterprise has been liquidated and DD-WRT—a number of variations later (the newest is V24 SP1)—stands as the preferred different firmware.

Allegations revisited

Despite DD-WRT’s success, although, some now say the undertaking is succumbing to the identical temptations as its progenitor Sveasoft, once more violating the spirit of the GPL and open supply software program.

One controversy surrounds DD-WRT’s Web interface. When Brainslayer forked a replica of the Sveasoft Alchemy code, he modified the interface to replicate and re-model it to suit the brand new DD-WRT undertaking. But, as a result of DD-WRT itself was launched underneath the GPL, different customers might do the identical factor—modify, re-model, and recompile DD-WRT—and distribute it as their very own.

With V23, Brainslayer printed a observe on the assist web page about compiling DD-WRT: “WARNING: Due to abuse by those re-branding DD-WRT and selling it, or pre-flashed routers with it on eBay, builds dated later than 08/04/2006 have some protections against re-branding the web UI.”

To assist this variation, the DD-WRT Web interface was distributed as non-GPL code, though it configures a platform primarily based largely on GPL-code (going again via OpenWRT and the unique Linksys firmware). Some say that Brainslayer encrypted the interface code to stop additional modification; Brainslayer himself denies this and says the interface code is just distributed in compiled kind.

The GPL does enable a developer to create proprietary code that operates on GPL code, however after all the GPL-lined portion of code should nonetheless be made obtainable. Brainslayer and different DD-WRT supporters say that no GPL clause is being violated. Whether the actual methodology of DD-WRT distribution is in compliance with the GPL V2, some within the open supply neighborhood really feel that Brainslayer’s motion is basically hypocritical—by taking and modifying the interface of another person’s undertaking, after which implementing mechanisms to stop others from doing the identical to his.

Another controversy includes the distribution of DD-WRT supply code itself. Some allege that the supply code is just not made obtainable in good religion—once more, within the spirit of the GPL. The obtainable code, some say, doesn’t or is just not possible to compile. Others argue that that is hogwash. The DD-WRT assist website does present fundamental directions for compiling the supply. The supply itself, some say, is out-of-date in comparison with binary releases. This echoes among the criticism in opposition to Sveasoft, who delayed launch of supply to provide their binaries “preferential” remedy—a transparent violation of the GPL.

Again, Brainslayer and DD-WRT supporters—who vigorously defend the undertaking in its on-line boards—say that the code is out there. On the floor, it does appear to be obtainable, via DD-WRT Subversion-based code launch platform. Which, it seems, opens up a brand new can of worms.

As it seems, a number of items of DD-WRT’s printed supply code would appear to obviously embody code from third events, which isn’t licensed for re-distribution. This consists of code from Broadcom, Atheros, Intel, and Microsoft, amongst others.

For instance, one piece of supply code [viewable here] reads fairly clearly within the header feedback: “This is UNPUBLISHED PROPRIETARY SOURCE CODE of Broadcom Corporation; the contents of this file may not be disclosed to third parties, copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Broadcom Corporation.”

True, it’s potential that DD-WRT has acquired permission from Broadcom to make use of the above code, though no such proof has been printed. The drawback is, even with such permission, redistribution of this code violated the GPL license underneath which DD-WRT is launched, as a result of that license disallows incorporation of code, which itself is just not unencumbered by redistribution limitations.

A 3rd accusation in opposition to DD-WRT includes payment-primarily based entry to specialised variations of the software program. With DD-WRT V24, Brainslayer has made obtainable a “Special Edition” which incorporates some per-person bandwidth/rule options not obtainable within the free version. This version prices just below 20 Euros (about US$26), and for some within the open supply neighborhood, is a slap within the face. Whether it, in actual fact, violates the GPL stays unclear. On the same observe, DD-WRT additionally sells a payment-primarily based license to is x86-primarily based model of DD-WRT, supposed to run on extra highly effective routers And once more, accusers say that DD-WRT is successfully charging for entry to GPL-primarily based binaries. But Brainslayer defends the cost, saying that the x86 model should embody proprietary code from Atheros, for which DD-WRT should pay a license payment.

Spirit and regulation

Unlike the Sveasoft case, DD-WRT has not been formally referred to as out for GPL violations by any homeowners of its base code like OpenWRT. Still, there appears to be a rising sentiment within the open supply neighborhood that Brainslayer has moved the DD-WRT away from the true “spirit” of the GPL.

It could seem ironic, then, that though DD-WRT itself was spawned in response to the reducing openness of Sveasoft, some customers and builders are actually shifting away from DD-WRT to extra transparently open initiatives, like Tomato and OpenWRT, which now features a extra mature and open person interface, X-WRT.

Perhaps probably the most placing facet of this entire melodrama is that it was all spawned by the standard WRT54G and its open supply firmware, first launched seven years in the past.