DD-WRT Step 5 – SSH Access DDwrt router: setup your RSA and client key, configure Putty and discover your Linux kernel. Enabling SSHd allows you to access the Linux OS of your router with an SSH client (Putty works well on Windows, for example).
Which router does this post cover?
This post will cover exclusively the one I have, but same principles apply for any other: Netgear® AC1900 – Nighthawk® Smart WiFi Router aka R7000:
AC1900 Features:
- AC1900 WiFi—600+1300 Mbps speeds
- 1GHz Dual Core Processor
- Dynamic QoS prioritizes network traffic for uninterrupted video streaming for applications like YouTube®, Netflix® & others
- ReadyCLOUD® USB Access allows you to enjoy personal and secure cloud access to USB storage anytime, anywhere
Pre-requisites
Step 1 – Basic Configuration
Step 2 – Wireless Configuration
Step 3 – Upgrade Firmware
Step 4 – Miscellaneous Settings
Enable SSH Daemon
Enabling SSHd allows you to access the Linux OS of your router with an SSH client (Putty works well on Windows, for example).
- Password login – allow login with the router password (username is root)
- SSHd Port – the port number for SSHd (default is 22)
- Authorized Keys – here you paste your public keys to enable key-based login (more secure than a simple password)
Personally, I use the same Private SSH key to access all my devices and IaaS servers on the cloud. Paired with Putty Agent, it’s so powerful and everything becomes password-free.
Setup Putty Client
These are just screenshots of Putty with basic setup to access DDwrt via SSH:
Discover What’s Inside DDwrt
As you can see, a flash drive has been automatically mounted and will be used as external /opt holder for Entware.
Linux kernel:
uname -a
Linux ddwrt 4.4.215 #1052 SMP Wed Mar 4 12:16:22 +04 2020 armv7l DD-WRT
What’s at the root?
Wrapping up
Let’s move on to the next step 6: Format a Flash Drive with ext2 so you can install Entware on it!