We’re swimming in GPL routers today, with The Click Modular Router Project:
Click is a modular software router originally developed by MIT LCS’s Parallel and Distributed Operating Systems group, with significant contributions from Mazu Networks and the ICSI Center for Internet Research. Click routers are flexible, configurable, and easy to understand. They’re also pretty fast, for software routers running on commodity hardware; on a 700 MHz Pentium III, a Click IP router can handle up to 435,000 64-byte packets a second.
…and the Shortcut Router:
This software is a routing daemon designed expecially for wireless rooftop networks.
A wireless rooftop network is a network where there are several hosts connected by wireless (wi-fi, infrared, laser) links to form a mesh. Host part of this mesh cannot move because the wireless hardware (antenna, laser receiver, etc.) is firmly posed on rooftop or on ground.
The working principle is simple: each host gets an unique IPV6 address that represents its latitude and longitude; to build a route from A to B software choose the A neighbour nearest to B and moves to it, and so it goes until B is reached.
…and of course, WISP-Dist:
WISP-Dist is an embedded Linux distribution for wireless routers, but can be used for other purposes as well. Entire system fits in 8 MB flash/16 MB RAM. The goal is to create an open, customizable and easy to use solution for wireless routers. Development was sponsored by ThunderWorx.
Swimming is perilously close to drowning sometimes, so anybody who’s compared these things is welcome to leave comments on their experience with them.