14 DAY TRIAL // OpenWrt is a GNU/Linux distribution for embedded devices that has been designed to work on routers and a number of other platforms. It's been under development for a long time and now the final version, 14.07, has been released.
OpenWrt is a fully writable filesystem with package management. It's famous for being one the best distributions based on Linux that you can find for these platforms, not to mention the fact it's still maintained and improved.
This latest version of OpenWrt doesn't bring too many changes since Release Candidate 3, but if you have any of the older iterations of this operating system, it would be a good idea to upgrade as soon as possible. The new system is more stable and comes with lots of new features.
What the devs are saying about it
"Instead of trying to create a single, static firmware, OpenWrt provides a fully writable filesystem with package management. This frees you from the application selection and configuration provided by the vendor and allows you to customize the device through the use of packages to suit any application. For developer, OpenWrt is the framework to build an application without having to build a complete firmware around it; for users this means the ability for full customization, to use the device in ways never envisioned."
The developers have explained that Linux kernel has been updated to version 3.10, the IPv6 support is now native, the NAND-flash filesystem is now supported, various networking improvements have been made, the DHCP and DHCPv6 handling is now a lot better, the image builder now works, and a few NAT and firewall throughput improvements have been implemented. This is just a small list of the changes in OpenWrt 14.07.
OpenWrt offers support for a larger number of devices and covers famous like Asus, Belkin, D-Link, Netgear, you name it. There is a huge list on the official website, for anyone interested in seeing if they have the necessary hardware. If you don't find it, don't risk it.
A complete list of changes and updates can be found in the official announcement. You can download OpenWrt 14.07 right now from Softpedia. This is not a regular Linux distribution and it has to be deployed differently, depending on the device being used.
It's also important to mention that it's possible to soft-brick the router in the installation process, but it's rarely something that can't be fixed. Take care and make sure that you have a supported router.