[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

[followmsi]

Actually, it's the opposite. Prior to V15, the ntp update code was bugged such that it never fired again after the router was booted and set the time.

Just to make sure, try setting the router to log successful updates via telnet/ssh with

nvram set ntp_log=1
nvram commit

reboot not necessary after changing this setting.

Then you should see entries like this in the syslog

Dec  3 05:59:57 ntp: start NTP update
Dec  3 05:59:57 ntp: NTP update successful after 1 attempt(s)

For me, it's been very accurate. I have a PC that I'm using with Windows Media Center as my main home theater that has a RTC that runs a bit fast. I'm using the router as my network SNTP server to update it's clock and it's kept things right in sync (comparing the PC clock with the clock on my cable box that I still have)

I may also re-think the default logging setting for the next release.

Thanks John !

Now I can see the successful NTP update in the logs.
But I still wonder why the router had a 7 seconds difference, especially if NTP is working better now.

Anyway .. I will check for time differences in a few days/weeks again.

Regards

 

[Unicorphia]

First of all, with respect to the community, my condolences to John. I lost my parents this year and it was a learning experience to appreciate my loved ones while I have them. Best regards to you.

My newbie question is regarding this firmware, is this latest compatible with the N66R? The initial post says:

"The following routers are supported by this fork:

• N16, N66U, AC66U, AC56U, AC68U, AC68P (and the retail and color versions, R and W)"

and I just want to make sure the "R" refers to the N66 and not just the AC68.

TIA.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Yes this firmware works great with the N66R. There is no difference in any Asus RT-N66 from U, R, W. They are all the same hardware.

U = online retail
R = Retail stores such as Best Buy.
W= The router is White.

 

[Unicorphia]

Yes this firmware works great with the N66R. There is no difference in any Asus RT-N66 from U, R, W. They are all the same hardware.

U = online retail
R = Retail stores such as Best Buy.
W= The router is White.

I see, that's great to know, and thanks very much for the reply, Kal-EL.

 

[Unicorphia]

Update: flashed from an Asus 376 version from last year to 374.43_2-15E5j9527 and it worked great. I reset the router, set everything up again, and I'm seeing no issues so far. Thanks everyone for your support and resources here. Now I will take some time reading your threads about this router and of the things people here have been doing with it, and I think that will be fun.

 

[Gravityz]

i just upgraded to V15E5(coming from V13E1)
everything seems ok but i noticed one thing.

with version 13 i did not use jffs which is currently enabled(checked when logging into the router)

on the system information page however it says that jffs is unmounted while it clearly is.

any thoughts?

on administration/system it also says that jffs is not enabled

i think if i enable it here it probably will work but just checking on what to do
enable first, format partition on boot later
enable and format partion on boot also ?
save logging to jffs ?(i do not think it was logging before on jffs so what is the catch/advantage)

 

[john9527]

Update: flashed from an Asus 376 version from last year to 374.43_2-15E5j9527 and it worked great. I reset the router, set everything up again, and I'm seeing no issues so far. Thanks everyone for your support and resources here. Now I will take some time reading your threads about this router and of the things people here have been doing with it, and I think that will be fun.

Welcome to the forum! You've already made a positive impression by showing you actually read before doing

 

[john9527]

i just upgraded to V15E5(coming from V13E1)
everything seems ok but i noticed one thing.

with version 13 i did not use jffs which is currently enabled(checked when logging into the router)

on the system information page however it says that jffs is unmounted while it clearly is.

any thoughts?

on administration/system it also says that jffs is not enabled

i think if i enable it here it probably will work but just checking on what to do
enable first, format partition on boot later
enable and format partion on boot also ?

On the MIPS based routers the jffs space is created from the leftover space after the code has been loaded. As the size of the firmware image grows, the beginning of jffs can be overwritten causing corruption/problems (Hence the warning to make sure you have a backup of jffs in the release notes).

So, if the admin page says it's disabled,
Select Enable JFFS, and format at next boot
Reboot and wait a couple of minutes
Reboot again without changing anything (this may not be necessary, but sometimes it takes two reboots to successfully do the format)
Things should now be back in sync
If you had anything on jffs, restore via telnet/ssh cmdline from backup.

save logging to jffs ?(i do not think it was logging before on jffs so what is the catch/advantage)

Some people are concerned about minimizing the number of flash writes, so I provided the option. Advantage is if the router crashes, you may have some data on the crash in a version of the syslog on jffs (the jffs copy is actually not realtime, so it may or may not have anything to help).

 

[Gravityz]

as always. thanks again for your splendid explanation.

i will do as you suggested (have to wait for my son to quit Spatoon)

thanks again

On the MIPS based routers the jffs space is created from the leftover space after the code has been loaded. As the size of the firmware image grows, the beginning of jffs can be overwritten causing corruption/problems (Hence the warning to make sure you have a backup of jffs in the release notes).

So, if the admin page says it's disabled,
Select Enable JFFS, and format at next boot
Reboot and wait a couple of minutes
Reboot again without changing anything (this may not be necessary, but sometimes it takes two reboots to successfully do the format)
Things should now be back in sync
If you had anything on jffs, restore via telnet/ssh cmdline from backup.


Some people are concerned about minimizing the number of flash writes, so I provided the option. Advantage is if the router crashes, you may have some data on the crash in a version of the syslog on jffs (the jffs copy is actually not realtime, so it may or may not have anything to help).

 

[huotg01]

Hi John

Could you, in the first post of this thread (or here), remind me (and others) what is the goal of the fork ?

Thanks,

Gaston

 

[Blinkyz]

Seriously?

For those of you not yet ready to update to the latest 376 or 378 releases, an incremental update (fixpack) to 374.43_2 is available. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments

 

[Gravityz]

bummer you beat me to it
Still to add something just in case people keep on asking.

Asus has crippeled their firmware after release 374 due to FCC regulations
result:
shortened wifi range
less power output
no way to set the router to other countries(thus increasing power)(actually their are ways but you do not want to go their with certain routers)

so if you like better wifi coverage(what the router is made for) you might want to stick with this fork update.
The fork update includes al the latest security updates from the original Asus firmware but with the improved range.

Seriously?

For those of you not yet ready to update to the latest 376 or 378 releases, an incremental update (fixpack) to 374.43_2 is available. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments

 

[Lotta Cox]

I did a factory reset last week. First time in a while. But since then I cant turn off Log DHCP queries. They were not logging before the reset.
Log DHCP queries is set to no and I still get them in my log. Isn't this a DHCP querry?
Dec 7 12:55:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[1121]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.1.47 09:11:d4:7a:bf:07 Tivomini1

 

[john9527]

And you both beat me to it That first paragraph plus the later 'Some notes on this fork' section attempt to summarize the goals.

This fork is basically a KISS principle fork. I try to keep it so that's it reasonable up to date with some of the most popular new features and security updates, while working to not try and break things (sometime I fail, but try to fix anything very quickly ). It's meant for people looking for a 'set it and forget it' environment....it just runs. It doesn't have things like fancy icons or client renaming or the prettiest status pages in the gui..

Secondarily, some of the older components do work better for some, especially on the older MIPS routers.

 

[john9527]

I did a factory reset last week. First time in a while. But since then I cant turn off Log DHCP queries. They were not logging before the reset.
Log DHCP queries is set to no and I still get them in my log. Isn't this a DHCP querry?
Dec 7 12:55:48 dnsmasq-dhcp[1121]: DHCPACK(br0) 192.168.1.47 09:11:d4:7a:bf:07 Tivomini1

I just double checked, and it appears to be working for me to turn them off. One thing, on the latest fork release I moved the option to the Administration > System page to keep all the logging options in one place and because it interacts with some of the other logging options.

 

[huotg01]

Seriously?

For those of you not yet ready to update to the latest 376 or 378 releases, an incremental update (fixpack) to 374.43_2 is available. This older code base has a history of being very stable, and some of the older code components may perform better in some environments

Yes, it is a very serious question. I have been away from this forum for a long time, and am not aware of (or forgot) the reasons why John started this fork. When I wanted to find out, I was unable to find the answer. As long as I remember, there was some other and precise reasons, no ?

Thanks,

Gaston.

 

[john9527]

Yes, it is a very serious question. I have been away from this forum for a long time, and am not aware of (or forgot) the reasons why John started this fork. When I wanted to find out, I was unable to find the answer. As long as I remember, there was some other and precise reasons, no ?

Thanks,

Gaston.

The reason I started this fork.....three of them actually......
- I was having a problem with Plex Media Server and upnp that wasn't getting a lot of attention, so I thought I'd try to track it down (I actually did and the fix was picked up by the miniupnpd author)
- I never used git and wanted to learn something new
- At the time, 376 was having some 'growing pains', and didn't work well for me, while 374 was good except for the above mentioned problem.

Since then, it just grew....I was actually surprised by the popularity of the release. As it stands, I get about 4000 downloads for each new release. Small compared to Merlin releases, but enough to keep it going. Plus....it still works great for me

 

[huotg01]

The reason I started this fork.....three of them actually......
- I was having a problem with Plex Media Server and upnp that wasn't getting a lot of attention, so I thought I'd try to track it down (I actually did and the fix was picked up by the miniupnpd author)
- I never used git and wanted to learn something new
- At the time, 376 was having some 'growing pains', and didn't work well for me, while 374 was good except for the above mentioned problem.

Since then, it just grew....I was actually surprised by the popularity of the release. As it stands, I get about 4000 downloads for each new release. Small compared to Merlin releases, but enough to keep it going. Plus....it still works great for me

Thanks John.

Gaston

 

[RMerlin]

And it also meant I was no longer flooded with complains from RT-N66U owners that their routers were suddenly less powerful - so everyone wins!

 

[john9527]

And it also meant I was no longer flooded with complains from RT-N66U owners that their routers were suddenly less powerful - so everyone wins!

A pleasant side benefit...I don't even own an N66U, just provide the service (N16U too)