Is the RT-AC68U V4 HND?

[maxbraketorque]

Anyone know?

 

[RMerlin]

Yes.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Thanks. That's what I suspected.

 

[diederik]

What does 'HND' stand for (and what it mean)?

 

[RMerlin]

What does 'HND' stand for (and what it mean)?

It's the name of the Broadcom platform used by their newer models starting with the RT-AC86U. Typically means the CPU is a BCM490x or a BCM675x.

 

[capncybo]

It's the name of the Broadcom platform used by their newer models starting with the RT-AC86U. Typically means the CPU is a BCM490x or a BCM675x.

Sooooo... Now I'm confused if HND started with the RT-AC86U but the RT-AC68U is a far Older router. How could the older router possibly be a HND???

 

[sfx2000]

What does 'HND' stand for (and what it mean)?

HND - Home Networking Division

As noted by the source code and man pages for the linux bhnd driver..

The bhnd driver provides a unified kernel bus interface to the on-chip interconnects used in Broadcom Home Networking Division (HND) devices. The Broadcom HND device family consists of SoCs (System On a Chip) and host-connected chipsets based on a common library of Broadcom IP cores connected via an internal hardware bus architecture. Drivers for these cores are implemented against the unified bhnd interface. The Sonic Inc. Silicon Backplane used in earlier HND devices is supported by the siba BHND driver. The ARM AMBA-based interconnect used in later HND devices is supported by the bcma BHND driver.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Sooooo... Now I'm confused if HND started with the RT-AC86U but the RT-AC68U is a far Older router. How could the older router possibly be a HND???

The V4 is a new version that is just now being released. You could consider it a new model with an old name and the original wifi capabilities, although there are likely to be some new features with the V4.

 

[RMerlin]

Sooooo... Now I'm confused if HND started with the RT-AC86U but the RT-AC68U is a far Older router. How could the older router possibly be a HND???

The RT-AC68U V4 is a major hardware revision. One of the nice benefits is it gets AES hardware acceleration:

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AC68U_V4 386.3_alpha1-g0d9656cad9 Thu Apr 15 02:26:35 UTC 2021
admin@RT-AC68U-E100:/tmp/home/root# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor    : 0
cpu model    : ARM
BogoMIPS    : 100.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer    : 0x42
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant    : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x100
CPU revision    : 0

processor    : 1
cpu model    : ARM
BogoMIPS    : 100.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer    : 0x42
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant    : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x100
CPU revision    : 0

And also 128 KB of nvram instead of 64 KB.

 

[capncybo]

The RT-AC68U V4 is a major hardware revision. One of the nice benefits is it gets AES hardware acceleration:

ASUSWRT-Merlin RT-AC68U_V4 386.3_alpha1-g0d9656cad9 Thu Apr 15 02:26:35 UTC 2021
admin@RT-AC68U-E100:/tmp/home/root# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor    : 0
cpu model    : ARM
BogoMIPS    : 100.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer    : 0x42
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant    : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x100
CPU revision    : 0

processor    : 1
cpu model    : ARM
BogoMIPS    : 100.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer    : 0x42
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant    : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x100
CPU revision    : 0

And also 128 KB of nvram instead of 64 KB.

I recently just bought myself a second RT-AC68U from Amazon.ca to try AiMesh & use as a Node. Your post had me hoping I got lucky... so SSH'd into the Node through my older one & into the newer unit...
BOOOO...
Apparently no aes for me ;-(

 

[RMerlin]

I recently just bought myself a second RT-AC68U from Amazon.ca to try AiMesh & use as a Node. Your post had me hoping I got lucky... so SSH'd into the Node through my older one & into the newer unit...
BOOOO...
Apparently no aes for me ;-(

That new model should be hitting retail around now or in November (it got delayed a number of times in the past).

I also expect retailers to clearly label it as a V4 - no idea how pricing will be affected.

 

[doczenith1]

It's amazing how long the 68U had endured albeit a reincarnation with the V4. I still use a Best Buy 68U as my RV router (USB tether) on weekend camping excursions.

 

[CaptnDanLKW]

It feels like the new AC68U v4 is just an AC86U with the trusty 68U name. All assumptions about its limitations (tight NVRAM), architecture (entware packages, 64bit), partition layout, NVRAM variables in /jffs, etc. will no longer apply. While I'm excited, (I expect one of my AC86Us is approaching its expiration date and this could be a good replacement) I have this unfortunate feeling that ASUS Marketing has learned nothing from the AC68U / AC86U naming confusion.

Then again, it *IS* marketing and they know AC68U is well liked and trusted, so slap a V4 on it and send it.

I can already see the threads "I can't flash", "problem with my 68U", 'Which Version are you running?"

 

[sfx2000]

I can already see the threads "I can't flash", "problem with my 68U", 'Which Version are you running?"

That is a valid point that someone over at Asus might not have considered...

 

[RMerlin]

That is a valid point that someone over at Asus might not have considered...

They did. The RT-AC68U firmware now contains both images in a single file. Which is a bad idea IMHO, because routers that are low on free memory will experience even more difficulties than before to complete the flash. This is why I am considering on my end to release both images separately.

 

[sfx2000]

The RT-AC68U firmware now contains both images in a single file.

That's a bit messy... and will cause them more work down the road with updates.

I'm in agreement with you, better to keep the releases split out, legacy vs. HND...

 

[wouterv]

The RT-AC68U seems to follow the path of the good old Linksys WRT54G / GL: same name, at the end totally different hardware with the same basic specifications. There is not much wrong with that, the same happens in the automotive industry as long as there is a source that explains the differences.
Little to find about the V4 yet, would it e.g. support WPA3?

 

[oiio]

Cut RT-AC68U.trx_v123

HexEditor:
1. Find RT-AC68U
2. [01] next line to end --> Delete
3. Save

Reference : https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin.ng/blob/master/release/src-rt/Makefile#L741

他们做到了。RT-AC68U 固件现在在一个文件中包含两个图像。恕我直言，这是一个坏主意，因为可用内存不足的路由器在完成闪存时会遇到比以前更多的困难。这就是为什么我正在考虑分别发布这两个图像的原因。