[Alpha] 386.2

[bluepoint]

Update, problem resolved as suggested by @LimJK. Thanks everyone!

I spoke too soon, it's back! Openvpn 2.5.1 might be the fix, Ill wait for the next build.

 

[KingBravery]

So if price is not an issue, and all I'm concerned with is maximum power in all respects (cpu, radios etc), maximum longevity in terms of router support from ASUS and, likely, 3rd-party support, what is my best choice right now from ASUS to upgrade from the RT-AC88U (asked of all, not just @RMerlin )?

1) RT-AX86U. Less issues compared to AX88U.

2) Can consider GT-AX11000 as it is now supported by Merlin too.

 

[iJorgen]

The latest Alpha is working great on my AX86U. Nothing to report...

 

[JGrana]

1) RT-AX86U. Less issues compared to AX88U.

2) Can consider GT-AX11000 as it is now supported by Merlin too.

With all due respect to the AX86U, the AX88U edges it out with more performance on both WiFi bands (according to the PC Magazine review).
They both have the same memory and cpu capacity. AX88u has 8 Gb Lan ports versus 4 plus an extra 2.5Gb on the AX86U.
With that said, at its price point and the fact it has a 2.5 Gbit ethernet port makes for a tough decision.
I am waiting (hoping) for the next generation AX88U - with a few 2.5 Gbit ports to compliment my NAS box.
Frankly, you can't go wrong with either one.

 

[maxbraketorque]

With all due respect to the AX86U, the AX88U edges it out with more performance on both WiFi bands (according to the PC Magazine review).
They both have the same memory and cpu capacity. AX88u has 8 Gb Lan ports versus 4 plus an extra 2.5Gb on the AX86U.
With that said, at its price point and the fact it has a 2.5 Gbit ethernet port makes for a tough decision.
I am waiting (hoping) for the next generation AX88U - with a few 2.5 Gbit ports to compliment my NAS box.
Frankly, you can't go wrong with either one.

RT-AX88U_B1?

 

[maxbraketorque]

I spoke too soon, it's back! Openvpn 2.5.1 might be the fix, Ill wait for the next build.

OVPN 2.5.0 working fine for me with two servers and from several different clients. I did have to make a few script adjustments, in particular, focusing on setting the ciphers.

 

[bluepoint]

OVPN 2.5.0 working fine for me with two servers and from several different clients. I did have to make a few script adjustments, in particular, focusing on setting the ciphers.

Yes, it's been 12 hrs and the initialization hasn't come back so far after changing the port as suggested by @mine25. It seems it needed a second click of the 'apply' after you've made a change/s as the first I tried to correct the issue is just recreating the config file, this one seems sticking. So far it's good.

 

[maxbraketorque]

I've been running on a non-standard port for over a year now, so perhaps I missed this bug by luck.

BTW, for the OVPN server on the routers, I've found that the best way to be sure that a change in settings is applied is to start and stop the server after applying the new settings. I've seen instances where applying a setting has no effect until I stop and start the server.

 

[bluepoint]

I've been running on a non-standard port for over a year now, so perhaps I missed this bug by luck.

BTW, for the OVPN server on the routers, I've found that the best way to be sure that a change in settings is applied is to start and stop the server after applying the new settings. I've seen instances where applying a setting has no effect until I stop and start the server.

Thanks for the info, by the way, you mentioned changing the chiper, how did you do that, manually? Mine defaulted to AES-256-GCM, is that good enough?

 

[heysoundude]

With all due respect to the AX86U, the AX88U edges it out with more performance on both WiFi bands (according to the PC Magazine review).
They both have the same memory and cpu capacity. AX88u has 8 Gb Lan ports versus 4 plus an extra 2.5Gb on the AX86U.
With that said, at its price point and the fact it has a 2.5 Gbit ethernet port makes for a tough decision.
I am waiting (hoping) for the next generation AX88U - with a few 2.5 Gbit ports to compliment my NAS box.
Frankly, you can't go wrong with either one.

the 2.5Gb stuff is coming, fast and soon...check your cable infrastructure!

 

[bluepoint]

Yes, it's been 12 hrs and the initialization hasn't come back so far after changing the port as suggested by @mine25. It seems it needed a second click of the 'apply' after you've made a change/s as the first I tried to correct the issue is just recreating the config file, this one seems sticking. So far it's good.

That's it I give up, it's back with a vengeance! It appears my iPhone with openvpn connect 3.2.3 app is the one triggerring the bug, i just turned the vpn on the phone and the server bug comes on. Hopefully, Openvpn 2.5.1 or a newer version of the iOS app fixes this problem.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Thanks for the info, by the way, you mentioned changing the chiper, how did you do that, manually? Mine defaulted to AES-256-GCM, is that good enough?

If this is for an OVPN server running on your router, there is an option to set the cipher. OVPN 2.5.0 does away with the original Fallback option. If you want a fallback (not needed IMHO), it can be added to the "--data ciphers" list. You might want to try adding "--cipher AES-256-GCM" to the server configuration options. I run AES-128-GCM because its a little faster, but supposedly not as secure. Its not a practical concern though.

 

[brummygit]

I reported a bug in 386.1 which is still present. I'm not sure if it's a RMerlin fix or down to ASUS, but on my RT-AX88U I have Target Wake Time disabled (using Smart Connect), however when I make a change in the 5Ghz Professional Settings such as enabling or disabling the radio, Target Wake Time gets re-enabled. I assume it's a GUI issue - is it possible to fix this?

 

[davelian]

I spoke too soon, it's back! Openvpn 2.5.1 might be the fix, Ill wait for the next build.

Can you see / view your password? I can't view my password.

 

[bluepoint]

Can you see / view your password? I can't view my password.

No, both server and clients are not revealed. Why did you ask?

 

[Striker317]

Hi @RMerlin and others

I installed RT-AC86U_386.2_alpha1-gc52b410e89 (both Dirty Flash from 386.1_2 and then from a clean install... subsequent post follows clean install from default)

I have a dnsmasq.conf.add file at /jffs/configs
Within the .add file, I have a line that says dhcp-hostsfile=/mnt/SDA1/static_leases

The static_leases file would have all my static leases in this format
B8:27:EB:F6:55:55,192.168.50.6,windows-1
B8:27:EB:F6:55:56,192.168.50.7,windows-2
etc

This setup has worked well up to and including 386.1_0 and 386.1_2


When I reboot after installing 386_2 alpha, I see this error from dnsmasq
Feb 25 23:52:01 dnsmasq[2128]: cannot read /mnt/SDA1/static_leases: No such file or directory
Tells me that SDA1 has not mounted.

This is confirmed by a log entry 2 seconds later

Feb 25 23:52:03 kernel: tfat info: FAT32 volume name 'SDA1', version 0.0.
Feb 25 23:52:03 hotplug[2159]: USB vfat fs at /dev/sda mounted on /tmp/mnt/SDA1
Feb 25 23:52:03 usb: USB vfat fs at /dev/sda mounted on /tmp/mnt/SDA1

Because the file with my static_leases isn't read, my static leases aren't defined, and all my assigned IPs obiously don't load

Having seen the log entries above, I take it something has changed with regards to when SDA1 is mounted, relative to when dnsmasq loads including settings in the .add file.

Questions arising

1. Is this a result of the Add jitterentropy-rngd daemon to HND models? (not sure what else changed between 386_1.2 and the 386_2 alpha
2. I suppose I could throw service restart_dnsmasq into my post-mount script but was this change intended? (dnsmasq running before my SDA1 mounted)?

Any insights onto this would be greatly appreciated.

Any thoughts on this one @RMerlin

 

[dave14305]

Any thoughts on this one @RMerlin

I would recommend you keep the leases file on /jffs so that you don’t have to worry about the timing of USB mounts.

 

[octopus]

Are you sure your mountpoint still is SDA1?

 

[LimJK]

That's it I give up, it's back with a vengeance! It appears my iPhone with openvpn connect 3.2.3 app is the one triggerring the bug, i just turned the vpn on the phone and the server bug comes on. Hopefully, Openvpn 2.5.1 or a newer version of the iOS app fixes this problem.

Bluepoint,

After reading your post, I just tried OpenVPN Connect v 3.2.3 on my iPhoneXsMax with iOS 14.4 it is working as expected when connecting to OpenVPN Server with RT-AX88U_386.2_alpha1-gc52b410e89 from an external hotspot outside of my Home Network.

The following is my OpenVPN Server Setting, the rest are Merlin’s FW default:

General:
▪ Server Port: I use a non-default value here
▪ RSA Encryption : 2048 bit
▪ Client use VPN to access: Both LAN & Internet

Advanced:
▪ Advertise DNS to clients: Yes

WAN DNS Settings
▪ Connect to DNS Server automatically: Yes
▪ DNS Privacy Protocol: DoT (I use Cloudflare)

Once OpenVPN Server is running, I Exported OpenVPN configuration file, then, AirDrop it from my MacBookPro to my iPhoneXsMax. Let me know if there is some other settings you want to compare.

 

[bluepoint]

Openvpn server gets stuck initializing settings(see yellow information) forever after server is started. If I restart the server it comes up clean then after a while it returns. Clients can still connect in this status though.

386.2 Alpha1 RT-AX88U
View attachment 31289

Bluepoint,

After reading your post, I just tried OpenVPN Connect v 3.2.3 on my iPhoneXsMax with iOS 14.4 it is working as expected when connecting to OpenVPN Server with RT-AX88U_386.2_alpha1-gc52b410e89 from an external hotspot outside of my Home Network.

The following is my OpenVPN Server Setting, the rest are Merlin’s FW default:

General:
▪ Server Port: I use a non-default value here
▪ RSA Encryption : 2048 bit
▪ Client use VPN to access: Both LAN & Internet

Advanced:
▪ Advertise DNS to clients: Yes

WAN DNS Settings
▪ Connect to DNS Server automatically: Yes
▪ DNS Privacy Protocol: DoT (I use Cloudflare)

Once OpenVPN Server is running, I Exported OpenVPN configuration file, then, AirDrop it from my MacBookPro to my iPhoneXsMax. Let me know if there is some other settings you want to compare.

We do have almost the same settings except WAN DNS, I'm using Unbound for my DNS resolver, iPhone 12 iOS 14.4 Ovpn connect v3.2.3 through AT&T Mobile 5G. Last night I changed the RSA Encryption to 1024 bit and the initialization problem has not shown yet. If ever this stays fine for 24 hrs. then I can conclude as far as I'm concern that the problem only shows when RSA Encryption is @2048 bit. If you have time and don't mind, can you please leave your settings as is for 24 hrs while your iPhone is connected, can be all the time or in and out and see if you can duplicate the problem?

And another question. After I've chosen 1024 bit RSA Encryption and applied, is it normal the choice placement for the RSA Encryption bit to be hidden? It seems you can not change to 2048 not unless I restart disable/enable the O server. Thanks for your time @LimJK