[ALPHA] 386.9_alpha1 for WiFi 5 (802.11ac) Models (GT-AC2900, RT-AC68U, and RT-AC86U)

[heysoundude]

Per Rmerlin in the initial 388.1 Beta thread post.
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-388-1-beta-is-available-for-select-models.81644/

Edit to add: There is also mention of it in the firmware changelog file as well both in the 386.9 (xx-xxx-xxxx) section.

And in the 388.1 (3-Dec-2022) section.

look at you go...thank you.

 

[laracroftonline]

@RMerlin it would be nice if the test folder has 388 and 386 codebase directories so finding your router will be easier.

 

[RMerlin]

@RMerlin it would be nice if the test folder has 388 and 386 codebase directories so finding your router will be easier.

Why? There are only 386 images there at the moment.

 

[juanantonio]

Are there plans to implement Wireguard Server/Client on RT-ACXX models?
I'm afraid this depends on ASUS stock firmware's new versions. Am I right?

 

[JohnD5000]

For the GT-AC2900, is the difference between the regular alpha and the ROG alpha just the different presentation (i.e. red on black in ROG, rearrangement of items)? Or, does the ROG alpha have offer any additional options or data over the standard?

 

[JohnD5000]

Display Inconsistency:

In the Non-Rog alpha for GT-AC2900, under Game, System Log, Network Tools, and Addons, the "Background" changes from Black to White. Only seems to affect these 4 tabs

 

[RMerlin]

Are there plans to implement Wireguard Server/Client on RT-ACXX models?
I'm afraid this depends on ASUS stock firmware's new versions. Am I right?

WireGuard is only supported by newer kernels, so only the RT-AC86U and GT-AC2900 have the capability to do so.

Considering the amount of work that would be required from me, it is highly unlikely at this point that I will implement it. You will still have the option to use the WireGuard add-on however, I will be leaving the userspace tool and kernel module in there.

 

[roundaway]

RT-AC66U_B1 running 386.7_2 running Diversion, Unbound, and YazFi was dirty upgraded to 386.9 alpha 1. No errors and no issues. Thank you RMerlin!

 

[bennor]

On a RT-AC68U running YazFi and YazDHCP, dirty upgrade from 386.7_2 to 386.9_alpha1. Seemed like a longer than normal firmware flash. After reboot, there is now a yellow alarm icon indicating low NVRAM space. Never had that one on prior firmware. Currently have approx 18 manually reserved IP addresses in the DHCP server section.

Edit to add: Hard factory reset and reconfigure from scratch (always a time consuming process) and things appear to be back to normal. No low NVRAM warning (so far).

Edit to add #2: Know the GUI OOKLA Speed Test doesn't report correct results, but post update to the alpha the speed test fails to complete. It appears to hang after performing the upload test then eventually comes back with a message indicating it failed.

 

[RMerlin]

Low nvram notification is nothing new, and is becoming increasingly common for that old model as it's running out of nvram space with every new firmware adding new nvram settings. It's part of why Asus is leaving it on the 386 branch most likely, as 388 probably adds even more nvram settings.

This 9 years old model is starting to show its age, with Asus having added lots of new features to it since its initial launch in 2013.

I might have to start considering removing some things from the RT-AC68U to save some nvram space. Reducing the number of OpenVPN clients would be such a thing, as each client consumes around 1 KB of nvram even while not in use.

 

[Darkje]

Low nvram notification is nothing new, and is becoming increasingly common for that old model as it's running out of nvram space with every new firmware adding new nvram settings. It's part of why Asus is leaving it on the 386 branch most likely, as 388 probably adds even more nvram settings.

This 9 years old model is starting to show its age, with Asus having added lots of new features to it since its initial launch in 2013.

I might have to start considering removing some things from the RT-AC68U to save some nvram space. Reducing the number of OpenVPN clients would be such a thing, as each client consumes around 1 KB of nvram even while not in use.

Perhaps make a app / mesh fw only. It is it used as mesh device here

 

[juanantonio]

Considering the amount of work that would be required from me, it is highly unlikely at this point that I will implement it. You will still have the option to use the WireGuard add-on however, I will be leaving the userspace tool and kernel module in there.

Well, in fact I am using already the WireGuard add-on.
Thank you, anyway.

 

[bennor]

Low nvram notification is nothing new, and is becoming increasingly common for that old model as it's running out of nvram space with every new firmware adding new nvram settings.

Yes have seen others talk about getting the warning. This was (I think) the first time I've seen it after performing a firmware update. Definitely going to be an issue with the older routers like the RT-AC68U. Dropping reserved IP address is likely one workaround, or working it as you indicate from the firmware side by dropping things like OpenVPN clients may be another.

At least for now a hard factory reset and reconfigure seems to fix the issue. So far Alpha seems to be running fine on the RT-AC68U for simple no frills basic router use.

 

[PeterR]

Yes have seen others talk about getting the warning. This was (I think) the first time I've seen it after performing a firmware update. Definitely going to be an issue with the older routers like the RT-AC68U. Dropping reserved IP address is likely one workaround, or working it as you indicate from the firmware side by dropping things like OpenVPN clients may be another.

At least for now a hard factory reset and reconfigure seems to fix the issue. So far Alpha seems to be running fine on the RT-AC68U for simple no frills basic router use.

issuing

for line in `nvram show | grep ^[^=]*=$ `; do var=${line%*=}; nvram unset $var; done; nvram commit

in a terminal cleared NVRAM enough to remove the warning for me. Ref https://www.snbforums.com/threads/solved-high-nvram-usage.56848/post-494736

 

[RMerlin]

Perhaps make a app / mesh fw only. It is it used as mesh device here

These wouldn't require a lot of config settings such as DHCP reservations or OpenVPN configurations, so nvram usage would already be safe. It's the router mode where users configure more settings that may be more problematic.

 

[JGrana]

This 9 years old model is starting to show its age, with Asus having added lots of new features to it since its initial launch in 2013.

When you consider how old the AC68U is (going on 10 years old - we should throw a party) and all the newer and free features Asus has added over those years - quite impressive!
Even the fact Asus is still doing any form of updates on a quite old consumer device is even more impressive.
I wish other companies that sell us more expensive higher end consumer devices (i.e. Large screen Smart TV’s, AVR systems,etc.) did the same…

Thanks Asus.

 

[RMerlin]

When you consider how old the AC68U is (going on 10 years old - we should throw a party) and all the newer and free features Asus has added over those years - quite impressive!

Indeed. Providing security updates for a long time is one thing, but even adding new major features like AiMesh over the years is quite exceptional if you compare with anyone else in that market segment, where you pretty much buy a "complete product", with only bugfixes being provided for a few years. Any new feature is reserved to new products.

The RT-AC68U launched back in the 3.0.0.4.372 days.

 

[n3cr0shark]

Just to confirm, are you expecting an update to the RT-AC5300 (once Asus releases the code of course).

 

[Nagy Imre]

RT-AC88U_386.9_alpha1

THX

 

[roundaway]

Low nvram notification is nothing new, and is becoming increasingly common for that old model as it's running out of nvram space with every new firmware adding new nvram settings. It's part of why Asus is leaving it on the 386 branch most likely, as 388 probably adds even more nvram settings.

This 9 years old model is starting to show its age, with Asus having added lots of new features to it since its initial launch in 2013.

I might have to start considering removing some things from the RT-AC68U to save some nvram space. Reducing the number of OpenVPN clients would be such a thing, as each client consumes around 1 KB of nvram even while not in use.

After the dirty upgrade from 386.7_2 on the RT-AC66U B1 I did notice the nvram consumption was up to 93.5%. First time I'd seen it over 60,000KB.