Asuswrt-Merlin 3.0.0.4.374.37 is out

[Mrid]

I'm running .37-SDK5 on an n66u and have no issues running dnscrypt off of the USB hd or streaming mp4 video via minidlna. Still, the network map page does show "no devices."

 

[elpibe10]

Yes I noticed it too since 35_2.

@ RMerlin, upgraded the firmware from .454 to this and I noticed the 5GHz signal strength is noticeably weaker.

I've 2 media bridges (RT-AC56U and Cisco E4200 Tomato Shibby 117) and both reported quite a significant reduction in throughput on this (5GHz) band.

Just to clarify a little ...

Router I'm referring to is the RT-AC68U.

On the RT-AC56U set to media bridge mode, the link rate remains the same (i.e. 585Mbps).

Previously, the TX rate from RT-AC68U to RT-AC56U was >700Mbps. Now the highest is just 351Mbps.

Location of both devices remain unchanged. NVRAM have been cleared on both as well after firmware update and they have the same Settings keyed in as .454.

 

[mtrains]

Yes I noticed it too since 35_2.

@ RMerlin, upgraded the firmware from .454 to this and I noticed the 5GHz signal strength is noticeably weaker.

I've 2 media bridges (RT-AC56U and Cisco E4200 Tomato Shibby 117) and both reported quite a significant reduction in throughput on this (5GHz) band.

I see a significant drop in throughput on the 2.4GHz band with the 37 firmware. My throughput is consistently down to one third of what I got on 36 beta1. I tried this on multiple devices. Rebooting, reflashing, reseting, power cycling etc. did not clear the issue. My settings are N-only mode, on channel 11 with 20MHz bandwidth. The only item I tweaked was to set DTIM to 1. Everything else is default. My wireless throughput goes back to normal when I switch back to 36 beta1 with the same settings. I switched back and forth between 36 beta1 and 37 several times with the same results every time.

 

[jim769]

Happy New Year to all !!!

 

[RMerlin]

Guys, from now on I'll be ignoring any bug report that doesn't specify which router they are about. This is especially critical when it comes to wireless, as each router has a completely different driver, aside from the AC56 and AC68 which share the same one.

I don't want to be rude, but all I can do whenever this happen is reply with yet another "What router model?".

On an unrelated note, I uploaded a few experimental builds that reuse the old USB code from 374_339. Asus has redesigned most of the USB handling code in 374_501 with the intention of eventually supporting USB hubs. That code doesn't work properly yet on some routers (it's currently unfinished from what I can see), and debugging it is just too much trouble considering this is a work-in-progress. So for the time being, the affected routers will be using the older USB code.

I've only done some basic tests with it, so please give these a more thorough beating. They are uploaded to https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ftf9kjixr1a5f//Misc for the time being - I will do a more proper release in a few days.

 

[RMerlin]

Just to clarify a little ...

Router I'm referring to is the RT-AC68U.

On the RT-AC56U set to media bridge mode, the link rate remains the same (i.e. 585Mbps).

Previously, the TX rate from RT-AC68U to RT-AC56U was >700Mbps. Now the highest is just 351Mbps.

Location of both devices remain unchanged. NVRAM have been cleared on both as well after firmware update and they have the same Settings keyed in as .454.

If it's exactly half of the old value then it seems like it's in 40 MHz mode instead of 80 MHz mode.

I don't recall seeing any other mention of significant performance drop with the 501 driver. It will however work properly with Mediatek devices, while the 454 driver wasn't even letting them connect reliably.

 

[RMerlin]

I just tested connecting my AC56U in media bridge with the AC68U, and the stats are pretty good:

Stations  (flags: P=Powersave Mode, S=Short GI, T=STBC, A=Associated, U=Authenticated)
----------------------------------------
MAC               IP Address      Name              RSSI    Rx/Tx Rate   Connected Flags
00:90:4C:11:11:11 192.168.10.237  Stargate3        -28dBm  866/866 Mbps  00:00:52   STAU

Have you seen any change in RSSI? What do you get as RSSI now?

EDIT: I just did a file transfer, and got 250 Mbits in one direction and 350 Mbits in the other direction through the media bridge, which is about what I usually get when using an USB-AC56U with either routers.

 

[mtrains]

I see a significant drop in throughput on the 2.4GHz band with the 37 firmware. My throughput is consistently down to one third of what I got on 36 beta1. I tried this on multiple devices. Rebooting, reflashing, reseting, power cycling etc. did not clear the issue. My settings are N-only mode, on channel 11 with 20MHz bandwidth. The only item I tweaked was to set DTIM to 1. Everything else is default. My wireless throughput goes back to normal when I switch back to 36 beta1 with the same settings. I switched back and forth between 36 beta1 and 37 several times with the same results every time.

Sorry. My bad. The above problem I see is with the RT-AC68R.

 

[RMerlin]

Sorry. My bad. The above problem I see is with the RT-AC68R.

That's odd, as the 2.4 GHz band was the one that was specifically targetted by Asus with that new driver. Try disabling Beamforming, I know it can have weird results with some clients. You might also want to try deleting the wireless profile on your computer - I've seen cases where a wireless driver update on the router would cause issues until you recreated the profile on the connecting devices.

What is your RSSI?

 

[RMerlin]

I'm running .37-SDK5 on an n66u and have no issues running dnscrypt off of the USB hd or streaming mp4 video via minidlna. Still, the network map page does show "no devices."

Networkmap will now wait about 30 seconds after booting before it starts scanning. That's what resolved the randomly missing devices. Check again the networkmap when you router has been running for a couple of minutes.

Are the clients wired/wifi? Any bridge or repeater on the network?

 

[mtrains]

That's odd, as the 2.4 GHz band was the one that was specifically targetted by Asus with that new driver. Try disabling Beamforming, I know it can have weird results with some clients. You might also want to try deleting the wireless profile on your computer - I've seen cases where a wireless driver update on the router would cause issues until you recreated the profile on the connecting devices.

What is your RSSI?

I am currently back on 36 beta1. I will switch to 37 in a bit, make the changes you suggested and report back the RSSI. Just for reference here is what I currently see in the wireless log for RSSI for 36 beta1.

RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -92 dBm Channel: 11
BSSID: D8:50:E6:59:79:78 Capability: ESS ShortSlot

Don't know what is a reasonable value is for RSSI. The 0 dBm looks suspiciously perfect

 

[RMerlin]

I am currently back on 36 beta1. I will switch to 37 in a bit, make the changes you suggested and report back the RSSI. Just for reference here is what I currently see in the wireless log for RSSI for 36 beta1.

RSSI: 0 dBm SNR: 0 dB noise: -92 dBm Channel: 11
BSSID: D8:50:E6:59:79:78 Capability: ESS ShortSlot

Don't know what is a reasonable value is for RSSI. The 0 dBm looks suspiciously perfect

The RSSI value will be next to the client below. The RSSI for the router is 0 because it's running as a router rather than a repeater/bridge. You can also check the RSSI using Inssider.

 

[mtrains]

The RSSI value will be next to the client below. The RSSI for the router is 0 because it's running as a router rather than a repeater/bridge. You can also check the RSSI using Inssider.

Yeah. I was looking in the wrong place. I realized this only after I switched to 37. Anyway here is what I see for RSSI on 37 after I made the changes you suggested.

00:26:C7:A8:29:86 192.168.1.29 * -76dBm 43/39 Mbps 00:01:07 S AU

Unfortunately now I don't have the RSSI value on 36 beta1 to compare against. I can switch back to 36 beta1 and send you the RSSI value if it will help.

 

[mtrains]

Yeah. I was looking in the wrong place. I realized this only after I switched to 37. Anyway here is what I see for RSSI on 37 after I made the changes you suggested.

00:26:C7:A8:29:86 192.168.1.29 * -76dBm 43/39 Mbps 00:01:07 S AU

Unfortunately now I don't have the RSSI value on 36 beta1 to compare against. I can switch back to 36 beta1 and send you the RSSI value if it will help.

I switched back to 36 beta1 and here is the RSSI value.

00:26:C7:A8:29:86 192.168.1.29 skdv7tse 57/104 Mbps -76 dBm assoc auth

Interesting that the Rx/Tx speed is significantly different on 36 beta1 compared to 37 for the same RSSI.

 

[Injuis]

Just installed on Ac-56u and haven't noticed anything different:

5ghz still works great
2.4ghz is still totally unusable.

I was really hoping the new SDK would make any improvement

 

[elpibe10]

If it's exactly half of the old value then it seems like it's in 40 MHz mode instead of 80 MHz mode.

I don't recall seeing any other mention of significant performance drop with the 501 driver. It will however work properly with Mediatek devices, while the 454 driver wasn't even letting them connect reliably.

Thanks for the reply.

I can confirm that my AC56U is connected to the AC68U on 80MHz mode. I'm getting 866Mbps TX/RX when they are close to each other (about 3 metres in the same room).

The weaker signal (.37 vs .454) is only apparent if the 2 devices are further apart (eg. different room / level separated by concrete wall / floor).

Appreciate if you can do a quick test with your RT-AC68U on .37 firmware vs the older .454 when your client device is further away (eg. -65dBm RSSI or weaker).

Just to share, here are some figures from me :

AC68U's TX rate
----------------
RT-AC56U media bridge (~ -65 dBm RSSI) :
.454 : 700+ Mbps
.37 : 350+ Mbps

Cisco E4200 Tomato Shibby 117 media bridge (~ 80 dBm RSSI) :
.454 : 80+ Mbps (stable connection)
.37 : 20+ Mbps (unstable connection / unusable with lots of lags and pauses)

 

[GoNz0]

On an unrelated note, I uploaded a few experimental builds that reuse the old USB code from 374_339. Asus has redesigned most of the USB handling code in 374_501 with the intention of eventually supporting USB hubs. That code doesn't work properly yet on some routers (it's currently unfinished from what I can see), and debugging it is just too much trouble considering this is a work-in-progress. So for the time being, the affected routers will be using the older USB code.

I've only done some basic tests with it, so please give these a more thorough beating. They are uploaded to https://www.mediafire.com/folder/ftf9kjixr1a5f//Misc for the time being - I will do a more proper release in a few days.

I can see USB again now on my N66u

 

[cmillar6]

I can see USB again now on my N66u

My USB drive showing now, all seems to be working well.

 

[Pierino]

I had to roll back to 374.35.4 on my rt-ac68u. On this build my 2.4ghz was worse. I pay for 30Mbps down. On this fw, last night I cous rarely get above 8Mbps.
Reset before and after, since you said it was a new sdk.
On 374.35.4 I get my 30Mbps down. I tried the same settings, always entered manually of course, and different settings. No help.

For me 374.35.4 is better. The 5ghz was always fine.

 

[stephn666]

@RMerlin>the usb ports don't work after updating in RT-AC66U_3.0.0.4_374_1631-gf2dd1d9.trx (WAN PPPOE acceleration work), after updating or downgrading don't work again, you working for a solution?

Ps: sorry but my english is to so bad to i don't understand everything.