Asuswrt-Merlin 376.48 is out

[Stefan1200]

The biggest change in this release was the upgrade of the old Samba 3.0.x package with the latest from the Samba 3 series (3.6.24). Note that while this might introduce a slight decrease in SMB throughput on some models, it should overall help with the interoperability with various SMB clients, and general security.

Thanks for this nice update. I updated my N66U from latest official firmware to your 376.48_3 and the funny thing is: My SMB speed increased from 8 MByte to 12 MByte / second. That's amazing, thank you.

 

[mickwong]

After 376.48_3 update flashed, Guest Network cannot disable MAC address filter.

 

[huotg01]

376.48_3 has been released for MIPS-based routers (RT-N16, N66 and AC66). This update contains the NAT loopback fix backported from Asus's 376_3626.

IMerlin,

Is this fix related by any means to the "cloud sync" (or router to router sync) problem discussed in the thread http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=19704 ?

GH

 

[RMerlin]

IMerlin,

Is this fix related by any means to the "cloud sync" (or router to router sync) problem discussed in the thread http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=19704 ?

GH

No. The NAT loopback is what allows you to access a forwarded port from within your LAN.

A large portion of AiCloud is closed-source, so not much I can do about it.

 

[parker]

My RT-AC66U firmware seems to have gotten 'stuck' on 376.45_0 (Merlin) and I'm having trouble upgrading it to a newer version.

I upload firmware via the web UI like I always have, but following a reboot I'm still stuck on version 376.45_0. This has happened with the last few versions of Merlin's firmware that I have tried. I tried upgrading to Merlin's 376.48_3 this afternoon and same problem, after rebooting (manually power cycling the router) my firmware version is still at 376.45_0.

Are there any known issues similar to this? What can I try to force the firmware to be upgraded other than going through the 'Firmware Upgrade' page in the Admin UI?

 

[RMerlin]

My RT-AC66U firmware seems to have gotten 'stuck' on 376.45_0 (Merlin) and I'm having trouble upgrading it to a newer version.

I upload firmware via the web UI like I always have, but following a reboot I'm still stuck on version 376.45_0. This has happened with the last few versions of Merlin's firmware that I have tried. I tried upgrading to Merlin's 376.48_3 this afternoon and same problem, after rebooting (manually power cycling the router) my firmware version is still at 376.45_0.

Are there any known issues similar to this? What can I try to force the firmware to be upgraded other than going through the 'Firmware Upgrade' page in the Admin UI?

Boot your router with no USB disk plugged in to ensure you aren't run low on free memory, and try flashing again. Don't forget to unzip the file, and double check the downloaded model.

 

[parker]

Boot your router with no USB disk plugged in to ensure you aren't run low on free memory, and try flashing again. Don't forget to unzip the file, and double check the downloaded model.

No luck, I rebooted without my USB flash drive plugged in, flashed the 376.48_03 .trx file, rebooted manually and I'm still showing 376.45.

Would a factory reset be the next thing to try? I haven't done one of those in months.

 

[RMerlin]

No luck, I rebooted without my USB flash drive plugged in, flashed the 376.48_03 .trx file, rebooted manually and I'm still showing 376.45.

Would a factory reset be the next thing to try? I haven't done one of those in months.

You could give it a try.

I assume you also tried a different browser?

 

[RussellInCincinnati]

My last resolution of this problem for the RT-AC66U was to (a) write down all my custom settings (b) use the Firmware Restoration utility
to get the thing back to the Asus stock firmware and (c) then install Merlin ...48 or whatever. Then finally go back to the RT-AC66U at 192.168.1.1 (user admin password admin) and re-set all your custom settings.

 

[armand]

Since upgrading to the _3 release from _1 my connected clients list stays 0 on my rt-ac66

 

[elorimer]

I went from .40 to 48.3 on my RT-N16, and my memory usage went to 2mb free out of 123mb (99%). So I did a factory reset and I've ended up at 91% usage, and I'm wondering if I need to do something about it.

In sequence, I unplugged a USB hard drive and a USB thumbdrive, did a factory reset, rebooted. I disabled the DLNA server, rebooted, reentered manually almost all of my settings except for my list of static IPs, and ended up at 44% of the RAM used. ( I noticed also that the only VPN server is PPTP; I'm not using a VPN with this, but I thought the OpenVPN server, but not client, were available on the N16.)

Plugged in the USB harddrive, and usage went to 66%. Plugged in the thumb drive and changed the traffic monitoring save location to the thumb drive. 75%.

Enabled the DLNA server, and used memory went to 98% and CPU to 100% while it scanned. When it finished, it dropped to 91%, and CPU usage dropped to almost nothing

Disabled the DLNA server, and it stayed at 91%.

Is this normal/OK? My recollection was I used to be at 67%. Perhaps I should drop back.

 

[parker]

You could give it a try.

I assume you also tried a different browser?

I used Safari instead of Chrome and it worked on the first try. Now I'm on 376.48_3.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[RMerlin]

I went from .40 to 48.3 on my RT-N16, and my memory usage went to 2mb free out of 123mb (99%). So I did a factory reset and I've ended up at 91% usage, and I'm wondering if I need to do something about it.

In sequence, I unplugged a USB hard drive and a USB thumbdrive, did a factory reset, rebooted. I disabled the DLNA server, rebooted, reentered manually almost all of my settings except for my list of static IPs, and ended up at 44% of the RAM used. ( I noticed also that the only VPN server is PPTP; I'm not using a VPN with this, but I thought the OpenVPN server, but not client, were available on the N16.)

Plugged in the USB harddrive, and usage went to 66%. Plugged in the thumb drive and changed the traffic monitoring save location to the thumb drive. 75%.

Enabled the DLNA server, and used memory went to 98% and CPU to 100% while it scanned. When it finished, it dropped to 91%, and CPU usage dropped to almost nothing

Disabled the DLNA server, and it stayed at 91%.

Is this normal/OK? My recollection was I used to be at 67%. Perhaps I should drop back.

Since unused memory is wasted, the Linux memory manager will aggressively allocate buffers out of this unused memory whenever there is disk access, to speed up performance. These buffers will get freed as soon an application actually needs the memory. So yes, a low amount of free memory is normal under Linux when there is any disk plugged in that gets accessed, and won't cause any problem.

 

[RMerlin]

Since upgrading to the _3 release from _1 my connected clients list stays 0 on my rt-ac66

The only change between _1 and _3 is one single line of code in iptables, which has nothing to do with the networkmap.

 

[MonkY]

What in the world is going on? I'm getting crazy in here...

I just upgraded from AC66U to AC68U... then flashed the latest Merlin 376.48.1 firmware, and everything went to hell. I was on PPPoE with AC66U Merlin 376.47 and was getting arround 700Mbs on my gigabit connection, and i was hoping that upgrading the hardware a little (after all AC68U has better hardware) i will go over 8-900Mbps (like even cheap routers can). But with AC68U and 376.48.1 i only get arround 300Mbps (if lucky)...

I have tried resetting to defaults from Settings, also used the reset button, flashed again. Nothing works. The NAT Acceleration is set on Level 1 CTF (can't set to Level 2 CTF - it says it doesn't work on PPPoE).

What else can i try? Did i just spent the upgrade money for a worst router?

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Deleted member 22229]

What in the world is going on? I'm getting crazy in here...

I just upgraded from AC66U to AC68U... then flashed the latest Merlin 376.48.1 firmware, and everything went to hell. I was on PPPoE with AC66U Merlin 376.47 and was getting arround 700Mbs on my gigabit connection, and i was hoping that upgrading the hardware a little (after all AC68U has better hardware) i will go over 8-900Mbps (like even cheap routers can). But with AC68U and 376.48.1 i only get arround 300Mbps (if lucky)...

I have tried resetting to defaults from Settings, also used the reset button, flashed again. Nothing works. The NAT Acceleration is set on Level 1 CTF (can't set to Level 2 CTF - it says it doesn't work on PPPoE).

What else can i try? Did i just spent the upgrade money for a worst router?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Maybe check out this thread for more info.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=14142

 

[MonkY]

Maybe check out this thread for more info.

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=14142

I posted over there too, but i think here is the right thread too, because the issue is related to Merlin build. I have flashed to the oficial Asus firmware 3.0.0.4.376.3626 and i can get arround 550Mbps. It's not better than my old AC66U, but at least it's over 300Mbps. I am just hoping that Merlin can do some magic and fix the problem, so i can get at least the AC66U speed over PPPoE.

 

[RMerlin]

I posted over there too, but i think here is the right thread too, because the issue is related to Merlin build. I have flashed to the oficial Asus firmware 3.0.0.4.376.3626 and i can get arround 550Mbps. It's not better than my old AC66U, but at least it's over 300Mbps. I am just hoping that Merlin can do some magic and fix the problem, so i can get at least the AC66U speed over PPPoE.

The numbers you post are quite similar to what one would get out of that router without HW acceleration. Go to the Tools Sysinfo page, and see if you have any enabled feature that causes NAT acceleration to be automatically disabled.

 

[SmallNetGuy]

The numbers you post are quite similar to what one would get out of that router without HW acceleration. Go to the Tools Sysinfo page, and see if you have any enabled feature that causes NAT acceleration to be automatically disabled.

Hi Merlin! First of all, THANK YOU A MILLION for your hard work and effort you're investing into all this. Greatly appreciated!

I've checked my Sysinfo page and it says "HW acceleration - Disabled - incompatible with: QoS"
I remember I've read somewhere you're advising to disable QoS, so I understand this needs to be turned off in order for HW acceleration to work.

My question as a n00b, in your valuable opinion, is it better to have HW acceleration turned on, of course with QoS turned off? Does QoS feature provide anything that's worth having it on, and have HW acceleration turned off. Trying to understand this little better. If we have to chose, which one is better to have on?

I tried disabling QoS just to see if HW Acceleration would become enabled and it did, but it says this: Enabled (CTF only). What does that mean and is there any way to enable HW Acceleration without any limitations? Sorry for my ignorance, just trying to learn as much as possible.

Thanks again, wonderful work Merlin!

 

[RMerlin]

Hi Merlin! First of all, THANK YOU A MILLION for your hard work and effort you're investing into all this. Greatly appreciated!

I've checked my Sysinfo page and it says "HW acceleration - Disabled - incompatible with: QoS"
I remember I've read somewhere you're advising to disable QoS, so I understand this needs to be turned off in order for HW acceleration to work.

My question as a n00b, in your valuable opinion, is it better to have HW acceleration turned on, of course with QoS turned off? Does QoS feature provide anything that's worth having it on, and have HW acceleration turned off. Trying to understand this little better. If we have to chose, which one is better to have on?

I tried disabling QoS just to see if HW Acceleration would become enabled and it did, but it says this: Enabled (CTF only). What does that mean and is there any way to enable HW Acceleration without any limitations? Sorry for my ignorance, just trying to learn as much as possible.

Thanks again, wonderful work Merlin!

HW acceleration and QOS address two completely different scenarios. HW acceleration is essential to reach speeds beyond 100-150 Mbps on an N66/AC66, or 300 Mbps on an AC56/AC68/AC87. Without it, the router's CPU is simply unable to keep up. QoS is meant to priorize traffic, so if you do a lot of torrenting at the same time as you use audio/video streaming, you will ensure that the streaming will remain smooth and not cut off constantly.

In general, QoS is mostly necessary if you use timing-critical services (especially VoIP) at the same time as heavy downloading from multiple sources (read: torrents). So it's probably best to disable QoS in your case.

CTF is the only mode supported by your router model. CTF+FA is only supported by the RT-AC87U (and possibly the RT-AC68P).