Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.10 is now available for AC models

[Phantomski]

Dirty upgrade from 386.9 on RT-AC88U. Everything running well and NVRAM sitting pretty at 74372 / 131072. Thanks Merlin.

 

[KrypteX]

The fact is that router simply got pushed farther than it should have been allowed to. I can either tell people "Use a two years old version that's less nvram-stressed, and forget about any future update to that model", or find a way to at least stabilize it as it is now. If my second solution doesn't match your needs and you want to keep using that old router, you're free to go with the first solution then.

This isn't the first time this has happened. The RT-AC3200 had to be limited to 2 OpenVPN clients, and only got the full 5 clients support after Asus increased nvram to 128 KB for that model.

Is it possible for you to increase the NVRAM size from 64 to 128 KB on the RT-AC68U ? Or is that something only Asus can do?
That would be the best and possibly the most obvious solution (if at all achievable) for this old, but still capable, device.

 

[Yota]

You don't hand pick what's buffered in RAM and what's commited back to the flash partition. Anytime you change a setting, if you want that setting to survive a reboot, you have to commit nvram to flash, at which point the entire nvram buffer is written back.


The fact is that router simply got pushed farther than it should have been allowed to. I can either tell people "Use a two years old version that's less nvram-stressed, and forget about any future update to that model", or find a way to at least stabilize it as it is now. If my second solution doesn't match your needs and you want to keep using that old router, you're free to go with the first solution then.

This isn't the first time this has happened. The RT-AC3200 had to be limited to 2 OpenVPN clients, and only got the full 5 clients support after Asus increased nvram to 128 KB for that model.

I've actually stopped using my RT-AC68U as a main router myself for many years, as I commented in the first reply to this thread, it's now in AP mode.

So, personally, I don't care if it has a VPN or not, I just use its wifi right now.

But I'm trying to convey a point here, that is, I don't agree that cutting existing functionality is a good idea for potential users.

Some people don't even have a account in this forum, so they can't come here to express their views, I hope their concerns can be taken into account.

Maybe I'm just thinking too much, I don't know.

Removing features very few users benefit from is the way to go when the hardware is limited. Folks with special requirements have to find their own solution or upgrade to better hardware. This router is 10 years old and the options are: 1) new firmware that fits the limitations; 2) no new firmware.

It has been 10 years since the router was born, but it does not mean that the person who owns it has used it for 10 years.

As long as they keep making it, there's still a chance someone can get it for the first time.

In any case I think one has to be careful when it comes to subtraction, because any functionality that exists there is likely to be actively used by someone, and when it is subtracted one has to make sure it is thoughtful and appropriate.

 

[Yota]

Is it possible for you to increase the NVRAM size from 64 to 128 KB on the RT-AC68U ? Or is that something only Asus can do?
That would be the best and possibly the most obvious solution (if at all achievable) for this old, but still capable, device.

Only Asus or Broadcom can do this because it involves closed source components.

That's why I've been advocating for companies to open source their legacy software to ensure that it benefits society as a whole.

Also, you may be the first person other than me to voice your opinion on this differently, tell us your story and concerns.

 

[Tech9]

As long as they keep making it, there's still a chance someone can get it for the first time.

This someone has to check what is he getting first. I'm not sure Asus is still making it. All new AC68Us around are on clearance for quite some time and only few available here and there. The same story for AC66U B1 model. Stock Asuswrt supports single VPN client with all or nothing setting. I have one AC66U B1* and it has no issues on Asuswrt. The router was never designed to run 3rd party firmware and 10 years after introduction to the market.

* - purchased in 2022 and I knew exactly what I'm getting and what I'll be using it for

 

[Yota]

* - purchased in 2022 and I knew exactly what I'm getting and what I'll be using it for

In 2019 I still know 2 people who just bought the RT-AC66U (not B1) just to get the cheapest Merlin capable router when the LTS version maintained by john was actively being developed.

They buy used routers not just because they know exactly what they want, but they also know exactly what their budget is.

We can't comment on why anyone would buy an AC router in 2023., or buy a 7-year-old router in 2019. because we're not using our wallets to satisfy other people's needs.

All I know is that if the feature was ever there, there's no reason to remove them unless it's no longer recommended (like telenet), and subtraction isn't a good option.

Also I understand why we have to remove them today, because there is almost no free space in nvram. but we should also think about not continuing to add new features to outdated routers, which is what makes nvram fill up.


What I'm suggesting is to find a compromise on this point.

Maybe like I said, there are only 2 clients by default, as you and @RMerlin suggested, but if they wanted, they could use a script or fill in nvram variables to enable more clients.

EDIT: fixed typos

 

[Tech9]

In 2019 I still know 2 people who just bought the RT-AC66U (not B1) just to get the cheapest Merlin capable router when the LTS version maintained by john was actively being developed.

Well... John figured it out how to fit in hardware limitations:

The fork does not include
• Support for 5 VPN Clients as in Merlin (this fork supports 2 client instances).

 

[Yota]

Well... John figured it out how to fit in hardware limitations:

The fork does not include
• Support for 5 VPN Clients as in Merlin (this fork supports 2 client instances).

You don't get the point, the point is not to do the subtraction.

That device never got 5 clients, so it was just doing what it was.


On the RT-AC68U, what we do is subtraction.

But the reason is that Asus has added a lot of other features, which is the irresponsible behavior of Asus in my opinion.

It seems like Apple's strategy to weed out old devices by continually adding new features that make them lose their efficiency.

 

[Subkulture]

Hi, this question probably been asked before though just wanted to find out what’s the difference between the Beta and release for this firmware update?

Thanks guys your all doing an awesome job all people involved!

 

[Tech9]

But the reason is that Asus has added a lot of other features, which is the irresponsible behavior of Asus in my opinion.

Latest Asuswrt runs just fine with the feature set offered. Irresponsible behavior to provide support for 10 years?

 

[Yota]

Latest Asuswrt runs just fine with the feature set offered. Irresponsible behavior to provide support for 10 years?

To avoid off topic discussion I started a new thread on this topic:

[Discussion] Remove several OpenVPN clients from RT-AC68U to reduce high nvram usage

Background: Many members using RT-AC68U/RT-AC1900P/RT-AC66U_B1 may have noticed high nvram usage since 386.9 firmware. For example, on 386.7_2, my nvram usage was around 55,000 bytes, but upgrading to 386.9 hit 60,000 bytes, and 386.10 remained around 60,000 bytes. And some members with...

snbforums.com

 

[SheikhSheikha]

After a few days I can only conclude that 386.10 is stabile. But compared to 386.7.2 the 386.10 firmware has less performance with an OPENVPN client (does not matter which node, or which one of my VPN providers (Expressvpn and Protonvpn. On average the speed with openvpn is 20-25% less on 386.10.

 

[KrypteX]

After a few days I can only conclude that 386.10 is stabile. But compared to 386.7.2 the 386.10 firmware has less performance with an OPENVPN client (does not matter which node, or which one of my VPN providers (Expressvpn and Protonvpn. On average the speed with openvpn is 20-25% less on 386.10.

Well, that looks pretty bad. Anyone else compared OpenVPN performance between 386.7.2 and 386.10 on RT-AC68U, for example?

 

[RMerlin]

Is there anything here I can trim or is 2847 bytes left all ok? I am only running Diversion & uiDivStats.

2800 bytes is very reasonable for that model, as long you don't start adding a lot of new DHCP static reservations and filling it up. From what I have observed, the firmware itself may use 400-600 bytes for temporary storage during boot, so you have enough free space.

I noticed that QoS - WAN / LAN Bandwidth Monitor if "App Analysis" is not activated, it does not monitor anything. I don't see any movement. It's a normal thing?

If it works when you enable it, then it's possible Asus does so to avoid loading the Trend Micro engine unless necessary.

Note that this page should behave the same way it did in 386.9, as there was no GPL change in this release.

 

[iManuB]

2800 bytes is very reasonable for that model, as long you don't start adding a lot of new DHCP static reservations and filling it up. From what I have observed, the firmware itself may use 400-600 bytes for temporary storage during boot, so you have enough free space.

If it works when you enable it, then it's possible Asus does so to avoid loading the Trend Micro engine unless necessary.

Note that this page should behave the same way it did in 386.9, as there was no GPL change in this release.

Weird! Should I try a reset and put the firmware back, or should I leave it like this?

 

[Jcquantum]

Did you resolve the firmware update issue? Information on what the issue was may help someone else.

After turning off the wireless parts and minimized traffic on my AC86U, with the same downloaded firmware, my AC86U took in the firmware without issues. Turned wireless back up and everything is going well. Thanks for people's help. Thanks @Tech9.

 

[Tech9]

After turning off the wireless parts and minimized traffic on my AC86U, with the same downloaded firmware, my AC86U took in the firmware

This is unusual. Issues like yours may happen when the router has not enough free RAM. Do you have USB drive attached to this router by chance?

 

[RMerlin]

or should I leave it like this?

Just leave it as it is. If you use that page, enable Apps Analysis.

 

[iManuB]

Just leave it as it is. If you use that page, enable Apps Analysis.

Yep, sometimes... Thank you so much, Merlin. Have a nice day and a I wish a good job!

 

[aex.perez]

One word, Bricked!
Off to rescue mode, that's be a AM activity. Not sure why, the AC5300 mesh node went flawlessly, but I'll give it a once over as well...

Guessing I'll use ASUS firmware, before putting 386.10 back on and staring from scratch.
Never tried, or remember trying rescue mode with Merlin Firmware. Guessing that'll work as well, I'll know tomorrow...

Don’t know why the 5300 router bricked since the 5300 node was upgraded without issue. But the rescue mode recovery was a mess, but eventually got it all running and reconfigured. Going back into service tonight.

My rescue mode journey in case anyone ever faces a similar situation - https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac5300-bricked-wont-upload-firmware-in-rescue-mode.84019/