Release Asuswrt-Merlin 386.2 is now available

[RMerlin]

Wow, less than two days ago I half-jokingly posted about (perhaps) soon seeing an Alpha release of 386.3, but also figured "nah, not likely, since Asus hasn't released any new firmware in quite some time (either GPL sources or compiled releases). Much has changed in those 36(-ish?) hours since then: it seems that Asus has been busy dropping new releases that seem to resolve many more "newly discovered" vulnerabilities for various models. Bring on the next round of Alpha testing....

A lot of these fixes were already present in 386.2_2. I'm currently debating whether it's worth releasing 386.2_4 with the OpenVPN fixes since their exploitability seem to be fairly limited on a router instance.

 

[kernol]

386.2_4 would be really good ... then a longer break for all [yourself included ] before 386.3
I see you have done quite a bit of patches and additions since 386.2_2 was released on 13 April 2021 ...

Commits on Apr 24, 2021
jitterentropy-rngd: build with -O0 …
jitterentropy-rngd: update to 1.2.2 (library 3.0.3)
 
Commits on Apr 22, 2021
jitterentropy-rngd: fix crosscompiling on older GCC (For non-HND)
openvpn: Updated to 2.5.2

Commits on Apr 20, 2021
Updated documentation
openvpn: don't set incoming client TLS errors as a local server failure …
Enable jitterentropy-rngd for non-HND models …
 
Commits on Apr 16, 2021
webui: fix new FW notification on AiMesh routers …
webui: display both odmpid and productid on Sysinfo page if they differ

 

[RMerlin]

386.2_4 would be really good ... then a longer break for all [yourself included ] before 386.3
I see you have done quite a bit of patches and additions since 386.2_2 was released on 13 April 2021 ...

You can use git tags to get the accurate list of changes since a specific release:

merlin@ubuntu-dev:~/amng$ git log --oneline 386.2_2..HEAD
ba37992f9f (HEAD -> master, origin/master, origin/HEAD) jitterentropy-rngd: build with -O0
0dc382d475 jitterentropy-rngd: update to 1.2.2 (library 3.0.3)
49f4b0b75f jitterentropy-rngd: fix crosscompiling on older GCC (For non-HND)
77be1645a8 openvpn: Updated to 2.5.2
415c12bad9 Updated documentation
7cbda4b779 openvpn: don't set incoming client TLS errors as a local server failure in nvram's errorno
ebff4848b1 Enable jitterentropy-rngd for non-HND models
19948929d7 webui: fix new FW notification on AiMesh routers
5363a10f8a webui: display both odmpid and productid on Sysinfo page if they differ
5d967b3047 Bumped revision 386.3 alpha 1

 

[Darkje]

@RMerlin so I was looking, and I could not find it. Asus supports green wifi or at least eco mode. So my suggestion is to make the eco mode time based. So at night eco mode can kick in. And during day time full speed.

Or maby activate by usage... If no usage then off or like... Any how.. functional use of eco mode .

 

[RMerlin]

@RMerlin so I was looking, and I could not find it. Asus supports green wifi or at least eco mode. So my suggestion is to make the eco mode time based. So at night eco mode can kick in. And during day time full speed.

Or maby activate by usage... If no usage then off or like... Any how.. functional use of eco mode .

Wifi. Outside of my control.

 

[tommyz1052]

It easily could be me but 386.2 and beyond just doesnt interact well with my router . RT-ac86u. I got my setup with three nodes up but the table for DHCP just wouldnt populate or save. I tried multiple re install's and factory resets. I have some older generation cameras that require dhcp settings. Everything was working for several weeks and bam my router just stopped responding and username password wasnt working. After resetting everything up which took a very long time, i figured out DHCP wasnt working at all. Now even with Asus unmodded firmware (latest) DHCP table always remains empty . Whatever i put in there never updates or populates. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[heysoundude]

Hey don't get me wrong. My list was simply ordered by easiest to hardest in terms of solutions to bringing temperatures down.

If you were to ask me the order of the same solutions that was technically "most correct", it would be as follows:

a) Contact Asus and RMA the router (ie. get Asus to fix their mistake)
b) Open the router and modify the heatsink to make proper physical contact with the CPU (ie. fix the root cause of the problem)
c) make sure it is not sitting on top of any sources of heat (might just be getting cooked)
d) Make sure it has good airflow (again, good practice)
e) Ensure your router is clean and free of debris (likely not the cause if passively cooled, but worth checking)
f) Install a cooling fan on the back of the router (can be noisy, consumes a USB port, and attracts more dirt and dust, but can fix temperatures if well monitored)
g) Turn on EEE (energy efficient Ethernet) from the command line, and add it as a startup command. (minor improvement to heat that can be made easily, but does affect performance to a small degree too)
h) Use fewer LAN ports (again, slightly better heat management, but limits the capabilities of the router that you paid for)


The other measure that I forgot, which I would put at the bottom of both lists would be:
i) Turn off plugins and features that cause high CPU utilisation.

This is another measure that should be considered a last resort, since you are really limiting yourself on what these great routers can do.

no no, I was simply shaking my head and starting to see where some of the asus haters are coming from.
whomever it was that first undertook step (b) on this list ^ should go into business performing this correction. I'd happily take my network down for a day and deliver my router to them to modify if they were within a 2h drive...
I'm tempted to design a 3D printer design for a fan mount and open source it on here.

 

[john9527]

I'm tempted to design a 3D printer design for a fan mount and open source it on here.

Here's one alternative....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089W32HD4/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[dcsang]

Here's one alternative....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089W32HD4/?tag=snbforums-20

I purchased the model for the 88U and it works surprisingly well. I keep the fan control at 50% and the router remains in the <=70° range with high to moderate CPU usage. The cost was reasonable and it blends right into the router. Worth noting that there is a dust filter which I thought was too thick but the fan works as intended.

 

[Darkje]

Wifi. Outside of my control.

I know, you know people

 

[festus77]

Here's one alternative....
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089W32HD4/?tag=snbforums-20

I purchased the model for the 88U and it works surprisingly well. I keep the fan control at 50% and the router remains in the <=70° range with high to moderate CPU usage. The cost was reasonable and it blends right into the router. Worth noting that there is a dust filter which I thought was too thick but the fan works as intended.

How's the noise - my router sits about 20' away from our bed at the edge of a loft.

 

[dcsang]

How's the noise - my router sits about 20' away from our bed at the edge of a loft.

I don't notice the noise it at all, but I also have an air cooled workstation nearby. The fan isn't large but the design for the 88U is both attractive and effective. Another alternative is to use a small laptop cooler but pushing air from the underside of the 88U seems to require more power to achieve the same result. Clearly not a practical solution for the 86U anyway.

 

[RMerlin]

Asuswrt-Merlin 386.2_4 has been released, with a few minor changes (including an OpenVPN update which contained some security fixes).

386.2_4 (30-Apr-2021)
- NEW: Added jitterentropy-rngd to non-HND models, in addition to HND models.
- UPDATED: OpenVPN to 2.5.2.
- UPDATED: jitterentropy-rngd to 1.2.2 (library 3.0.3)
- FIXED: Scheduled new FW checks wouldn't display the webui
         notification icon when the local router had a
         new release available.
- FIXED: OpenVPN server would flip into an error state (being
         shown as "initializing" on the webui) whenever an
         inbound client failed to connect to it.

 

[shabbs]

Asuswrt-Merlin 386.2_4 has been released, with a few minor changes (including an OpenVPN update which contained some security fixes).

Let's DO THIS!

 

[banger]

Dirty upgrade on 2 x AC68U. So far so good after 15 days uptime on 386.2_2.

 

[shabbs]

Dirty upgrade on all my APs and Main Router. No issues yet. Devices all re-connected. No complaints from the family either. #winning

 

[[Daniel]]

Dirty upgrade from 386.2_2 to 386.2_4 successful on an RT-AC86U

 

[Morris]

Hi Merlin

I was looking for the Cake documentation on the Wiki and did not find it. Had to go to the first post in this thread.

Thank you for the great work,

Morris

 

[Stephen Harrington]

Dirty upgrade from 386.2_2 to 386.2_4 on my RT-AX86U, so far all good, thanks again @RMerlin.

 

[saleanddeki]

Dirty upgrade from 386.2_2 to 386.2_4 on RT-AX56U.
Thanks again @RMerlin.