Custom firmware build for R7800 v. 1.0.2.60SF

[randytsuch]

Try to reboot your router. Entware should be OK, but maybe ReadyCLOUD from NG (it is installed after flashing automatically) is not ready yet. ReadyCLOUD uses /opt. The same as Entware.

Voxel.

OK, I'll try that thanks.

I would have already rebooted, but I need to reboot when no one is around, so I don't have to explain why the internet just went down

 

[Voxel]

rom what I read the best NG firmware for the bufferbloat seems to be 1.0.2.46 but I have not tried.

I made some test. Last NG OTA update seems to be best with ping.(firmware 1.0.2.46)
There is'nt Smartconnect in this version.
All the ping under 30ms even if a little less in download ..
For the game I think that is the best version.
Less cpu load (1.5 vs 2 - 2.5 ) of other version.

Use of Smartconnect is optional. I prefer to do not use it.

Well. Bufferbloat is rather specific stuff. Depends on your environment. It can happen anywhere along the route between you and remote site. For example if you use cable modem the last has own buffers.

There is the possibility to tune my build using different congestion control and playing with rmem/wmem max values. But it requires some experience in Linux administration (/etc/sysctl.conf).

Voxel.

 

[SwampKracker]

Just want to report that the latest build, 1.0.2.60SF is working very well. Here are the results of a ping test from my 2.4GHz client to the router and also to the media bridge which is connected via 3 streams on the 5GHz band. Almost identical results is surprising considering the extra hop to the media bridge.

1.0.2.60SF to router, 2.4GHz client
# of pings 0 - 10ms: 986 | 98.6%
# of pings 10 - 20ms: 10 | 1.0%
# of pings 20 - 30ms: 3 | 0.3%
# of pings 30 - 40ms: 1 | 0.1%

1.0.2.60SF to media bridge, 2.4GHz client
# of pings 0 - 10ms: 983 | 98.3%
# of pings 10 - 20ms: 15 | 1.5%
# of pings 20 - 30ms: 2 | 0.2%

 

[randytsuch]

Still having problems with entware and opkg. I've reinstalled entware, v60 and even tried v54 again.

Keep getting this:
root@R7800:~$ opkg update

Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz.

Collected errors:

* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz: Error.

root@R7800:~$ opkg install nano

Unknown package 'nano'.

Collected errors:

* opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package nano.

Any ideas?
Do I need to do a hard reset?

Is there a log somewhere I can look at?

Randy

 

[kamoj]

The Packages.gz is now found at e.g.:
https://archive.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09/atheros/generic/packages/Packages.gz

Still having problems with entware and opkg. I've reinstalled entware, v60 and even tried v54 again.
Keep getting this:
root@R7800:~$ opkg update

Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz.

Collected errors:

* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz: Error.
/QUOTE]

 

[bouwew]

About the ping issue, some time ago this was a topic of interest at the LEDE/Openwrt-forum in the R7800 discussion thread.
One of the conclusions was not to measure ping via wireless because the wifi-card in the client (e.g. laptop) performs scans at regular intervals, causing ping-spikes.
If I remember correctly, there was an old Windows 7 tool available to change some settings in Windows (still supposed to work in Windows 10) to minimize these spikes.
But they do not go away completely, is my experience (actually, it's my kids experience, they do the gaming in this house, I ended up providing them with lan cable access up into their rooms).

 

[Voxel]

Still having problems with entware and opkg. I've reinstalled entware, v60 and even tried v54 again.

Keep getting this:
root@R7800:~$ opkg update

Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz.

Collected errors:

* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz: Error.

root@R7800:~$ opkg install nano

Unknown package 'nano'.

Collected errors:

* opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package nano.

Any ideas?
Do I need to do a hard reset?

Is there a log somewhere I can look at?

Randy

There are changes for Entware users since 1.0.2.59SF:

NOTE 2: Info for Entware users. /etc/profile default profile is changed (no PATH for Entware is set by default, i.e. /opt/bin:/opr/sbin). Set the PATH for Entware in /root/.profile file, something like:

export PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin

So you should correct your PATH settings. For test just run

/opt/bin/opkg update
/opt/bin/opkg upgrade

Now you run opkg from firmware (it is used for internal needs of firmware, not Entware, such as QoS installation etc.).

Voxel.

 

[Voxel]

The Packages.gz is now found at e.g.:
https://archive.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09/atheros/generic/packages/Packages.gz

Kamoj, firmware uses fake url in general. There are no additional OpenWRT packages for R7800 stock firmware (and thus for my build too). Some specific url is generated for QoS download and install. But not from OpenWRT server. Additional packages are Entware for /opt (and our add-ons ).

Voxel.

 

[randytsuch]

There are changes for Entware users since 1.0.2.59SF:



So you should correct your PATH settings. For test just run

/opt/bin/opkg update
/opt/bin/opkg upgrade

Now you run opkg from firmware (it is used for internal needs of firmware, not Entware, such as QoS installation etc.).

Voxel.

Results:
root@R7800:~$ export PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin

root@R7800:~$ /opt/bin/opkg update

-ash: /opt/bin/opkg: not found

So still no joy

I didn't see a /opt/bin, but there is a /bin, so
root@R7800:/$ /bin/opkg update

Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz.

Collected errors:

* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz: Error.

Back to original error

 

[Voxel]

Results:
root@R7800:~$ export PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin

root@R7800:~$ /opt/bin/opkg update

-ash: /opt/bin/opkg: not found

So still no joy

I didn't see a /opt/bin, but there is a /bin, so
root@R7800:/$ /bin/opkg update

Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz.

Collected errors:

* opkg_download: Failed to download http://downloads.openwrt.org/attitude_adjustment/12.09-rc1/ipq806x/generic/packages/Packages.gz: Error.

Back to original error

What is in /opt?

ll /
ll /opt
ll /opt/

Also
ll /mnt/sda1/
ll /overlay/

Voxel.

 

[randytsuch]

What is in /opt?

ll /
ll /opt
ll /opt/

Also
ll /mnt/sda1/
ll /overlay/

Voxel.

At work now, so can't check for a while, about 10 hours or so.

Thanks for the help.
Probably obvious, but I not a software type, I've been playing with pi's and other linux machines for a while, but know just enough to get by on them. I'm a EE turned manager

Randy

 

[Voxel]

Good. So explanation:

There are two possible cases.

a) ReadyCLOUD is installed on your router i.e. it creates /opt directory. After that (next reboot) the script /mnt/sda1/autorun/scripts/post-mount.sh is executes automatically and creates symlinks to Entware directories. I.e.

/opt/bin
/opt/etc
/opt/home
. . .

are just symlinks to

/mnt/sda1/entware/bin
/mnt/sda1/entware/etc
/mnt/sda1/entware/home
. . .

b) If ReadyCLOUD was not installed (by unclear reasons) this could be the problem: no /opt directory and thus no links are created.

Voxel.

 

[routine]

I get always B on bufferbloat test on dslreport
both with 1.0.2.46 and with 1.0.2.60sf....2.4ghz and 5ghz

 

[Voxel]

I get always B on bufferbloat test on dslreport
both with 1.0.2.46 and with 1.0.2.60sf....2.4ghz and 5ghz

And my result is A+ (I use 5GHz solely). The same router and settings.

I have B or C starting the test from my office with professional Cisco equipment, cable connection (vs SOHO R7800). Funnily right? For instance OOKLA shows me sometime much higher upload speed than it is possible with my ISP...

I'd suggest to check the router and its performance in real life. Using such synthetic test only if you face the real problem.

Voxel.

 

[vladlenas]

I'd suggest to check the router and its performance in real life. Using such synthetic test only if you face the real problem.

My test on dslreport , firmware 1.0.2.60sf .
2.4 GHz 5GHz

 

[randytsuch]

At some point yesterday, I removed the usb stick to see if it made a difference :/

So put the usb stick back in, reset and typed

export PATH=/opt/bin:/opt/sbin:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin​

And I'm back in business. Update and upgrade and install nano work now

One question though. Is the export path command permanent, or will I lose it over a reset?
Do I need to add it to a file somewhere?

EDIT figured it out
first check the path

echo $PATH​

edit /etc/profile

nano /etc/profile​

change path line to

export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/opt/bin:/opt/sbin​

reboot and check path again

Updated my wiki page
https://sites.google.com/view/netgearr7800/home
to reflect these instructions, hopefully to help the next person

Thanks
Randy

 

[Gouzmalix]

Excellent work, Voxel! I've done my testing; 1.0.2.60SF doesn't seem to have ping/latency issues.

Results over 5GHz band using 1.0.2.60SF:

Packets: sent=500, rcvd=500, error=0, lost=0 (0.0% loss) in 99.815344 sec
RTTs in ms: min/avg/max/dev: 10.149 / 15.393 / 44.572 / 3.558
Bandwidth in kbytes/sec: sent=0.300, rcvd=0.300

Vs.

Results over 5GHz band using 1.0.2.59SF:

Packets: sent=500, rcvd=471, error=0, lost=29 (5.8% loss) in 99.813059 sec
RTTs in ms: min/avg/max/dev: 4.598 / 28.549 / 1212.902 / 83.394
Bandwidth in kbytes/sec: sent=0.300, rcvd=0.283

About the ping issue, some time ago this was a topic of interest at the LEDE/Openwrt-forum in the R7800 discussion thread.
One of the conclusions was not to measure ping via wireless because the wifi-card in the client (e.g. laptop) performs scans at regular intervals, causing ping-spikes.
If I remember correctly, there was an old Windows 7 tool available to change some settings in Windows (still supposed to work in Windows 10) to minimize these spikes.
But they do not go away completely, is my experience (actually, it's my kids experience, they do the gaming in this house, I ended up providing them with lan cable access up into their rooms).

That was only applicable to the ping issues with the newer kernel (Linux 4.4 and 4.9). Even with WiFi scanning / location scanning turned off, there were still ping spikes. They finally fixed it by patching the QCA8337 driver IIRC. Since Netgear GPL uses Linux 3.4, it was never an issue to begin with for stock firmware. Newer code can be good, but it can also be equally as bad.

 

[routine]

And my result is A+ (I use 5GHz solely). The same router and settings.

I have B or C starting the test from my office with professional Cisco equipment, cable connection (vs SOHO R7800). Funnily right? For instance OOKLA shows me sometime much higher upload speed than it is possible with my ISP...

I'd suggest to check the router and its performance in real life. Using such synthetic test only if you face the real problem.

Voxel.

Dear Voxel. let's say things like they are. the r7800 has the netgear SQM that sucks .. Firmware settings are good for those with Cable. Not everyone has the same line.
I had to lower the maximum download limit of my vdsl2 by 20mb to get a better result in bufferbloat.
LEDE has the best SQM but unfortunately it does not have the nat hardware and other important proprietary functions ..
I hope that one day the LEDE SQM will be adopted on the official firmware, or even better, that there are proprietary drivers in LEDE

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Buffer Bloat is only a issue when maxing out your connection. So unless your everyday activities are running speed tests or downloading massive files BB is not going to be present.

 

[Voxel]

Dear Voxel. let's say things like they are. the r7800 has the netgear SQM that sucks .. Firmware settings are good for those with Cable. Not everyone has the same line.
I had to lower the maximum download limit of my vdsl2 by 20mb to get a better result in bufferbloat.
LEDE has the best SQM but unfortunately it does not have the nat hardware and other important proprietary functions ..
I hope that one day the LEDE SQM will be adopted on the official firmware, or even better, that there are proprietary drivers in LEDE

Well, I was almost sure that you have *dsl... Specific of such connection.

There is a choice as I said before. Try to edit the file /etc/sysctl.conf

and change (decrease) rmem_max/wmem_max values to:

net.core.rmem_max = 163840
net.core.wmem_max = 163840

and "net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control=yeah" to:

net.ipv4.tcp_congestion_control=cubic

and reboot.

Voxel.