Custom firmware build for R7800 v. 1.0.2.72SF

[LeKeiser]

Doesn't mean it's the router. Plenty laptops come with crappy 1x1 Wi-Fi modules that seem to drop out every so often.

I agree and it is/was the laptop and its WiFi driver that was the problem.
I didn't think it was really the 7800 but that made me wonder how many devices it could handle

 

[LeKeiser]

A small secret... the R7800 has 2 decicated network processors running at 800 MHz each which offload network traffic. The SoC is actually a 4 core design, with 2 CPU cores for application (running at 1.7 GHz) and the 2 mentioned network processors. There is no CTF involved like with Broadcom routers and the 2 network processors do all the work to offload/process network packets

This is one of a few reasons I always go for Qualcomm-based routers. The other is that QCA uses OpenWrt as its SDK

hello
Which other routers use Qualcomm processors?
Thanx

 

[microchip]

hello
Which other routers use Qualcomm processors?
Thanx

The XR500 and RAX120. The R9000 and XR700 use Qualcomm chipsets for the WiFi and switch, but run on Annapurna CPU... On the other side, Linksys and TP-Link has some Qualcomm-based routers. I think Orbi too has Qualcomm WiFi chips but I don't know what CPU it runs on... haven't looked into it

 

[agent_x007]

In March of 2019, I bought my new router (R7800), and I based my decision mainly on firmware support after official one ends (I had DIR-825 B1 before with last firmware update in 2012... worked hard untill March 2019).
I really happy We can use this awesome firmware(s), and very gratefull for all the hard work You and others put into making it.
Thank you.

 

[htismaqe]

FYI, I have found a way to replace the icons in Attached Devices. You cannot change the device types/names as they are referenced in multiple files, not always by name, and are also hard coded to the broader device types in the Netgear Nighthawk app. So don't try to change the names/types or it will just screw up other stuff.

If you're interested in updating the icons themselves though, here are the instructions.

Note 1: You can do this by transferring files back and forth using a USB flash drive and the command line stuff via telnet, but using SSH/SCP is considerably easier, so my instructions use the latter method.

Note 2: My instructions only apply to the English language version. If you are using a different localization, you will have to find the correct file for your language in the following steps.

Find the number of the device icon you want to replace.

At a shell prompt, execute the following command:

more /www/languages-en.js | grep "qos_device"

This will list out all of the device types in the following format - take note of the number. In this example, we'll look at the iMac. The output table shows me the following:

qos_device13="iMac"

My number is 13.

Take a look at the location where your icon will be stored.

At a shell prompt, execute the following command:

ls -al /www/image/streamboost/

You should get a list of JPG files, organized by number. In this example, I'm looking for a file named 13.jpg.

Create your new icon.

This part is straightforward. The only thing I would note here is that you should create a JPG image no larger than 120 x 120 pixels. Larger icons DO work but they refresh more slowly and don't really offer any better image quality.

Upload your new image.

For this example, I'm assuming you have your new iMac picture in your Pictures folder and you have navigated to that folder on your PC. I have an iMac and for me, I have a built-in SCP client. I'm going to assume most of your are on Windows so to make it easy, I'm going to assume you are using a shell-based SCP client on your Windows machine are already in Pictures.

At a shell prompt, execute the following command:

scp 13.jpg root@x.x.x.x:/www/image/streamboost

Note: Replace "x.x.x.x" with the IP address of your router.

Enjoy your new image.

Login to the web GUI on your router and navigate to the Attached Devices page. The icon will update automatically.

 

[dordy_boy]

Hi Voxel,

I try to keep my R7800 up to date with your releases. I am no router super user and my family and I use the router as most families do. There are no extravagances here.

Thank you so much for all of your releases. I am sure each release takes much time and effort. Your firmware has made our router much more accessible compared with Netgear's firmware. I believe the performance is much better.


I appreciate the work you do.

Regards
Jonathan

Continuation of
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-69sf.58293/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-70sf.59009/

New version of my custom firmware build: 1.0.2.72SF.

Changes (vs 1.0.2.70SF):

1. minidlna package is upgraded 1.2.1->1.2.1-2018-04-10.
2. (minidlna) ffmpeg package configuration is changed (to provide more stable support of the FLAC files).
3. (minidlna) ffmpeg compilation flag conflict is fixed (now it is pure Cortex-A15 target).
4. (minidlna) libogg package is upgraded 1.3.3->1.3.4.
5. (minidlna) sqlite package is upgraded 3290000->3300100.
6. expat package is upgraded 2.2.7->2.2.9 (CVE-2019-15903).
7. unbound package (used in stubby) is upgraded 1.9.3->1.9.4 (CVE-2019-16866).
8. DNSCrypt Proxy v.2 is upgraded 2.0.27->2.0.28.
9. dnsmasq package is upgraded 2.78->2.80.
10. curl package is upgraded 7.65.3->7.66.0.
11. haveged package is upgraded 1.9.6->1.9.8.
12. libubox package is upgraded 2019-06-16->2019-10-21.
13. transmission-web-control package is upgraded 2019-04-16->2019-07-24.
14. dropbear package is changed: to allow ssh forwarding.
15. e2fsprogs package: optimization for a size.
16. patch package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
17. coreutils sort package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
18. etherwake package is added (kamoj add-on).
19. busybox: sort and patch are disabled.
20. OpenSSL 1.0.2/1.1.1: make an order with patches.
21. Host tools (mtd-utils): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
22. Host tools (m4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
23. Host tools (squashfs4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
24. Toolchain: gdb is upgraded.
25. Development platform is changed (Debian9->Debian10: glib 2.24->2.28; gcc 6.3.0->8.3.0; etc).
26. Support of new certificates for https.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

Voxel.

Continuation of
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-69sf.58293/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-70sf.59009/

New version of my custom firmware build: 1.0.2.72SF.

Changes (vs 1.0.2.70SF):

1. minidlna package is upgraded 1.2.1->1.2.1-2018-04-10.
2. (minidlna) ffmpeg package configuration is changed (to provide more stable support of the FLAC files).
3. (minidlna) ffmpeg compilation flag conflict is fixed (now it is pure Cortex-A15 target).
4. (minidlna) libogg package is upgraded 1.3.3->1.3.4.
5. (minidlna) sqlite package is upgraded 3290000->3300100.
6. expat package is upgraded 2.2.7->2.2.9 (CVE-2019-15903).
7. unbound package (used in stubby) is upgraded 1.9.3->1.9.4 (CVE-2019-16866).
8. DNSCrypt Proxy v.2 is upgraded 2.0.27->2.0.28.
9. dnsmasq package is upgraded 2.78->2.80.
10. curl package is upgraded 7.65.3->7.66.0.
11. haveged package is upgraded 1.9.6->1.9.8.
12. libubox package is upgraded 2019-06-16->2019-10-21.
13. transmission-web-control package is upgraded 2019-04-16->2019-07-24.
14. dropbear package is changed: to allow ssh forwarding.
15. e2fsprogs package: optimization for a size.
16. patch package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
17. coreutils sort package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
18. etherwake package is added (kamoj add-on).
19. busybox: sort and patch are disabled.
20. OpenSSL 1.0.2/1.1.1: make an order with patches.
21. Host tools (mtd-utils): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
22. Host tools (m4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
23. Host tools (squashfs4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
24. Toolchain: gdb is upgraded.
25. Development platform is changed (Debian9->Debian10: glib 2.24->2.28; gcc 6.3.0->8.3.0; etc).
26. Support of new certificates for https.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

Voxel.

Continuation of
. . .
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-69sf.58293/
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/custom-firmware-build-for-r7800-v-1-0-2-70sf.59009/

New version of my custom firmware build: 1.0.2.72SF.

Changes (vs 1.0.2.70SF):

1. minidlna package is upgraded 1.2.1->1.2.1-2018-04-10.
2. (minidlna) ffmpeg package configuration is changed (to provide more stable support of the FLAC files).
3. (minidlna) ffmpeg compilation flag conflict is fixed (now it is pure Cortex-A15 target).
4. (minidlna) libogg package is upgraded 1.3.3->1.3.4.
5. (minidlna) sqlite package is upgraded 3290000->3300100.
6. expat package is upgraded 2.2.7->2.2.9 (CVE-2019-15903).
7. unbound package (used in stubby) is upgraded 1.9.3->1.9.4 (CVE-2019-16866).
8. DNSCrypt Proxy v.2 is upgraded 2.0.27->2.0.28.
9. dnsmasq package is upgraded 2.78->2.80.
10. curl package is upgraded 7.65.3->7.66.0.
11. haveged package is upgraded 1.9.6->1.9.8.
12. libubox package is upgraded 2019-06-16->2019-10-21.
13. transmission-web-control package is upgraded 2019-04-16->2019-07-24.
14. dropbear package is changed: to allow ssh forwarding.
15. e2fsprogs package: optimization for a size.
16. patch package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
17. coreutils sort package is added (kamoj add-on, replacement of a busybox analog).
18. etherwake package is added (kamoj add-on).
19. busybox: sort and patch are disabled.
20. OpenSSL 1.0.2/1.1.1: make an order with patches.
21. Host tools (mtd-utils): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
22. Host tools (m4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
23. Host tools (squashfs4): Add: glibc >= 2.28 compatibility patch.
24. Toolchain: gdb is upgraded.
25. Development platform is changed (Debian9->Debian10: glib 2.24->2.28; gcc 6.3.0->8.3.0; etc).
26. Support of new certificates for https.

The link is:

https://www.voxel-firmware.com (thanks to vladlenas for his help with hosting).

Voxel.

 

[TheLostSwede]

hello
Which other routers use Qualcomm processors?
Thanx

There are plenty of Qualcomm based routers, but there's obviously a wide range of different processors. Their WiSoC (i.e. with built in Wi-Fi) which is used by a lot of TP-Link devices for example, are all MIPS based, most likely MIPS 74Kc thse days, with the QCA9558 and QCA9563 being the most popular options. These are ok, but not anywhere close to the CPU in the R7800.

The R7800 is based on the IPQ8065 which is a dual core Krait 300 (ARMv7-A derived, similar to a Cortex-A12/15) SoC at 1.7GHz, with a pair off network accelerators running at 800MHz. There weren't a lot of consumer routers based on the same SoC, as most are "business" grade devices. Oddly enough, Asus has a business router based on the same SoC, but I've never seen it for sale anywhere. https://www.asus.com/Business-Networking/BRT-AC828/
Beyond what's been pointed out above already, Netgear also has the XR450 based on the same SoC and there's the Synology RT2600ac. Unfortunately, Synology didn't have the best Wi-Fi coverage, but it's possible that has been fixed since SNB tested it.

More recent high-end routers use the IPQ807x series with the IPQ8074 being the most popular.
It's a quad core Cortex-A53 SoC running at 1.0, 1.4, 2.0 or 2.2GHz and as with the previous IPQ parts, it has a pair of network accelerators, although this time running at 1.5GHz.
As far as consumer options goes, it's the ASUS GT-AX6000 and Netgear RAX120, both of which are silly expensive.

Qualcomm also launched the much cheaper IPQ40xx series which is found in a lot of mesh type devices, such as the Netgear Orbi, Asus Lyra, Google Wifi, Linksys Velop, eero, TP-Link Deco etc, so it's a very common platform due to it's lower cost. However, these are quad core Cortex-A7 SoCs running at a mere 710 or 717MHz, so they're not exactly high-end SoCs. They're more than plenty for a Wi-Fi AP, but they're not something you might want to use as a media server at the same time. They are highly integrated parts though and would save the hardware manufacturers/brands a lot of money in components. https://www.qualcomm.com/media/documents/files/ipq40x8-ipq40x9-product-brief.pdf

If you want more details, have a look here http://en.techinfodepot.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Qualcomm

 

[microchip]

The R7800 is based on the IPQ8065 which is a dual core Krait 300 (ARMv7-A derived, similar to a Cortex-A12/15) SoC at 1.7GHz, with a pair off network accelerators running at 550MHz.

According to Qualcomm info (https://www.qualcomm.com/products/ipq8065) the network processors run at 800 MHz. Are you sure it runs at 550 MHz on the R7800?

 

[kamoj]

They can run at 800 MHz, sure!
(I can add NSS info to my add-on.)

According to Qualcomm info (https://www.qualcomm.com/products/ipq8065) the network processors run at 800 MHz. Are you sure it runs at 550 MHz on the R7800?

 

[kamoj]

 

[TheLostSwede]

According to Qualcomm info (https://www.qualcomm.com/products/ipq8065) the network processors run at 800 MHz. Are you sure it runs at 550 MHz on the R7800?

You're right, I looked at the IPQ8066 spec for that, for some reason...

 

[Bonnarooster]

Have been using your firmware for years Voxel, love it! Thanks for putting so much effort into this wonderful alternative.

 

[EmSixTeen]

Small nooby question here, but I've been having massive wifi issues with my Netduma R1 and X4S-R7800 combination and have just tried to update from stock V1.0.2.62 to Voxel's firmware - Is it normal that the firmware version in the top right still says V1.0.2.62? Think it's a little odd that it didn't change - Unzipped the package and uploaded R7800-V1.0.2.72SF.img.

At my wits end, know plenty about other things but networking performance issues kick me in the nuts.

Also getting DC'd briefly every night for some sort of DHCP release/renew, but have no idea how to sort that one either.

Thanks in advance folks!

Edit: Weird, worked on my third go! Will cross my fingers for some wifi improvement

 

[kokishin]

Small nooby question here, but I've been having massive wifi issues with my Netduma R1 and X4S-R7800 combination and have just tried to update from stock V1.0.2.62 to Voxel's firmware - Is it normal that the firmware version in the top right still says V1.0.2.62? Think it's a little odd that it didn't change - Unzipped the package and uploaded R7800-V1.0.2.72SF.img.

At my wits end, know plenty about other things but networking performance issues kick me in the nuts.

Also getting DC'd briefly every night for some sort of DHCP release/renew, but have no idea how to sort that one either.

Thanks in advance folks!

Edit: Weird, worked on my third go! Will cross my fingers for some wifi improvement

When logged into the 7800, the top right corner should show:
"Router Firmware Version (Voxel)
V1.0.2.72SF"

IIRC, after you upload, there is a blue (or maybe green) button that just says "Yes", which strikes me as kinda vague. Make sure you click that to complete the upload process. The 7800 should reboot automatically and then show the Voxel firmware.

 

[toxxxa]

First of all - Dear Voxel - thank you very much for your r7800 development work.

I have tried your firmware earlier but reverted to the original one because of poor smb performance.
This is my second try - samba performance is still poor - but this time I hope for help of you and another forum members.

Hopefully somebody would be able to help - sorry when the questions are dumb

I updated from the stock 1.63 for the second time to your version: V1.0.2.72SF.
After firmware update - I havent reset the settings to factory defaults.

I have an HDD drive attached to the r7800 via usb cable. HDD is formatted using NTFS file system.
With stock firmware I'm able to achieve 70MB/s read speeds and 50MB/s write speeds when using Windows File Explorer.

With V1.0.2.72SF reading speed drops down to the 20MB/s

Here is what I tried to improve the speed:
1. I turned off the media server (DLNA)
2. After those changed smbd speed has increased to the 40MB/s
3. After reboot speed dropped once again.
4. Reload the settings (and system was restarted).
Speed goes up to 50 MB/s but stays really unstable.
Attached the top result and downloading graph.

How to troubleshoot such cases?
HDD connected directly to the PC shows read rates 120MB/s during copying.
Thank you for your help and support!/??

P.S. I'm familiar with Linux / Windows OS.
What would you recommend to read regarding this firmware works? OpenWRT guides?

 

[htismaqe]

Why are you using NTFS? In general, you're going to get better performance from something like EXT3/EXT4.

 

[toxxxa]

Why are you using NTFS? In general, you're going to get better performance from something like EXT3/EXT4.

Hi htismage,
Thank you for your reply. NTFS is being used because of our zoo of devices - it is accessible from both Linux / Windows.
EXT4 cannot be safely used under Win 64 (corruption data possible).

 

[htismaqe]

Do you have to access it from Windows? NTFS is generally really bad for these Linux-based Samba devices.

 

[kamoj]

I have used NTFS devices without too bad speed:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r7800-write-speed-usb.33495/#post-444030

 

[pulpitz]

I have registered only to say thank you Voxel for all your effort in bringing us a stable firmware and taking the time to respond to people needing help in this forum. I have adopted your firmware a long time ago and recommended this firmware to all my friends, even going so far as recommending them to purchase the R7800 or R9000. I have also enjoyed and learned a lot from your responses and recommendations.