Factory resetting and traffic data on USB?

[ozzed]

Hi!

If I want to Factory reset my router and then import the settings again, how is the traffic data that I store on USB affected? Will it just continue to use the same database because it's in the settings or do I need to need to do something more after that? I want to continue using the same database I have been.

The reason I'm asking is because I realized I went from ASUS 3.0.0.4.378.5134 to the Merlin 380.57 and didn't do a factory reset in between. Things have been working but I'm guessing I probably should regardless because there has been driver updates and such.

 

[joegreat]

If I want to Factory reset my router and then import the settings again, how is the traffic data that I store on USB affected?

The reason I'm asking is because I realized I went from ASUS 3.0.0.4.378.5134 to the Merlin 380.57 and didn't do a factory reset in between. Things have been working but I'm guessing I probably should regardless because there has been driver updates and such.

Hi,

The traffic data file is not effected by the factory reset - you just need point the file (folder) and it will be re-used.

BUT: Never restore(!) settings from one firmware version (or if jump over several releases) after factory reset!
You need to re-configure manually or use John's NVRAM save/restore tool to restore ONLY the user settings!
A full restore of the configuration will also restore the hidden settings which should be reset to the newly installed version of the firmware!

 

[ozzed]

Hi,

The traffic data file is not effected by the factory reset - you just need point the file (folder) and it will be re-used.

BUT: Never restore(!) settings from one firmware version (or if jump over several releases) after factory reset!
You need to re-configure manually or use John's NVRAM save/restore tool to restore ONLY the user settings!
A full restore of the configuration will also restore the hidden settings which should be reset to the newly installed version of the firmware!

Oh, I was unaware of this. Thanks for letting me know. I flashed Merlins firmware right atop the Asus Firmware, so I'm guessing there's probably a good reason to reset an reconfigure manually then. Where can I find this restore tool? I think it would come in handy.

 

[joegreat]

Oh, I was unaware of this. Thanks for letting me know. I flashed Merlins firmware right atop the Asus Firmware, so I'm guessing there's probably a good reason to reset an reconfigure manually then. Where can I find this restore tool? I think it would come in handy.

A small search in the forum would give you this to read first and this to use afterwards - and then you know how to backup/restore your NVRAM settings the correct way!

 

[ozzed]

A small search in the forum would give you this to read first and this to use afterwards - and then you know how to backup/restore your NVRAM settings the correct way!

Well yes I looked, though it is a bit confusing as it says it can also restore lower level settings, and as I understand it those are the ones I don't want restored because there may be conflicts. Also, can I use SSH and have the same commands or does it have to be telnet specifically? All in all it seems like a useful utility.

 

[punkinduster]

John's tool/utility knows which variables are OK to save. Yes, you can use SSH.

 

[ozzed]

John's tool/utility knows which variables are OK to save. Yes, you can use SSH.

That is great I will give it a try. But are the traffic data log settings and USB path and that stuff saved too? Or will I have to point to the database manually once the restore is done? I'm assuming I can use the 2nd USB-port for the one I will use as a restore-drive.

I did manually enable the cache optimization through SSH. Will that setting also be saved or do I need to manually set that again. Sorry about the many questions, I'm not so used to SSH but I'm learning that it's very useful if you know what you're doing.

 

[punkinduster]

I don't know the answers to all your specific questions but the tool simply allows you to make a backup of your nvram variables and then do a factory reset and restore with minor manual changes vs a complete manual reconfiguration. It saves a lot of work if you have a large network. It only restores settings that are safe. Good luck and give it a try. What is the worse that could happen? Just kidding. The tool is great...

 

[ozzed]

I don't know the answers to all your specific questions but the tool simply allows you to make a backup of your nvram variables and then do a factory reset and restore with minor manual changes vs a complete manual reconfiguration. It saves a lot of work if you have a large network. It only restores settings that are safe. Good luck and give it a try. What is the worse that could happen? Just kidding. The tool is great...

Well then it's probably fine. The command I used was "nvram set drop_caches=0" or similar to that, so it should be backed up, and if not it's not hard to set again

 

[ozzed]

OK, I can now report back with my findings.

The backup an restore seems successfull, however the "statistic" tab seems to have lost all data. I don't know if that data is stored on the USB but regardless it's gone. The historical data is there for the leftmost tab, so at least there's that. And plus my router will probably run better now when things are set up properly and the factory reset was made. Thank you for your help

 

[RMerlin]

OK, I can now report back with my findings.

The backup an restore seems successfull, however the "statistic" tab seems to have lost all data. I don't know if that data is stored on the USB but regardless it's gone. The historical data is there for the leftmost tab, so at least there's that. And plus my router will probably run better now when things are set up properly and the factory reset was made. Thank you for your help

You have to reconfigure the traffic monitoring settings so it will know where your database is stored.

 

[ozzed]

You have to reconfigure the traffic monitoring settings so it will know where your database is stored.

It was already pointed to the right path, but I might have missed a step then. The "daily" data was there, in the leftmost tab, so I think it at least works to some degree.