[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (Archive)

[propergol]

Link for Update-02 sent out to early testers.....

Any N16 user also willing to volunteer to help out?

I own both RT-N16 and RT-AC66U and I am in my flashing days
So I m interested in testing all your updates.

 

[john9527]

I own both RT-N16 and RT-AC66U and I am in my flashing days
So I m interested in testing all your updates.

Sent link....thanks for the help.

 

[Deleted member 22229]

John what changes have you made for your second build ? Sorry if this has been answered I did not read every post.

 

[john9527]

John what changes have you made for your second build ? Sorry if this has been answered I did not read every post.

Patience my friend Given the intent of this fork, nothing earth-shattering. Updated a few more components (minidlna, lzo, dnsmasq) and backported a couple of fixes around MSIE compatibility and IPV6 from Merlin's latest builds.

But for the first time, I have also included a couple of 'fixes' that are unique to this fork....the most significant being the ability to turn off the copy of the syslog to jffs by setting an nvram variable for those that what to do so.

I expect to be posting the new version up in the next day or so, after my 'early testers' have had a chance to run for at least a day (so far, so good).

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Patience my friend Given the intent of this fork, nothing earth-shattering. Updated a few more components (minidlna, lzo, dnsmasq) and backported a couple of fixes around MSIE compatibility and IPV6 from Merlin's latest builds.

But for the first time, I have also included a couple of 'fixes' that are unique to this fork....the most significant being the ability to turn off the copy of the syslog to jffs by setting an nvram variable for those that what to do so.

I expect to be posting the new version up in the next day or so, after my 'early testers' have had a chance to run for at least a day (so far, so good).

Thanks John and i am in no hurry just was wondering. And thanks for your work i know a lot of people are really liking the idea behind your efforts.

 

[Deleted member 27741]

Very nice work, John. This fork is much appreciated.

 

[xavierh]

would like to try

I have a rt-ac66u running the latest firmware from Asus.. Things are running fine so far so the question would be what do i gain from running this firmware besides better wireless range (that never hurts).

apologies for the silly question.

 

[john9527]

I have a rt-ac66u running the latest firmware from Asus.. Things are running fine so far so the question would be what do i gain from running this firmware besides better wireless range (that never hurts).

apologies for the silly question.

The only silly question is the one that doesn't get asked

If the latest level is running well for you....the answer is you gain nothing. In fact, you give up some things like the new client information, the ability to change client names, the status graphics, ......

I think where this build fills a niche is....
- for users who want to change the wireless power/channel settings, which are not locked down to the same extent as in new builds.
- users that are more interested in a stable build and willing to give up some new features for that, but at the same time are security conscious and want those areas reasonably kept up to date.
- users that are experiencing issues on the new builds...wireless slowdowns, decreased range, problems with the new NTFS drivers on the ARM routers or whatever. My sense is that there are some 'growing pains' in the new builds in certain setups that are not fully understood yet, but will most certainly be sorted out. This fork can be a bridge for those users.

BTW....I personally fall into the second category. For me, the router should end up being something I never think about....it just runs. My last router, an E3000 that ran Tomato.....I had to remind myself to check it and maybe reboot every 3 months or so.

 

[xavierh]

The only silly question is the one that doesn't get asked



If the latest level is running well for you....the answer is you gain nothing. In fact, you give up some things like the new client information, the ability to change client names, the status graphics, ......



I think where this build fills a niche is....

- for users who want to change the wireless power/channel settings, which are not locked down to the same extent as in new builds.

- users that are more interested in a stable build and willing to give up some new features for that, but at the same time are security conscious and want those areas kept up to date.

- users that are experiencing issues on the new builds...wireless slowdowns, decreased range, problems with the new NTFS drivers on the ARM routers or whatever. My sense is that there are some 'growing pains' in the new builds in certain setups that are not fully understood yet, but will most certainly be sorted out. This fork can be a bridge for those users.



BTW....I personally fall into the second category. For me, the router should end up being something I never think about....it just runs. My last router, an E3000 that ran Tomato.....I had to remind myself to check it and maybe reboot every 3 months or so.

Thanks so much for the answer John...I agree with you if it is working why change it.

 

[avi68]

Hello all,

I just wanted to double check that this Fork is basically merlins 374.43 base BUT with the fixes from 376.44 and 376.45?

Another question, in this fork update does it include ALL the security fixes/ updates from 376.44 & 376.45 or only some fixes?

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Just flashed, everythings working great! Thanks John

 

[darkknight74]

Hello all,

I just wanted to double check that this Fork is basically merlins 374.43 base BUT with the fixes from 376.44 and 376.45?

Another question, in this fork update does it include ALL the security fixes/ updates from 376.44 & 376.45 or only some fixes?

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Just flashed, everythings working great! Thanks John

I wonder the same!

 

[john9527]

Hello all,

I just wanted to double check that this Fork is basically merlins 374.43 base BUT with the fixes from 376.44 and 376.45?

Another question, in this fork update does it include ALL the security fixes/ updates from 376.44 & 376.45 or only some fixes?

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Just flashed, everythings working great! Thanks John

Thanks for the thanks! To answer your questions....

The problem is that there generally isn't a flag that xx is a security fix. Some are obvious and get a lot of press, like the OpenSSL component (Merlin actually suggested I include this when I contacted him to discuss my plans for this fork prior to the first release). For these type of items, I'm going to be following Merlin's lead.

Now, there's also the possibility of 'exploits' in some of the other components that are open sourced. For these, I'm looking at making sure they are reasonably up to date to cover any issues (the 2nd release coming out shortly will address these) and watch for something blowing up in these forums that may need a quick fix. So net is, I'm hoping to keep on top of these types of security issues as best I can.

As far as other fixes, I'm not trying to stay in lock step with everything in the new releases. IPv6 has been a problem, so I look for those. User interface things that are unlikely to really break anything. And finally, pervasive issues that are being hit by multiple users.

In the second release, I've added a couple of items that I fixed for myself that aren't really a priority for the main line but were an annoyance that was easy to address and had been raised by multiple users (again keeping it simple to not break anything and not to change the basic/default operation of the firmware).

 

[avi68]

Thanks for the thanks! To answer your questions....

The problem is that there generally isn't a flag that xx is a security fix. Some are obvious and get a lot of press, like the OpenSSL component (Merlin actually suggested I include this when I contacted him to discuss my plans for this fork prior to the first release). For these type of items, I'm going to be following Merlin's lead.

Now, there's also the possibility of 'exploits' in some of the other components that are open sourced. For these, I'm looking at making sure they are reasonably up to date to cover any issues (the 2nd release coming out shortly will address these) and watch for something blowing up in these forums that may need a quick fix. So net is, I'm hoping to keep on top of these types of security issues as best I can.

As far as other fixes, I'm not trying to stay in lock step with everything in the new releases. IPv6 has been a problem, so I look for those. User interface things that are unlikely to really break anything. And finally, pervasive issues that are being hit by multiple users.

In the second release, I've added a couple of items that I fixed for myself that aren't really a priority for the main line but were an annoyance that was easy to address and had been raised by multiple users (again keeping it simple to not break anything and not to change the basic/default operation of the firmware).

Thanks for the detailed answer mate! Much appreciated!

 

[john9527]

So I m interested in testing all your updates.

Sent....thanks for the help!

 

[john9527]

Shhh.....no fair telling people that I actually keep github updated

 

[Deleted member 22229]

Have the testers had any issues or does all look good ?

 

[john9527]

Have the testers had any issues or does all look good ?

We actually had one turn due to a problem with a dropbear update posting an error when exiting WinSCP (I backed out the dropbear update and contacted the author about the issue). Having the 'early volunteers' was good because I was able to verify that the error wasn't unique to a particular system.

Other than that all good.

 

[RMerlin]

Hello all,

I just wanted to double check that this Fork is basically merlins 374.43 base BUT with the fixes from 376.44 and 376.45?

Another question, in this fork update does it include ALL the security fixes/ updates from 376.44 & 376.45 or only some fixes?

Thanks for your time!

EDIT: Just flashed, everythings working great! Thanks John

It will include my fixes but not Asus' since there is no way for John to track these. They are bundled in the Asus single GPL commit, which is what this fork is skipping.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

 

[DaveMishSr]

Do you anticipate supporting the AC87R/U? Thanks very much.

 

[john9527]

Do you anticipate supporting the AC87R/U? Thanks very much.

No, that's beyond the scope of this fork. While I can see some bits and pieces of code that references the 87U, it's by no means complete.