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

[gwopman]

@kfp & @jrmwvu04 thanks both, that is what I was hoping.

Seeing as it is stable i'm not sure what is gained from staying on a version as old as you're on. This version is so well tested and your version is so old that you will be at the biggest risk to new exploits as they are found. I wouldnt want to run excessively old software if there are other very stable versions like 374-43

 

[kfp]

Seeing as it is stable i'm not sure what is gained from staying on a version as old as you're on. This version is so well tested and your version is so old that you will be at the biggest risk to new exploits as they are found. I wouldnt want to run excessively old software if there are other very stable versions like 374-43

380.70 is “so old”? It’s not even two months old.

Well tested by whom? Stable by who’s definition?

It seems like @mannp is well aware of the security risks of staying on a discontinued branch, that’s why he asked. And looking at your previous comment, you’re running 32E4, which basically is at the same patch level as 380.70 like I have stated above (released around the same time, patched the same bugs). Get off your “upgrade to latest and greatest” high horse and read more carefully next time. @mannp definitely seems more security conscious than you.

 

[ls3c6]

So if you have N66, there is no way to safeguard against the exploit correct?

 

[ColinTaylor]

So if you have N66, there is no way to safeguard against the exploit correct?

What exploit are you referring to? If you're talking about VPNFilter then as previously explained nobody knows how that is infecting Asus routers at the moment. And that includes knowing which firmware versions may or may not be susceptible.

 

[kfp]

So if you have N66, there is no way to safeguard against the exploit correct?

What do you mean by ‘safeguard’ and which ‘exploit’ is this?

If you’re still talking about VPNFilter I’ve already answered you:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/vpnfilter-malware.46767/page-7#post-411344

 

[ls3c6]

What do you mean by ‘safeguard’ and which ‘exploit’ is this?

If you’re still talking about VPNFilter I’ve already answered you:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/vpnfilter-malware.46767/page-7#post-411344

I guess I don't understand how it's listed as vulnerable but nobody knows the extent to which, if any.

 

[kfp]

I guess I don't understand how it's listed as vulnerable but nobody knows the extent to which, if any.

You can spot a forest fire and not know how it started.

Edit: if you want a more in-depth explanation this whole thread is a good read https://www.snbforums.com/threads/vpnfilter-malware.46767/page-7#post-411459

 

[mannp]

380.70 is “so old”? It’s not even two months old.

It seems like @mannp is well aware of the security risks of staying on a discontinued branch, that’s why he asked. And looking at your previous comment, you’re running 32E4, which basically is at the same patch level as 380.70 like I have stated above (released around the same time, patched the same bugs). Get off your “upgrade to latest and greatest” high horse and read more carefully next time. @mannp definitely seems more security conscious than you.

Thanks @kfp, those are the reasons I asked and as you say they were released around the same time, in fact technically 380.70 being released on Apr 9, 2018. is newer
I wasn't sure if one has key fixes the other didn't, which I saw as unlikely but possible, so I asked, but as soon as a newer release of this thread comes out I will update.

 

[gwopman]

@kfp
@mannp

I made a mistake.
374.43 is clearly a lower number than 380.70
but i had got them mixed up.

 

[gwopman]

Wi-Fi Time out Fix for RT-N16 Users

If you are reading this and use a RT-N16 with this fork, and only have N / AC devices, you may be finding you have longer lag or timeouts over Wi-Fi ONLY this might be the fix for you. On my setup everything -seemed- fine and wifi worked -most- of the time but once in a while would just seem to .... stop loading.

After a fair amount of testing i have finally got the occasional WiFi dropouts or "hang ups" to subside and have had fully reliable performance with my AC clients. After replacing the main power capacitor as many guides on Google advise, Wifi stability became much better but there were still "hang ups" about once or twice a day

1. Upgrade the main power capacitor to a 680uf if you have not already (if your LEDs seem dim or flickery when they should be stable this is a tell tale sign your power capacitor is about to go bad. Plenty of guides on replacing this single capacitor on Google. Should take you 15 minutes.)
2. Enable TX Bursting, Enhanced interference management, Disable WMM APSD, and set the Preamble Type to SHORT.
3. Set your channel bandwidth to 20mhz if you are in a wifi congested area (apartment building, etc).

I also no longer use the ISP's DNS and instead use a public DNS with DNSSEC support on, and have switched off UPNP, but i don't believe either the DNS or UPNP is relevant to my wifi stability.

 

[msilenus]

Replace the AC adapter that's will resolve your problems I had same issues rebooting every 48 hour or 72 sometimes often once I replaced power supply problem fixed

Thanks! That's absolutely plausible, and I just put in an order for some UPSes to hopefully try to extend the lifetime of our infrastructure devices in the future. Any advice on what AC adapter unit to choose, or how to choose a unit? Last time I did this they made generic AC adapters which could work over a certain range and with a variety of connectors, but compatibility was clearly a crapshoot. Since you've done this, I'm hoping you have a known-good part you can recommend.

Either way, thanks for the suggestion. I'll take a stab at that before replacing the unit for sure.

 

[msilenus]

@msilenus Good move with the syslog server, that might provide some clues.

I'm not sure what you mean by, still seeing "ISP's DHCP did not function properly". You usually get one of those messages when the router boots up, just before the WAN link is established. So I'm not seeing any other occurrences in the log you posted.

Unless the syslog server reveals something I'm tempted to think it's just the hardware getting old. There have been a few reports of those routers (N66U/AC66U) suffering from "tired" power supplies, causing spontaneous reboots. Replacing the PSU has fixed some of them. What is the quality of your mains electricity supply like?

I think you're probably right about the machine getting old, but just for closure, here are the logs from the syslogd remote-logging run. The last two reboots in this log should certainly be anomalous. It looks to me like the post-reboot startup logs are truncated, presumably because we only see the entries after the network comes up.

https://pastebin.com/Mb95sJWa​

My read on those logs is that they don't provide any new leads, but I'm providing them in case that's wrong.

​

I didn't realize the "ISP's DHCP did not function properly" message was ever normal. Thanks for letting me know that.

I hope the quality of my main is good for what I'm paying for it, and would generally expect it would be good based on where I live --but I have to confess that I haven't verified it. Still, you raise a good point, and for piece of mind I'm going to start putting these things on UPSes with AVR. When you suggest replacing the power supply, do you mean the AC adapter (similar to Omni619's suggestion), or something I'd need a screwdriver to access?

Thanks again for all the help!

 

[ColinTaylor]

@msilenus Thanks for the logs. Like you I can't see anything enlightening in there. It's kind of interesting that there are two spontaneous reboots approximately 30 minutes apart, whereas previously it was OK for a few days. That might support the dying power adaptor theory. These things tend to be thermal related. So the ambient temperature might have taken it beyond it's stable operating window. Has the weather been particularly warm today compared to a few days ago? Hopefully the power adapter has sufficient ventilation around it.

And yes we mean the AC adapter (wall-wart). It might equally be some (or any ) of the components inside the router. But in that case I'd say it's beyond economic repair (unless you happen to be an electronic engineer).

 

[msilenus]

I did some googling around to pick a part, and found this thread:

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/rt-ac66u-increased-stability-after-replacing-power-supply.26326/​

That seems particularly on-point for me because I'm running a low-power HDD off the USB port with no external power for the drive. So I've gone ahead and ordered the beefy adapter the poster recommended.

Yes, it's been warmer today than yesterday. Heat could easily be contributing. I think that points toward the PS over something internal b/c the internal temps were looking fine, and it's more likely that the router's wall-wart got a bit buried than that the router itself did. I have the router mounted to a wall. Not a great location -it's behind some stuff- but air can move around back there and it's not going to get buried.

Pending the part's arrival I've unplugged the HDD to reduce power demands and will keep monitoring in that state. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[onix]

A current (i) monitor on these builds would be useful, if possible -- temperature is a useful metric except differences should be calculated from the ambient. What is the typical medium load temp differential?

 

[ThereIsNoName]

As a normal non-technical-Asus-Nat-owner, I find the information on"[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (V32E4)" very unclear and confusing in general, and particularly the "Installation Notes" section.

Here are my questions and reflections:

1. The heading and naming of this firmware
   1. What does "[Fork]" mean? In what way does "[Fork]" affect me as an end user?
   2. What is "374.43" respectively "V32E4"? And how do they relate to each other? How, when and why do I as an an end user need and use these two numbers?
   3. I would suggest giving this firmware a name that makes sense when you read it, perhaps something like: "Asuswrt-Merlin custom FirmWare for ASUS routers released before 2015".
      And then start the article with a list of exactly which routers it is for.
      
2. Overall impressions of information
   1. There are a lot of assumptions that any reader knows very much technical details and terminology. Perhaps it's necessary, but then perhaps those necessary terms and concepts should be explained.
      Perhaps there should be a link to go and read up on, where you get all the necessary information, concepts and other things explained, so you can then came back and read and understand the text here.
      Remember, the ASUS router is a product for end users, if your firmware is not aimed for ASUS router customer, but instead for a subset of them with higher technical knowledge and understanding, then you should say so.
      
      
   2. There seem to be no clear structure of the information, or who the information is for.
      I would suggest separating anything technical from the main text and then put all technical stuff in it's own section.
      Perhaps a structure somewhat like this:
      - What is "Asuswrt-Merlin custom FirmWare for ASUS routers"?
      - Who should use this custom FirmWare?
      - Why should you use it?
      - Who should not use it?
      - Will it "break" your router?
      - Different versions of the Asuswrt-Merlin custom FirmWare for ASUS routers.
      - Which version is for you?
      - Where and how do you get the "Asuswrt-Merlin custom FirmWare for ASUS routers"?
      - How can you be sure you have the right FirmWare?
      - How do you revert back to the official ASUS Firmware for your router?
      - In depth technical information for "nerds"
      
3. Specific things I find unclear and confusing
   1. The version of the ASUS Firmware in my router is: "3.0.0.4.382_50470", how can I compare that to the reference to ASUS firmware in second point in "Installation Notes", where the version is "380.3000", it doesn't seem to fit with the way ASUS write their versions...
      
      
   2. In the same second point in "Installation notes" there is a reference to "level 374". What is a level? And how do I know which level I'm on?
      
      
   3. Point three in "Installation notes", well I don't even know where to begin...builds? "KRACK fix for the N16"? ARM SDK? rev level?
      I'm not sure how anyone can make sense of this, I read it many times still I have no clue if I should use the E or L build....
      
      
   4. Everything after this is beyond me....reformat and restore JFFS, MIPS based routers, jffs script errors, transfer your user settings from your current firmware to this fork, review '@UpgradeMatrix.txt' in the download directory, and so on...I just does not know how to use any of this information or make any sense of it.

 

[OMNI619]

Maybe you need to read it 20 times in order to make sense for you i don't get your whole point here all I know is that's merlin firmware is fantastic and better than nergear better than Cisco/linksys

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920AZ using Tapatalk

 

[ThereIsNoName]

... i don't get your whole point here ...

Maybe you need to read it 20 times in order to make sense for you...

 

[kfp]

As a normal non-technical-Asus-Nat-owner, I find the information on"[Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin 374.43 LTS releases (V32E4)" very unclear and confusing in general

As a person trying to help you, I find your whole rant very confusing and hard to read; it is unclear what you want.

For immediate installation problems, or even just figuring out the right firmware for your needs, community members can help you with that, yet you fail to even state which model you have. So much for an essay on ‘clarity’.

As for the layout of the top post, only mods and OP can change it so you can direct your suggestions to them.

 

[ThereIsNoName]

As a person trying to help you, I find your whole rant very confusing and hard to read; it is unclear what you want.

For immediate installation problems, or even just figuring out the right firmware for your needs, community members can help you with that, yet you fail to even state which model you have. So much for an essay on ‘clarity’.

As for the layout of the top post, only mods and OP can change it so you can direct your suggestions to them.

Well, if I wanted to know which firmware I should use, then I agree, I should have stated my model. But I don't want to know that.

And regarding the layout of the top post, my post is a reply to the top post...