Beta [Fork] Asuswrt-Merlin for RT-AX58U_V2

[Meetoul]

Hi,

Point of this fork is to provide Asuswrt-Merlin support for the RT-AX58U_V2 which is not supported by Merlin.

It's kinda Frankenstein of GPL sources from ASUS for AX57 (I took it because it is based for the same SoC and actually it is possible to build FW for AX58U_V2 from these sources) and binaries from AX58U (not V2). Surprisingly it works pretty well, the issues I found so far are:

1. WAN led does not work properly. It's red when WAN is down, but it's off when WAN is up.
2. Sometimes, RAM usage raises to 90-95%, but after some time drop to normal. Maybe, it is OK for ASUS FW?
3. "Guest network" page looks weird.

What I checked and what completely works:

1. Dual WAN (both Ethernet and USB) with both failover and failback enabled, network monitoring method is "ping".
2. Samba, both V1 and V2.
3. Wireguard client.

Source code and images are available at my Github.

To flash the image open "Administration -> Firmware update" in router web UI and upload the image. Factory reset after flashing is highly recommended.

 

[gerardr]

Sometimes, RAM usage raises to 90-95%, but after some time drop to normal. Maybe, it is OK for ASUS FW?

This should be OK. There's another category of memory usage, Inactive, that's not reported but can be reclaimed. The routine in 'release/src/router/httpd/web.c' uses only MemTotal and MemFree and then calculates the used memory from those two. If you login to your router via SSH and do 'cat /proc/meminfo' you'll see a line starting 'Inactive:' which is memory that can be reclaimed, but does not show up in MemFree. For example, when I run 'rsync' to backup my router to my server, MemFree drops to around 10%, but once 'rsync' is finished, Inactive is around 30%.

 

[Tech9]

What I checked and what completely works:

1. Dual WAN (both Ethernet and USB)

I would like to see Dual WAN fail over/back completely working on Asuswrt with Ethernet without physically unplugging the cables.

 

[capncybo]

I would like to see Dual WAN fail over/back completely working on Asuswrt with Ethernet without physically unplugging the cables.

I trust that what you say is correct as you seem to have an eye for the specifics.
Are you saying that (throughout all these years & different router models & firmware) If connected into two different ISP no asus router can actually fail-over successfully to the other?

 

[RMerlin]

I would like to see Dual WAN fail over/back completely working on Asuswrt with Ethernet without physically unplugging the cables.

Asus has made a LOT of changes to their monitoring code in wanduck over the past 12-18 months. Has anyone re-tested it with a recent firmware version to see if at least the failover/recovery portion now work better?

 

[Tech9]

Are you saying that... If connected into two different ISP no asus router can actually fail-over successfully to the other?

None I tested Dual WAN with. It may or may not fail over/back unless you unplug the Ethernet cables physically.

Has anyone re-tested it with a recent firmware version to see if at least the failover/recovery portion now work better?

I can do that on AX86U router, but I need some time to bring it to the office and it has to be Sunday afternoon.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Asus has made a LOT of changes to their monitoring code in wanduck over the past 12-18 months. Has anyone re-tested it with a recent firmware version to see if at least the failover/recovery portion now work better?

When my ISP was having issues a few months back I temporarily setup dual WAN using a tethered Android phone as secondary. It worked fine as fail-over and fail-back. Not exactly a thorough test but certainly not the "it's all broken" that some people might suggest.

 

[Tech9]

I've seen reports of WAN + USB working, but I don't have anything to test it with. I can test WAN + LAN port.

 

[JWoo]

Hi,

Point of this fork is to provide Asuswrt-Merlin support for the RT-AX58U_V2 which is not supported by Merlin.

It's kinda Frankenstein of GPL sources from ASUS for AX57 (I took it because it is based for the same SoC and actually it is possible to build FW for AX58U_V2 from these sources) and binaries from AX58U (not V2). Surprisingly it works pretty well, the issues I found so far are:

1. WAN led does not work properly. It's red when WAN is down, but it's off when WAN is up.
2. Sometimes, RAM usage raises to 90-95%, but after some time drop to normal. Maybe, it is OK for ASUS FW?
3. "Guest network" page looks weird.

What I checked and what completely works:

1. Dual WAN (both Ethernet and USB) with both failover and failback enabled, network monitoring method is "ping".
2. Samba, both V1 and V2.
3. Wireguard client.

Source code and images are available at my Github.

To flash the image open "Administration -> Firmware update" in router web UI and upload the image. Factory reset after flashing is highly recommended.

Does the RT-AX58U V2 have a 2.5 Gbps WAN port? If yes, what chip is being used for the ethernet switch?

 

[Tech9]

Does the RT-AX58U V2 have a 2.5 Gbps WAN port?

No.

 

[joe a]

Does the RT-AX58U V2 have a 2.5 Gbps WAN port? If yes, what chip is being used for the ethernet switch?

These FCC photos show all components in the V2:

https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/MSQ-RTAX5000/5654587.pdf

 

[JT Strickland]

I've tried to change the way I've been networking around this V2, but I'm not happy with it, and I'm going to get another lower end router for a node that is compatible with Merlin, get my YAZFI guest network back, and trash this stinker for spare parts. I doubt if anyone would want one modded for a 12V solar system anyway. I WILL read the Merlin list more carefully this time, however, although it wasn't disclosed (maybe veiled) that it wasn't compatible when I bought it. Although not anywhere near wealthy, I can afford another, so I am not satisfied with it in my network since I don't have to be.

 

[Tech9]

I'm going to get another lower end router for a node that is compatible with Merlin, get my YAZFI guest network back

You can't use YazFi to node in AiMesh. Asuswrt-Merlin on the node won't change that.

 

[JT Strickland]

believe I can, could before, can't now. If it takes another AX86U, then so be it, it worked before.

 

[JT Strickland]

although that's a step above a lower end rout3er

 

[Tech9]

believe I can, could before, can't now.

YazFi on main router does not extend to AiMesh nodes by design. The GN in AiMesh uses VLAN.

 

[JT Strickland]

YazFi on main router does not extend to AiMesh nodes by design. The GN in AiMesh uses VLAN.

I don't know. All I know is, it worked OK before with Asus-Merlin on my node, and now it don't with stock.
I'm hoping it will work again with a fresh fresh piece of speciality plastic.

 

[Tech9]

All I know is, it worked OK

YazFi - guest network clients not using YazFi subnet

Asus Router RT-AC88U: Merlin 386.2 AirMesh Node RT-AC68U: 3.0.0.4.386_41634-g08f88ae YazFi: v4.2.0 Not sure when this started happening, i just happened to notice it after i applied the 386.2 update. What i found some times is that clients on guest network get the 192.168.1.0/24 subnet. YazFI...

www.snbforums.com

 

[SpicyLimes]

Thanks for this. I unfortunately picked one of the version 2 routers up not long ago and was disappointed that I couldn't load the Merlin firmware on it (I have a AX58U V1 at a different home with Merlin running on it) - I've been looking for a solution since November and was very happy to stumble upon this.

All seems to work well for what I needed (mainly DNS1 and DNS2 entries, and the ability to force all clients to use a specific DNS server running on a Pi within my network), however I attempted to install Skynet via AMTM but was getting non-stop errors regarding the lack of IPset rule configuration. Not sure what was going on, but Skynet wasn't a priority so I just removed it.

Thanks again.

 

[joe a]

Is this still being actively developed?