Thank you Kamoj! ... (and Voxel!)
Quicky Summary (if you want to avoid the long diatribe below): V5.4b16 is as good or better than V5 - NO ISSUES.
Another outstanding job. Installed
Kamoj Add-on V5.4b16 after updating to Voxel 1.0.2.81.1SF on my Netgear R7800. The router has never run so well.
Noticeable performance improvements across the board from the current V5 release version plus all the new goodies.
I was not having any performance issues - and I was very happy with the V5 version. I have tried a couple of the V5.4 beta versions since August and ended up going back to V5 version after wrestling with various problems. Each time others has already experienced the same issues and like magic Kamoj conjured up new versions or fixes/work arounds.
I did a half-butt install - don't care about backup as there is nothing in a router I setup that I can't setup again. I have detailed notes on anything I set or change so I can nav-walk the entire router UI manually updating all my settings in a matter of minutes.
So... I just uninstalled old addon (per Kamoj instructions) - killed all the settings from the addon (per Kamoj instructions) - manually deleted all the PIA profiles (because they are hard to delete after reinstall) - reboot
Update to Voxel 1.0.2.81.1SF from 1.0.2.81 - reboot
Enable telnet and run T_FTP_D hosting latest addon ipk from WiFi Laptop - transferred ipk to router (from Kamoj * not recommended^ instructions) - Installed (from Kamoj instructions) - reboot.
First Boot - No issues
After quickly putting back old settings - still no issues
(settings include DNSCrypt 2, a couple block lists, PIA VPN, several VPN bypass hosts)
I run the Netgear R7800 behind WAN from AT&T router (Arris NVG589) in passthru. I have a domain with cert hosted off Synology DSM with several other servers including Home Assistant (~20 devices), Plex and others all working outside network. On local network 75-100 connected devices with about 25 concurrently active including multiple concurrent video streaming (Roku Ultra, NVidia Shield TV, Chromecast Google TV) at same time (HD not 4K). No hiccups, studder, or noticeable performance issues before or after update. This includes sometimes with PIA VPN connected and 10-15 bypass clients. Only issue with PIA connected is YouTube TV thinking I am in wrong location
- which bypass solves flawlessly. Spoofing location on NVidia Shield TV also does the trick if I don't want to bypass VPN.
That said - IMMEDIATELY on first reboot I did noticed the following:
All temps 3-5 degrees lower
CPU use ~10% or more lower
All mem usage stats lower ~2-5% across the board
Speed test - no change (I was already getting full 50/10 Mbps from duplex AT&T U-Verse before update)
HOWEVER... average latency dropped about 25% across several different speed tests using several different local clients (Windows, Linux, Android device, iOS device).
And the router UI is noticeably faster - without any proper post update browser steps (no clear cache - used same browser with 25 tabs left open). I let WiFi connect computer just reconnect after reboot and kept using existing open windows.
I fully expected issues half-assing the install and surprisingly there were NO ISSUES in spite of my lazy hacky quick install. I only planned to check out what current beta was like and go back to V5 - NOPE - keeping V5.4b16 for now as new baseline - and will keep checking subsequent versions and forum for status.
* * Disclaimer * * It has only been 24-36 hours - if anything changes I will go back to V5 and provide input but right now the latest beta (16) seems rock solid on par with V5 if not better.
Time to go dig into AdGuard. Only using DNSCrypt 2 until now but intrigued by AdGuard - and to try new settings for NAT lookup (hairpinning) and SSH so I can finally use WinSCP with checkbox settings on router for SSH.
SHAKE AND BAKE!
Kamoj - once again - you are the Ricky Bobby of SNB.
You will never know how appreciated your efforts are and how many people you have helped (though a quick look in the forums does give a little insight).
Everyone else - save the comments about Talladega Nights. It is the greatest movie ever made and a Ricky Bobby comparison is the highest level anyone can hope to obtain - if you don't agree you are just wrong and I can't help you
- Grantman