Request - Auto Update Firmware Feature?

[Forerunner]

I request that you consider an Auto Firmware update option that could run on a Schedule and update itself at a given time that the user would choose.

If money is a problem with hosting a server for this I am more than willing to pay for the server for the next Decade for everyone to use.

 

[eddiez]

I request that you consider an Auto Firmware update option that could run on a Schedule and update itself at a given time that the user would choose.

If money is a problem with hosting a server for this I am more than willing to pay for the server for the next Decade for everyone to use.

I would be very hesitant to have this feature. It will update when you' re away and performing a hard reset without being there physically will turn out to be quite a challenge...

 

[Zirescu]

Auto updates have been done before by other manufactures and failed miserably.

 

[NGRhodes]

An update notification system would be useful though.

 

[sfx2000]

I request that you consider an Auto Firmware update option that could run on a Schedule and update itself at a given time that the user would choose.

Please no... not auto-update, as much carnage might occur as things move around sometimes, or features are added/removed...

It's not about hosting costs or whatever for downloads/notifications, it's about the risks...

 

[jerry6]

no thanks , never again , auto trouble is what it is

 

[L&LD]

I also want to nix this idea (even though I am 99.99999999% sure RMerlin would never implement it anyway) with all my heart and soul.

'Auto' anything is just a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[scyto]

Just to be devils advocate / that guy. What's the issue if it is turned off by default - no one is saying this idea would force auto updates on people without asking / who wanted it. I have all my Windows machines auto-update all the time (heck i get new OS builds every 1 to 2 weeks auto pushed). Not had a problem in years [hmm pride may come before a fall here ]. But point is why should folks who don't want auto update block folks who do want it?

 

[Nullity]

Just to be devils advocate / that guy. What's the issue if it is turned off by default - no one is saying this idea would force auto updates on people without asking / who wanted it. I have all my Windows machines auto-update all the time (heck i get new OS builds every 1 to 2 weeks auto pushed). Not had a problem in years [hmm pride may come before a fall here ]. But point is why should folks who don't want auto update block folks who do want it?

Why put extra effort into adding add a feature that the majority will not use? The advantage of auto-updates (minimal, IMO) do not outweigh the disadvantage of inadvertantly updating to a firmware that causes problems and will resultingly require a hectic trouble-shooting session.

There's nothing stopping anyone from forking RMerlin's source-code and including an auto-update feature...

 

[kvic]

All necessary commands to automatically pull and update a firmware are available...in the firmware. A curious individual could come up with a script to automate the update with a cron job.

 

[sfx2000]

There's nothing stopping anyone from forking RMerlin's source-code and including an auto-update feature...

Folks should take a look at RMerlin's fork, and see how complicated some of the Asus code is... a lot of it is "third rail" code, meaning touch it and die - which makes RMerlin's efforts all the more remarkable.

 

[RMerlin]

Auto-updating is certainly something I would never implement. Too many things can go wrong, and the update process often requires a preliminary reboots to free up enough RAM anyway. And there's also the matter of some updates requiring a factory default reset to work properly.

Update availability checking is something I've been debating over the years. It would require renting a VPS (not a big issue, you can get one for 5$/month these days). One of the main reasons stopping me is that some people dislike the idea of any device or software "phoning home", even if it's for a legitimate update checker. First, it opens a potential door to abuse, both on the end of the developer (if I wanted to, of course), and also a door to be exploited by malicious parties in case there were any security issue in the whole process.

So for now, I have no immediate plan on implementing an update checker, but I'm not completely dismissing the idea for the future. I'm just currently hesitant to do it. For now, I try to make it as visible as possible when a new firmware is released. It gets announced here with a dedicated thred, on Twitter, on the website's sidebar, and you can get RSS feeds from both primary download sites (SF.net and Mediafire). And Softpedia also mirrors them and usually make a post about it on their blogs.

 

[RMerlin]

Folks should take a look at RMerlin's fork, and see how complicated some of the Asus code is... a lot of it is "third rail" code, meaning touch it and die - which makes RMerlin's efforts all the more remarkable.

Sometimes, it feels like working on this:

 

[sfx2000]

Sometimes, it feels like working on this:

No doubt - recall when we were discussing beamforming support and there was no clear/clean way to offer different options (no for 2.4GHz, no for 11n, and explicit for 11ac)...

There's been so many cooks in that kitchen, that it's get really hard to roll new code in without breaking something else - nothing against Asus, this happens with every software project... and the Asus code base has DNA that goes all the way back to the WRT54G linux machines..

 

[thelonelycoder]

Sometimes, it feels like working on this:

But I am a huge fan of House of Cards...

 

[scyto]

Why put extra effort into adding add a feature that the majority will not use? The advantage of auto-updates (minimal, IMO) do not outweigh the disadvantage of inadvertantly updating to a firmware that causes problems and will resultingly require a hectic trouble-shooting session.

There's nothing stopping anyone from forking RMerlin's source-code and including an auto-update feature...

Agree totally those are the decision points. I was just pointing out that doesn't invalidate the request. It also doesn't mean the request should be granted. And there ARE tons of things added to merlin / exposed that not many folks use. So the not many folks argument is a weak one. Personally i wouldn't use auto update on my router or NAS either. Luckily for us merlin firmware is not a democracy

 

[sfx2000]

Luckily for us merlin firmware is not a democracy

Let's not get into politics - it's a benevolent maintainer

 

[scyto]

merlin firmware - make your asus router great again

 

[scyto]

Sometimes, it feels like working on this:

i knew you were a genius, you got cards to balance horizontally... on one corner.... without glue or tape....

 

[RMerlin]

i knew you were a genius, you got cards to balance horizontally... on one corner.... without glue or tape....

Not a genius. Just mag1c.