RT-AC86U - 384.16 - Frequent Crashes - Please Help

[salieri]

Do you have a swap file as @bbunge suggested? Speaking from experience, I 2nd the answer that you need a swap file on a usb key attached to the router. You can easily try this using amtm, option "sw".

@bluzfanmr1 - Yes, definitely took that into consideration as an option. What did not make sense from my own knowledge was having to do this when my previous setup worked fine on an older router. I mentioned earlier that I was running the AC86U from a factory default load with 0 configuration changes.

Just noticed this in the 384.16 Merlin release notes [emoji23]

CHANGED: Added down/upload monitor to network status page, and removed useless RAM chart to free some space.

You can see used/free/cached on the Sys Info page btw.


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@JDB - LOL. Thanks for this, that explains things much better.

 

[salieri]

--- UPDATE ---

After reinstalling the firmware + factory reset, seems like everything is working dandy. My router uptime is at a new record of over a day now *knock on wood*.

My Learning Lessons (upgrading FROM an AC68U as a long time Merlin Firmware User):

1) That RAM chart is in fact complete b.s.. I had really thought the crashes were occurring because I was eventually running out of memory. From the advice I was given, go to Tools -> SysInfo and look at the 'Memory' section for a more accurate picture. They should seriously get rid of that chart or redo it. There was no need to ever question this chart when I was an AC68U user because the router never crashed and I saw the RAM peak at maybe ~60%. This new router seems to be a completely different animal.

2) When migrating over to a new router, slowly configure/introduce things to see if there are any negative impacts occurring.

3) When all else fails, reinstall the firmware + factory default settings.

Thanks for everyone who responded.

 

[DarkKnight75]

Well...1st time 5ghz just turned off today..the only thing I turned on was aiprotection which seemed to be causing weird issues..turned off and rebooted router..running merlin 384.12 based on asus 47517..hopefully this 2019 model wont start acting up on me..

 

[cmkelley]

@cmkelley

It may be an edge case but without the indicator I would have had to wipe and start from scratch.
I don't have experience with other models to compare the ram usage.
I do plan on a model upgrade and have been watching price points and new model releases.
Covid has disrupted so many things.

The only 2 differences between the 2 USB drives (primary and backup) were the pixelserv cert and the (Diversion blocking file size which is now on "standard" for both drives.)
These drives are not clones.
Unbound has its own cert and key and that is most likely different as well. But the uninstall reboot and reinstall did nothing for my problem.

No load ram usage is running about 120-122 but when unbound was uninstalled it dropped to 106.
The router does this:
Apr 26 09:07:53 kernel: nvram: consolidating space!

Thanks for your kind reply.

It's hard to tell in messages, so to be clear, _I_ was the one using the No True Scotsman defense logical fallacy. The fact that yours is literally the first time I've heard of someone actually being able to use the RAM indicator for something doesn't actually make it an edge case. Apologies, unfortunately, sarcasm is my native tongue and sometimes it doesn't come through well.

I kinda would like to try unbound since the idea of running my own DNS is attractive, but the solution seems a bit immature at the moment, and I don't even have time to tend to some of the things I want to do with scribe.

Also the "kernel: nvram: consolidating space!" log entry is normal, I think it's something to do keeping the jffs efficient?

 

[John Fitzgerald]

It's hard to tell in messages, so to be clear, _I_ was the one using the No True Scotsman defense logical fallacy. The fact that yours is literally the first time I've heard of someone actually being able to use the RAM indicator for something doesn't actually make it an edge case. Apologies, unfortunately, sarcasm is my native tongue and sometimes it doesn't come through well.

I took it as humorous. I agree that print is hard to impart tone, humor and other emotions. Even sarcasm which is mostly, easily distinguished, is sometimes disguised in print. Which reminds me of this joke:

[Fred was about to tee off on the first hole when a second golfer (George) approached and asked if he could join him. Fred said that he usually played alone, but agreed to the twosome. They were even after the first few holes.

George said, "We're about evenly matched, how about playing for five bucks a hole?" Fred said that he wasn't much for betting, but agreed.

George easily won the remaining 16 holes. They walked off number eighteen while George counted his $80.00. He then confessed that he was the pro at a neighboring course and “liked to pick on suckers.”

Fred, shocked, revealed that he was the Parish Priest.

The pro was flustered and apologetic and offered to return the money. The Priest said, "You won fair and square I was foolish to bet with you. Keep your winnings."

The embarrassed pro asked, "Please, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

The Priest said, "Well, you could come to Mass on Sunday and make a donation. And, if you want to bring your Mother and Father along, I'll marry them.”]