Unable to use AC66_B1/AC68 U as a reliable media bridge (solved)

[john9527]

@Bort @Gedeon30 @RMerlin

OK...looking at the code everyone running in repeater mode should be seeing that message (a companion fix is needed).

Merlin tweaked my previous fix a bit, so let me write the companion fix and gen a test4 for you to try.

 

[john9527]

@RMerlin
I think we just need to drop in the same test code from services.c into watchdog.c

 

[john9527]

@Bort @Gedeon30

A test4 build is up

RT-AC68U_384.7_2test4-g4d6c14d7a.zip
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ainhp1nBLzMJghJlb7j1wnqac97q

 

[Bort]

@Bort @Gedeon30

A test4 build is up

RT-AC68U_384.7_2test4-g4d6c14d7a.zip
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ainhp1nBLzMJghJlb7j1wnqac97q

Error message is gone. Will let it run for a while to check stability. Thanks for your help.

 

[agilani]

After a bunch tests I finally got it working using the repeater mode as @JDB and @agilani suggested.

High chances my first tests in repeater mode went bad due to some mistakes in the config.

Now I'm using @john9527 suggested firmware.

Good enough for me at this moment. Speed is pretty good and not a single issue or drop for the last 12 hours (I left two pings running all night without a single packect lost).


I used the hidden config pages (in repeater mode some pages aren't available) to "hide" the replicated SSIDs copied from the main router. So clients now only "see" the broadcasted ones from the ISP router.

Not sure if the following ones are needed, but I also set the STP on, the IGMP options on (snooping and proxy) and enabled the IPTV DHCP compatibily (Microsoft&RFC).

The only "minor" issue is that some upnp discovering packets don't seem to cross the router through the lan ports but it isn't a problem (maybe I'll try other settings: IGMP, STP.. but not today..).

To add more info.

In repeater mode the log shows how internal bridge forwarding rules are applied, however in media bridge mode usally you can see some blocks of several lines warning about: kernel: br0: received packet on eth1 with own address as source address. In repeater mode not a single one of these raises in the log.

In media bridge mode, enabling EMF stats in br0, I could see how the "flood" counter increased each time the connections were lost. Meanwhile in repeater mode the EMF stats didn't detect any multicast flood. It seems clear that some enabled mechanics in repeater mode block that multicast broadcast storms or it's the bridge mode itself which triggers those broadcast storm under certain circumstances.

In any case thanks to everyone!

I really recommend using different ssid for the repeaters so you know where you are connecting to if you need to troubleshoot it. Your call.

 

[Gedeon30]

I use different SSIDs in the Asus/repeater but I also hide those ones to avoid confusion inside my home. In this case I called those SSID "MediaHub" and "MediaHub5g"… just in case, I could need them.

In the ISP router I enabled a second, but also hidden, SSID in the 5ghz band called "WifiLink5g" which is the one used by the Asus running in repeater mode to establish the link. So no more clients use that SSID and the password can be different from the main WiFi 5ghz used in home.

Next days I'll try to guess which forward rules I should add in the Asus to allow upnp broadcast/discovering to pass from the main wifi to the lan nodes. Maybe issues could arise due to ttl.

 

[Gedeon30]

@john9527

I've tested the firmware too and it seems very stable.

I was just wondering if there is a command line to disable/delete the SSIDs I don't plan to use (MediaHub /MediaHub5g). Doing that, not only hiding them, will "virtually" transform the repeater mode in a "bridge" from the user point of view.

Maybe I'm wrong but disabling those could also increase the speed/stability of the wifi link with the main router.

Thanks again.

 

[SwampKracker]

@Bort @Gedeon30

A test4 build is up

RT-AC68U_384.7_2test4-g4d6c14d7a.zip
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ainhp1nBLzMJghJlb7j1wnqac97q

Excellent, John! I have wanted to use my RT-AC68R as a media bridge, but only the RT-N66U has been stable. Later tonight, I will give your build a try.

 

[SwampKracker]

A 20 minute ping test was successful. I can finally use my RT-AC68R as a media bridge.

Update: after less than 24 hours, the media bridge became unusable. I will try again this weekend and see what additional information I can get out of the experiment.

 

[JDB]

@john9527

I've tested the firmware too and it seems very stable.

I was just wondering if there is a command line to disable/delete the SSIDs I don't plan to use (MediaHub /MediaHub5g). Doing that, not only hiding them, will "virtually" transform the repeater mode in a "bridge" from the user point of view.

Maybe I'm wrong but disabling those could also increase the speed/stability of the wifi link with the main router.

Thanks again.

Any reason not to try proper media bridge mode with this fixed firmware?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[john9527]

Any reason not to try proper media bridge mode with this fixed firmware?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Gedeon30 was still reporting mulitcast problems in true media bridge mode.

 

[Gedeon30]

Any reason not to try proper media bridge mode with this fixed firmware?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Gedeon30 was still reporting mulitcast problems in true media bridge mode.

Yes. I tested the test3 version in pure bridge mode with no luck.

Multicast traffic killed the bridge. So I set the repeater mode and it works well, with the minor issue about some upnp/DLNA but I'm still not sure which causes it. Maybe the DLNA server itself since from the main wifi dlna renderers are detected, but not sure at all since caches can make these tests a bit difficult.

test4 aimed to fix the watchdog reporting each 30 seconds stopped dnsmasq service.

 

[agilani]

@john9527

I've tested the firmware too and it seems very stable.

I was just wondering if there is a command line to disable/delete the SSIDs I don't plan to use (MediaHub /MediaHub5g). Doing that, not only hiding them, will "virtually" transform the repeater mode in a "bridge" from the user point of view.

Maybe I'm wrong but disabling those could also increase the speed/stability of the wifi link with the main router.

Thanks again.

You can always url surf to menus manually on the repeater and change or disable them. Don't disable the radio you are using for backhaul of course.

 

[Gedeon30]

You can always url surf to menus manually on the repeater and change or disable them. Don't disable the radio you are using for backhaul of course.

At this moment in repeater mode I'm unable to find a web page (hidden or public) to disable the SSIDs...

 

[john9527]

At this moment in repeater mode I'm unable to find a web page (hidden or public) to disable the SSIDs...

I don't think what you want is possible....with repeater mode the router is essentially another client and needs to know where it should connect.

 

[Gedeon30]

I don't think what you want is possible....with repeater mode the router is essentially another client and needs to know where it should connect.

Certainly it seems that repeater mode doesn't allow me to disable the SSIDs in any way.

 

[agilani]

At this moment in repeater mode I'm unable to find a web page (hidden or public) to disable the SSIDs...

You can manually url surf to a lot of the menus hidden when you enable repeater mode

http://<yourrepeaterip>/Advanced_WAdvanced_Content.asp
http://<yourrepeaterip>/Advanced_Wireless_Content.asp

looks like disabling the wireless radio radio isn't one of them. I would just make sure the 2.4ghz is using a different channel that your isp router so there isn't a chance for interference

 

[Gedeon30]

You can manually url surf to a lot of the menus hidden when you enable repeater mode

http://<yourrepeaterip>/Advanced_WAdvanced_Content.asp
http://<yourrepeaterip>/Advanced_Wireless_Content.asp

looks like disabling the wireless radio radio isn't one of them. I would just make sure the 2.4ghz is using a different channel that your isp router so there isn't a chance for interference

That option doesn't seem to work. The 5g band SSID must be in the same channel that the wifi link SSID from the main router.

I've just moved a bit the 2.4g and 5g channels. The wifi link is established between 702mbos and 866mbps and the lan clients connected the repeater get between 350mbps and 400mpbs from internet (measured with ookla). So no reasons to complain, since the ISP router only has 2 internal antennas.

 

[Bort]

Excellent, John! I have wanted to use my RT-AC68R as a media bridge, but only the RT-N66U has been stable. Later tonight, I will give your build a try.

I think media bridge has been broken for a while now. I've been using it in repeater mode with hidden SSIDs and it seems to be stable.

 

[pdc]

Hi all... I have also been struggling with Media Bridge mode on my RT-AC86U. For a while it seemed I was rebooting daily to restore client access to the ISP router!

The latest 384.8_beta2 seems to be a lot more stable in bridge mode (thanks @john9527!), though I still occasionally have the bridge 'break' in the sense that clients wired to the bridge can no longer see the ISP router.

Before taking the plunge to switch the Bridge to a Repeater, are there commands I can run on the bridge or main router to diagnose whether this is due to the multicast issue? I do have two Android 8/9 phones on the network. Or is this a lost cause, and Repeater mode is the answer?

One question though, I thought I read that Repeater mode was insecure since it disabled some aspect of WPA2. Am I misunderstanding this?

@Gedeon30, any tips on resetting your Bridge as a Repeater? I am guessing something like a factory reset is always a good idea, and then configure as Repeater. The rest of your posts above seemed pretty clear on how to proceed from there (non-broadcasting separate SSIDs etc).