[Alpha] 386.2

[Jumpstarter]

Re-harmonizing the firewall code with upstream

It was bad code merge. Merging newer GPL code to rc/firewall.c is always a crapshoot because a) lots of redundant code, causing patch/diff to occasionally insert code in the wrong location, and b) parts of my code in it is quite different from Asus, requiring manual merges for some sections.

So, a few lines of codes got inserted in the wrong location.

That is the name of the game when it comes to merging new parts. Never know when the new parts will get scrambled into the older requiring manual corrections.

 

[RMerlin]

Planning on adding two new models for 386.2 One is already about done (just requires further testing), the other one is awaiting a fixed GPL from Asus as the one I have fails to boot (even when compiled as pure GPL code, I suspect one of its prebuilt components is broken).

I'll announce more info once I'm sure about the two being working properly.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Great, two new routers that The Wife will say "No" towards.
Absolutely no issues with my current setup, so no "real" reason to support new equipment. Dang It.
Thank You RMerlin!
Stay Safe

 

[Keith Gorham]

Great, two new routers that The Wife will say "No" towards.
Absolutely no issues with my current setup, so no "real" reason to support new equipment. Dang It.
Thank You RMerlin!
Stay Safe

Just start complaining about strange errors on the router. Maybe turn off sometimes until she asks about why is wifi not working. There are lots of things that can be done to justify new computer hardware....

 

[Wisiwyg]

Just start complaining about strange errors on the router. Maybe turn off sometimes until she asks about why is wifi not working. There are lots of things that can be done to justify new computer hardware....

Looks like a dirty flash to 384.19 is in the works...

 

[RMerlin]

Same limitations as the GT-AC2900: non-ROG UI, no VPNFusion, and none of the ROG-specific features.

 

[gattaca]

Morning! Typically, I am glued to RMerlin's Production releases like flypaper. With this major 386.x upgrade, I really need to perform a full factory reset, format JFFS and start "100% fresh as can be" after all the issues I had with 384.18 -> 384.19 on my 2 x AC86U setups. I've read this entire thread and I am considering jumping one of my AC86U or maybe an AX86U to the 386.2alpha vs 386.1_2.

What's been the "bleeding-edgers" experience with the alphas? (I know it's higher risk than the prods). I've followed the alpha releases on/off over the years but never hopped on that train. My biggest concern would be having to wipe the main routers to rejoin the production 386.x stream or have to wipe them with every alpha. The WAPs are pretty simple to resetup. All the amtm is not.

Constructive thoughts? I have multiple AC88U/AC86U as WAPs and main routers ranging from AC1900, AC86U and AX86U.
Stay safe, stay alive!

 

[Smokey613]

I tried 386.1_2. It did not provide the stable/smooth AiMesh system that I had with 384.19 and yes, I started fresh with full resets on both units each time. I do have the luxury of running a pfsense unit in front of the routers so it was an easy process since the pfsense is doing everything but the wifi chores. Devices did not roam well, they seemed “sticky” once they connected to a node. I started with the same settings I was using on 384.19 plus experimented with suggestions made by other users. After a week, I reset both units, reloaded 384.19, reset them again and my network is back to it‘s old reliable, smooth working system. Since I am running pfsense and using the RT-AC86Us as APs, I think I will wait awhile before trying any more updates.

On a side note, during all this I also played with an eero 6 and a new Greenwave CL4000XG unit from my new CenturyLink install. The eero 6 was easy to setup and use but it’s wifi range was lacking compared to my RT-AC86U units. The CL4000XG on the other hand kicked butt. It has excellent wifi range, slightly better than my Asus units. In fact, I set it up about 3 feet away from my main Asus unit, shutdown my Asus node, and did an unscientific test using my iPhone XR. I could make a connection to the main Asus unit inside my outside office but the signal was weak and dropped if I moved around. I then hopped on to the CL4000XG wifi and got a slightly better connection and never lost it while moving around in my office. If I wanted a single unit to handle wifi without the need for a node, the CL4000XG would definitely work even if it does look like a humidifier.

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Morning! Typically, I am glued to RMerlin's Production releases like flypaper. With this major 386.x upgrade, I really need to perform a full factory reset, format JFFS and start "100% fresh as can be" after all the issues I had with 384.18 -> 384.19 on my 2 x AC86U setups. I've read this entire thread and I am considering jumping one of my AC86U or maybe an AX86U to the 386.2alpha vs 386.1_2.

What's been the "bleeding-edgers" experience with the alphas? (I know it's higher risk than the prods). I've followed the alpha releases on/off over the years but never hopped on that train. My biggest concern would be having to wipe the main routers to rejoin the production 386.x stream or have to wipe them with every alpha. The WAPs are pretty simple to resetup. All the amtm is not.

Constructive thoughts? I have multiple AC88U/AC86U as WAPs and main routers ranging from AC1900, AC86U and AX86U.
Stay safe, stay alive!

There are no current Alpha's (after #5). They were converted to Final Release as 386.1_2 as a point release to fix some issues. So 386.2 is not available yet.

 

[maxbraketorque]

Morning! Typically, I am glued to RMerlin's Production releases like flypaper. With this major 386.x upgrade, I really need to perform a full factory reset, format JFFS and start "100% fresh as can be" after all the issues I had with 384.18 -> 384.19 on my 2 x AC86U setups. I've read this entire thread and I am considering jumping one of my AC86U or maybe an AX86U to the 386.2alpha vs 386.1_2.

...

Unless a new alpha has been released in the last 24 hours, 386.1_2 is newer than the current 386.2alpha. For my non-Mesh main+AP configuration, 386.1_2 has been fine for me, but I'm not running any non-Merlin add-ons either. I run OVPN from the routers, do some port forwarding, have a Guest network, and do some static and manual DHCP assignments. I did not perform a reset when going from 384 to 386. No issues except that one of my setups had the issue where samba accounts get messed up, but that happened for another of my setups when I moved from an older to a newer 384.

 

[gattaca]

Sorry, maybe I'm not referring to the code nomenclature properly. I'm referring to the builds Eric is posting in this first of this thread which were last built on ~ 09 Feb 2021. Most are named like "RT-AC86U_386.2_alpha1-g18f27B0693" So maybe I should have said 386.2_alpha1? I'm not referring to the 386.1_2 which has been "officially released as GTG". Thanks!

 

[John Fitzgerald]

Sorry, maybe I'm not referring to the code nomenclature properly. I'm referring to the builds Eric is posting in this first of this thread which were last built on ~ 09 Feb 2021. Most are named like "RT-AC86U_386.2_alpha1-g18f27B0693" So maybe I should have said 386.2_alpha1? I'm not referring to the 386.1_2 which has been "officially released as GTG". Thanks!

386.2_Alpha#5(Plus some non released tweaks) was converted to 386.1_2.

As it stands now 386.1_2 supersedes all 386.2 Alpha's.

 

[Wisiwyg]

386.2_alpha One Drive test build folder has been emptied... So it's 386.1_2 only.

 

[L&LD]

This means new .2 builds will be there soon.

 

[RMerlin]

I removed those builds to avoid any confusion, as they were actually older than 386.1_2.

 

[deathnite]

New 386.2 alpha builds uploaded 1h ago.

- NEW: Added jittertimer-rngd daemon to HND routers. This will ensure sufficient entropy is generated early on at boot time, reducing boot stalls caused by insufficient entropy for the kernel's random number generator, and also generally improves security related to crypto operations by the router.

 

[isr25]

Updated mine - so far so good

 

[Slawek P]

Clean update from 386.1_2. This time I cleared Firefox cookies and used private tab to upgrade main router as pointed out by someone else on this forum.
Initial step of upgrading main router took long (updating settings) as before, but this time it had no hickup and firmware was updated on the first attempt. So progress.
I had to factory reboot an AiMesh node twice, I do not know why, but first time round it was not discoverable. I also noticed it picked a different LAN IP then before.
Evertyhing appears to be working fine. Cheers

 

[John Fitzgerald]

New Alpha Log at-a-glance:

386.2 (xx-xxx-2021)
- NEW: Added support for the GT-AX11000. Note that VPNFusion, as
well as the ROG-specific features such as the custom UI
are not supported.
- NEW: Added jittertimer-rngd daemon to HND routers. This will
ensure sufficient entropy is generated early on at
boot time, reducing boot stalls caused by insufficient
entropy for the kernel's random number generator,
and also generally improves security related to
crypto operations by the router.
- UPDATED: Openssl to 1.1.1j.
- FIXED: Router could get stuck at boot time after the user
migrated from stock firmware, or just erased his
JFFS partition, requiring a factory default reset.
- FIXED: ATM checkbox could not be enabled on QOS page.

 

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

View attachment 30993

Same limitations as the GT-AC2900: non-ROG UI, no VPNFusion, and none of the ROG-specific features.

I am currently testing, I will let you know if i find any issues...... Great work!. Great feel so far!