amtm amtm - the Asuswrt-Merlin Terminal Menu

[QuikSilver]

This is why i dropped using USB sticks and now using a SSD for it which has much high quality memory.

I thought about this as well. How do you handle the wasted space on the SSD though? I'd imagine a 256 or smaller SSD but installing all those scripts and custom options you shouldn't need anywhere near that size. ??

 

[L&LD]

This almost OCD fixation with USB drive performance is funny. Perhaps I'm missing something, and our routers with scripts really do produce enormous workloads on our USB sticks. My simple experience over 30 years of using PCs is that I've had only 1 USB stick outright fail on me. All the while, I've transferred literally gigabytes of data between USB sticks and computers without any noticeable issue.

Having said that, a recent upgraded SanDisk stick did allow me to use uiDivStats without overloading my router's CPU, a script that was not working for me until I used the new USB drive. Perhaps these scripts do pose unnatural stresses to our USB drives?

Anton

I don't accept underperforming tech devices. I have returned USB drives over the years within minutes of using them because their performance was that bad. I've seen many USB drives fail outright. Some, when moving 10 feet between two computers seconds apart.

At a certain, given level of performance/quality, a USB drive in USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 modes perform equally well for all the scripts I've tried on almost all supported RMerlin Asus routers. I've even tried an SSD too (Samsung T5 500GB model). The few seconds saved when updating scripts/Entware on the SSD were far outweighed by the extra cost and 'wasted' capacity though.

Again, this small delta I'm seeing between USB drives and even an SSD is because the quality of the USB drive(s) is at my expected performance levels in the first place. Buying a Walmart special USB drive 'on sale' is not anything I've ever done (and with no regrets).

With every new opportunity to use our routers more fully, there is also the need to make sure the ancillary equipment (like the USB drive used) is also up to par, if not state of the art.

A customer recently asked me to recommend a USB drive to them for use between their PC and Mac computers. I suggested a $30 Patriot Rage Supersonic Rage Elite (128GB) as the cheapest drive worth buying today. They instead went with a 64GB Patriot Boost drive and saved a couple of dollars. They told me they instantly regretted the purchase. While copying files off the USB drive was quick enough, it took almost 3 hours to copy 20GB from their MAC to the drive (and the PC was even slower). The Rage Elite I recommended would copy those 20GB in less than 5 minutes, easily (on almost any system usable today).

 

[JemTheWire]

Ha. Again, I completely agree. I got the very same Patriot Stick too. It's performance is outstanding.

Having said that, I bought the Kingston stick assuming that it would be good too. I have found in life that you really do get what you pay for. Kingston USB sticks have proved to be the exception!!

 

[Makaveli]

I thought about this as well. How do you handle the wasted space on the SSD though? I'd imagine a 256 or smaller SSD but installing all those scripts and custom options you shouldn't need anywhere near that size. ??

I have a spare from another build and just repurposed it for this. Unused space is something I don't think about at all the drive will last much longer then a usb stick and that is the main concern.

You can pick up a Kingston 120GB A400 for $28.98 USD or Crucial BX500 120GB for $20.99 on amazon which is a good price and set it and forget it.

 

[Marin]

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/is-using-a-usb-stick-a-bad-idea.59248/#post-518348


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[QuikSilver]

I have a spare from another build and just repurposed it for this. Unused space is something I don't think about at all the drive will last much longer then a usb stick and that is the main concern.

You can pick up a Kingston 120GB A400 for $28.98 USD or Crucial BX500 120GB for $20.99 on amazon which is a good price and set it and forget it.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/is-using-a-usb-stick-a-bad-idea.59248/#post-518348


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Thanks, interesting read there and thoughts. I invested in a higher end USB stick to try. I have a 2.5 500gb ssd drive lying around that I planned to use for a build but never did. Never thought to use it due to size and power requirement thoughts. You both definitely gave me something to think about though.

 

[Marin]

Thanks, interesting read there and thoughts. I invested in a higher end USB stick to try. I have a 2.5 500gb ssd drive lying around that I planned to use for a build but never did. Never thought to use it due to size and power requirement thoughts. You both definitely gave me something to think about though.

I decided to put to use a Samsung EVO 250 GB SSD that I had along with an UGREEN enclosure that I ordered form Amazon a while ago and have not had the need to use a USB stick since. Have not done any testing to see how well it performs but it is a lot faster. For example, the process of creating a swap file that normally takes several minutes on a USB stick is almost instantaneous in an SSD.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWRRMYX/?tag=snbforums-20


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[thecheapseats]

I decided to put to use a Samsung EVO 250 GB SSD that I had along with an UGREEN enclosure that I ordered form Amazon a while ago and have not had the need to use a USB stick since. Have not done any testing to see how well it performs but it is a lot faster. For example, the process of creating a swap file that normally takes several minutes on a USB stick is almost instantaneous in an SSD.

if you have an old ssd sitting around doing nothing - use it for swap... big difference, imo... I put an old 80GB to work in place of a stick...

 

[SMS786]

Anyone else getting this error? Seems like the entware servers are down..

 

[Stephen Harrington]

Anyone else getting this error? Seems like the entware servers are down..

@SMS786

Yep, down for me too...

 

[Smokey613]

I am just about to the point of doing away with any relying on entware.net It seems this is an all too common occurrence.

 

[Adamm]

I am just about to the point of doing away with any relying on entware.net It seems this is an all too common occurrence.

The entware team provide an extremely valuable free service, perhaps we shouldn't throw stones unless you can provide something better.

 

[Smokey613]

The entware team provide an extremely valuable free service, perhaps we shouldn't throw stones unless you can provide something better.

This is true and is the often the case, you get what you pay for.

I was just allowing my frustration to come to the forefront as I was in the middle of an install when it decided to c**p out.

 

[RMerlin]

It seems this is an all too common occurrence.

Not sure what you are referring to. Over the past 5+ years, I can only remember two outages...

 

[raion969]

does it give any performance improvements if i add an ssd to my router, or is this just for backups or so ? Or is this even possible ?

 

[Treadler]

I am just about to the point of doing away with any relying on entware.net It seems this is an all too common occurrence.

1st world problem.

 

[Smokey613]

Not sure what you are referring to. Over the past 5+ years, I can only remember two outages...

A search on just these forums will produce several pages of results on this topic. Google search results in even more. It has happened to me at least 4 times in the past month alone. I know, I need to get a life. That’s one of the hazards of being retired and spending too much time playing with my home network.

At any rate, I apologize for being inconsiderate and not appreciating all the hard work of the various developers on this forum. A new day and some rest has renewed my positive outlook.

 

[thecheapseats]

does it give any performance improvements if i add an ssd to my router, or is this just for backups or so ? Or is this even possible ?

it's a personal choice in some ways... I've been hanging drives off of embedded-linux devices since the Unslug days... I miss my slug...

reliable premium USB sticks aren't cheap - and they're still 'sticks'... retasking ssd devices if they're just sitting around unused seemed more robust to me...

 

[Smokey613]

1st world problem.

Yes, I need to stop playing with my home network, but networking has been one of passions since around 1995. I even turned it into a career for a few years after retiring from law enforcement the first time. They are all expired now but at one time I held CCNA, CCNP, VMWare VCP, MCSE, IBM AIX and various other certs during my stint as a I.T. consultant. I have been on the receiving end of unappreciative end users so you would think I could remember to have more patience on this stuff. I will endeavor to do better and keep a better grip on reality and what is truly important in life. As I said, hazards of retirement. I think I will just concentrate more on my music.

http://mrsaxy.com/

 

[dave14305]

Yes, I need to stop playing with my home network, but networking has been one of passions since around 1995. I even turned it into a career for a few years after retiring from law enforcement the first time. They are all expired now but at one time I held CCNA, CCNP, VMWare VCP, MCSE, IBM AIX and various other certs during my stint as a I.T. consultant. I have been on the receiving end of unappreciative end users so you would think I could remember to have more patience on this stuff. I will endeavor to do better and keep a better grip on reality and what is truly important in life. As I said, hazards of retirement. I think I will just concentrate more on my music.

http://mrsaxy.com/

There’s no way I would choose Smokey613 over MrSaxy as a username.