Asuswrt-Merlin 378.50 is out

[RMerlin]

Many thanks for another wonderful release!

Is there an intended discrepancy between the instructions here and the ones found in README-merlin.txt inside the AC68U distribution file?

Installation
------------
Simply flash it like any regular update.  You should not need to 
reset to factory defaults (see note below for exceptions).
You can revert back to an original Asus firmware at any time just
by flashing a firmware downloaded from Asus's website.

NOTE: resetting to factory default after flashing is 
strongly recommended for the following cases:

- Updating from a firmware version that is more than 3 releases older
- Switching from a Tomato/DD-WRT/OpenWRT firmware

Read just a few lines below that. It says you should always check the changelog for more specific instructions.

 

[RMerlin]

I've installed 378.50_ta after 378.50beta2. On Bandwitch monitor of Adaptive QoS per app analysis doesn't work properly even after some days. It shows only "general" traffic. On beta2 it worked perfectly. Anyone with this problem?

I've an AC68U and I did a factory reset before betas.

Make sure you didn't disable the JFFS2 partition, and also try enabling Apps Analysis on the Adaptive QoS page.

 

[pmosher441]

I did a little sleuthing regarding the issue I noted in post #229 above -- incorrect numbers of clients in network map.

It seems that this error only showed up after I assigned a fixed IP address to one wireless device -- my phone. It's now clear that when the phone is actually online, the counts show up correctly for both wired and wireless. However, when the phone is offline, the numbers are incorrect as noted -- listing 2 wired when there are actually 3, and 7 wireless when there are only 6.

I have no idea whether this behavior existed in previous FW versions as I hadn't assigned a fixed IP to any device before this.

 

[Fsant]

RT-AC87R router freezes after latest .50 update

Not sure if anyone has same issue but I was in the beta 2 for 2 weeks and was working fine, then upgraded to release .50 and my router drops all clients and all Internet access after about an hour of use. I did a hard desert and re config but that did not change. I currently went back to .50 beta 2 and back to stable other than occasional wireless lock ups on my I-devices.

Anyone else have this issue?

Any advice?
Thanks

 

[Theliel]

I just have bought a new RT-AC56U and flashed Asuswrt-Merlin 378.50 beta2-DPI just right out of the box. Unfortunately 2.4 Ghz was dropping connection every 30-40 min. Have update to Asuswrt-Merlin 378.50ta-dpi , but still same issue. If I’m understand correctly they both are using AC68U wifi drivers. Only for the sake of trying I flashed ASUS factory firmware 3.0.0.4.376.3754 and guess what: 24h without a single drop. Wi-Fi coverage is noticeable less, but to be honest I don’t care as only my wife laptop uses this frequency and I only get bitching when connection drops . But surely missing the Merlin customizations, can anyone recommend Merlin firmware with original AC56U Asus drivers.

Merlin 378.50ta-dpi work aweseome in my RT-AC56U and with a lot of different wifi adapters. Moreover, for me, the new dpi-ta version work better (in WIFI terms) than older. I'd never a better WIFI coverage, throughput and stability.

have you make a factory reset after update? maybe a wifi adapter driver issue in your machine?

 

[coolmatty]

I'm having hard lockup issues with the latest experimental (378.50_ta) for the AC68U.

If I leave the App Analysis page open with a client selected (Showing the apps), it will almost always lock up the router after running a speed test.

Disabling app analysis seems to fix the hard lock.

Not sure if it has to do with being overloaded, since my connection is rather fast (600mbps down / 250mbps up on average).

 

[RussellInCincinnati]

...the router is always recoverable through the use of a TTL to Serial cable. No need to go thermonuclear with JTAG

Are you saying we can plug an ordinary, cheap USB-to-Serial-DB9 adapter cable into the USB 2.0 port of these Asus routers, and plug the DB9 end into a PC serial port, and then use Hyperterminal to interact with a Linux prompt in the routers?

If so, is this Linux console prompt available at all times during normal router operation, or just when there is some kind of problem mode?

 

[leszek]

Already answered in another post. "domain local" does not mean "all domains that are local". It means "the domain called 'local'", i.e. computer.local. something.local, etc... Not sure why Asus did this, I suspect it might be related to one of the development features that's currently disabled.

Could it be that Asus is implementing the multicast DNS standard?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.local

 

[DallasFlier]

OK, I confess I'm confused. I didn't do the 378.50 betas, so was getting ready this morning to install the release on my router. Noticed references in this thread to an experimental - 378.50_ta, and have done searches, but can't really find any info as to exactly WHAT that version is, or what's different from the release. Even downloaded the 378.50_ta distribution and went through the readme, and can't find anything there, unless I missed it somehow.

Just what IS 378.50_ta??

 

[Martineau]

Are you saying we can plug an ordinary, cheap USB-to-Serial-DB9 adapter cable into the USB 2.0 port of these Asus routers, and plug the DB9 end into a PC serial port, and then use Hyperterminal to interact with a Linux prompt in the routers?

If so, is this Linux console prompt available at all times during normal router operation, or just when there is some kind of problem mode?

I think you are confusing RS-232 serial...

If everyone was willing to crack open their router(s) to attach the TTL to Serial interface then a lot of the myserious reboot/crashes would be far easier to identify and resolve!

http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=10664&highlight=serial

 

[alby258]

Make sure you didn't disable the JFFS2 partition, and also try enabling Apps Analysis on the Adaptive QoS page.

The JFFS2 partition is enabled and Apps Analysis is also enabled. Traffic analyzer for example works well. If it helps, in Traffic analyzer tab, per app visualization also shows only general traffic.

 

[Denny]

OK, I confess I'm confused. I didn't do the 378.50 betas, so was getting ready this morning to install the release on my router. Noticed references in this thread to an experimental - 378.50_ta, and have done searches, but can't really find any info as to exactly WHAT that version is, or what's different from the release. Even downloaded the 378.50_ta distribution and went through the readme, and can't find anything there, unless I missed it somehow.

Just what IS 378.50_ta??

ta = Traffic Analyzer
One of the best feature on my RT-AC56U. And this firmware seems to be rocket stable for me, more than the official release .50
Wifi seems to have less disconnection, range seems the same.

Thx Merlin for this

 

[littlewing1208]

One thing to note is that flashing through the Firmware Recovery mode (either web-based or the tool from Asus's website) can take anywhere between 20 and 40 mins to complete on the RT-N66U (due to its slower flash). This is typically longer than the firmware restoration tool will wait. Just giving it a good 40 minutes or so and ignoring any error message is recommended. Once the flash process is done, the router will reboot itself, and you should know by the fact that the wireless LEDs will be back on.

And I was in firmware recovery mode since I started the router with the reset button held in and the power LED was slowly flashing, correct?

And when I ftp-ed the trx file to the router, even though the file transfer was done in 11s, I was in a non-interactive reflash which means I needed to wait a long time before restarting?

Ok that makes sense. Granted, it doesn't explain why the initial 378.50 flash through the admin UI said it was successful and to restart and then pseudo-bricked itself.

 

[troels]

The JFFS2 partition is enabled and Apps Analysis is also enabled. Traffic analyzer for example works well. If it helps, in Traffic analyzer tab, per app visualization also shows only general traffic.

I second that - tried everything, but only getting "General". I also tried "painting" my computers (red for "Highest, orange for "High" etc.). No difference.

 

[RMerlin]

Not sure if anyone has same issue but I was in the beta 2 for 2 weeks and was working fine, then upgraded to release .50 and my router drops all clients and all Internet access after about an hour of use. I did a hard desert and re config but that did not change. I currently went back to .50 beta 2 and back to stable other than occasional wireless lock ups on my I-devices.

Anyone else have this issue?

Any advice?
Thanks

Works fine here. The RT-AC87U is my primary router, and it currently has an uptime for around 3 days, with flawless 5 GHz wifi (I spent the last couple of nights on my laptop).

 

[RMerlin]

Are you saying we can plug an ordinary, cheap USB-to-Serial-DB9 adapter cable into the USB 2.0 port of these Asus routers, and plug the DB9 end into a PC serial port, and then use Hyperterminal to interact with a Linux prompt in the routers?

No. The key word in what I wrote is "TTL".

A computer serial port operates with the RS-232 standard. This means -12V and +12V to indicate low and high states (voltage have been reduced over the years, but they still rely on negative and positive voltages).

A TTL serial port uses 0 and either +5V or +3.3V.

That's why you need a special TTL serial adapter, to convert the signal/voltages. Those typically sell for about 5$ on eBay.

Also, the router's serial port is on the pcboard. You have to disassemble your router to connect the TTL to serial adapter to it. Thankfully, Asus has soldered pins to it, so you can directly plug the small jumper wires to it, no soldering required.

Ideally, get one that has an integrated serial to USB converter, so you will end up plugging the three small wires on the internal serial port, and the other end to a USB port of your computer.

 

[RMerlin]

Could it be that Asus is implementing the multicast DNS standard?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.local

Could be, I've never heard about this. I'll have to read up on it when I get the chance, thanks for the link.

 

[RMerlin]

OK, I confess I'm confused. I didn't do the 378.50 betas, so was getting ready this morning to install the release on my router. Noticed references in this thread to an experimental - 378.50_ta, and have done searches, but can't really find any info as to exactly WHAT that version is, or what's different from the release. Even downloaded the 378.50_ta distribution and went through the readme, and can't find anything there, unless I missed it somehow.

Just what IS 378.50_ta??

TA adds the new Traffic Analyzer page, which isn't officially available yet on any other model than the RT-AC3200.

 

[RMerlin]

The JFFS2 partition is enabled and Apps Analysis is also enabled. Traffic analyzer for example works well. If it helps, in Traffic analyzer tab, per app visualization also shows only general traffic.

Are you using a VPN tunnel? If yes, that might be obfuscating all your traffic from the router's DPI engine.

Otherwise, I don't know. Both the DPI engine and the components that interact with it are closed source, and I have never experienced that issue here.

 

[Martineau]

I started by updating with .50_ta, the router handled traffic through the dual-wan balance feature just find; however, even though AiProtection, QoS and TA related stuff was disabled, selective routing rules did not work.

.

When I briefly tried the experimental 378.50b_ta_dpi release on my RT-AC56U, the TA graphs didn't work, nor did the URL tracking, and I'm pretty sure I too noticed that my selective routing didn't work.

I reverted back to the previous release.

Over the weekend I upgraded to the final 378.50_0 release and this has been fine with respect to selective routing.

I have just installed 378.50_ta-dpi, and again found that the TA data wasn't being populated. I deleted the /jffs/traffic.db, turned off the custom JFFS scripts and rebooted. Now the TA graphs/analysis is being correctly produced (along with the URL tracking), so it probably was a bad /jffs/traffic.db file?

Finally I re-enabled my custom /jffs/scripts, rebooted, and my selective routing is working for a 5GHz Guest SSID and for individual specific LAN devices.

Not sure this will help you diagnose your selective routing issue, but I did notice that you use dual-wan which I don't.


Regards,