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Asuswrt-Merlin is now 10 years old!

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RMerlin

Asuswrt-Merlin dev
In 2010 Asus announced a new high-end router to replace the RT-N16. I believe that new model was called the RT-N76U at the time. It was finally launched in Canada in early 2012 (a few months after the US launch), under the RT-N66U model name. I spent close to $200 CAD on that router to replace an old, modded Linksys router that was running either DD-WRT or Tomato (can't remember which I ran last on it).

On April 5th 2012 I released a modified firmware on the Asus VIP forums. The RM1 release included patches that I had applied on top of 3.0.0.3.108 GPL code. The project didn't have a formal name yet, "Tomato Regrowth" was the name I was considering, as these first few months were often spent re-enabling Tomato features that Asus had disabled when they forked it to create Asuswrt, such as SSH and HTTPS support. These archives also contain changelogs. Here's the very first one:

Asus RT-N66U Modded Firmware - build 3.0.0.3.108.1 (4-April-2012)
=================================================================

About
-----
These builds of the RT-N66U (Rev B1) firmware are versions I have modified and
recompiled. The list of changes (so far):

- Updated MiniDLNA from 1.0.21 to 1.0.24 (all Asus patches to the
MiniDLNA sources were reapplied).
MiniDLNA Changelog: http://sourceforge.net/projects/minidlna/files/minidlna/1.0.24/
- Added wol (wakeonlan command)


Usage
-----
Simply flash it like any regular update.


Notes
-----
The mods-xxx.tgz archive will contain the files that I added/modified.
In this case:
- minidlna 1.0.24 + Asus patches reapplied
- wol 0.7.1 + cross-compiling patch
- Modified router/Makefile that adds wol

For the nostalgic, I have uploaded these first releases to Onedrive (which included the patch code within the archive), in the Museum folder: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AuCcWdNeYuXMixKSyygGPvuBAag6 Do not try to flash them however, they were for the RT-N66U original CFE which only supported 32KB of nvram.

Something old... and now something new. For those who are more interested in what's coming next, an early preview can be seen in the https://www.asuswrt-merlin.net/test-builds folder of what has kept me (very) busy these past two weeks.

10 years of doing this is pretty incredible, I never expected this project to ever turn into what it has become today.

Happy birthday!
 
Thank you for starting this project @RMerlin. I find Asuswrt (and *-Merlin) much easier to use than OpenWRT which I discovered for my old cheap Tp link router, also 10-11 years ago.

Much less stressful to setup over the years, so your work hasn't been for nothing. ♥
 
Nice to look back on the history.. reminds me of the history of Unix and what it ran on.

GT-AX6000...knew I should have brought that instead..
 
@RMerlin

Along the way you figured out how to share and to learn from the experiences of those with whom you shared. The end result was more good things to share...and so it goes. A heartfelt thank you for your time, your efforts, and especially your patience.

Incredible is definitely the correct adjective!
 
Thank you, and congratulations RMerlin.

Networks are not done right, until your firmware is running them. Asus owes a big part of their success to your tireless dedication and selfless work that you somehow do in your 'spare time'!
 
Thank you and congratulations!
 
Congratulations and Happy Birthday.
I'll need to try the GT-AX6000 alpha after work today.

Is there somewhere where I can look to see if the alpha includes the CVE updates from 48377?
 
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It's nice to see someone carried away by a passion and still have that enthusiasm 10yrs later. Thanks for sharing that with the rest of us, the firmware and the enthusiasm.
 
Thank you for your firmware and tireless work and support over the years. It's appreciated.
 
Congratulations and a happy birthday!
 
An incredible work, leaded by a single person along ten years now!. I would like to have your energy .

Happy Birthday AsusWRT-Merlin!
 
Let's donate a cup of coffee to @RMerlin to celebrate it!
Indeed! Birthday present time :)

 

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