Best Practices

[Briant73]

I am new to the Asus router but would like to compile a list of best practices concerning the AC66U router. I plan on editing this post with answers to the following:

What is the recommended way to upgrade firmware and how does one go about it?

What are the recommended settings for best performance and stability on a 2.4 network?
And also a 5ghz network?

How would one best implement Qos?

Recomended Firewall settings?

I hope to make this a resource for owners of this router, looking
Forward to answers either in replys or pm.

 

[RMerlin]

I am new to the Asus router but would like to compile a list of best practices concerning the AC66U router. I plan on editing this post with answers to the following:

What is the recommended way to upgrade firmware and how does one go about it?

If upgrading to a version that is slightly newer (i.e. not upgrading from a one year old firmware), just use the Firmware Upgrade page under System. No need to erase your settings.

If making a large jump in version, or switching between original/custom firmware, or downgrading to an older version, then erase your settings to reset them to factory defaults after flashing.

And never restore saved settings that are from a different firmware version. Always save a new config file after upgrading to a newer firmware.

What are the recommended settings for best performance and stability on a 2.4 network?
And also a 5ghz network?

Set 2.4 GHz to a fixed channel, and 20 MHz bandwidth. Use a tool like InSSIDer to determine which channel is less crowded.

Set 5 GHz to either auto or fixed channel, and 80 MHz.

How would one best implement Qos?

That varies from person to person, depending on your environment. If you are just doing regular web/torrent usage, the default settings are fine.

If you are only doing browsing (no P2P, then keep QoS disabled, as that option will have an impact on performance.

When configuring QoS, set your upstream a bit lower than your true max upstream (i.e. if your upstream is 2 Mbits, set it to around 1.8 Mbits).

Recomended Firewall settings?

The default settings are fine for most users.

 

[Briant73]

Rmerlin what do you feel is the best way to reset and clear memory? I have seen talk of reset button or telnet commands (30/30/30?) but would like to hear our thoughts.

 

[RMerlin]

Rmerlin what do you feel is the best way to reset and clear memory? I have seen talk of reset button or telnet commands (30/30/30?) but would like to hear our thoughts.

30/30/30 is a catch-all solution DD-WRT users use because it works on virtually any router. In this case, no need for such long and fastidious procedure. You can simply turn the router on while keeping the WPS button pressed.

Other valid methods include:

• running "mtd-erase -d nvram" over telnet
• Using the Reset to Factory Default option on the webui
• While in recovery mode and flashing through the CFE web interface (at 192.168.1.1) select the option to clear NVRAM
• Pressing the Reset button for more than 5 seconds

 

[Briant73]

Thanks for the responses.