I have lost track of the Merlin builds for RT-N66U

[RocketJSquirrel]

I apologize for not paying better attention... but which Merlin build is currently the best all-around for the RT-N66U?

I see stable, beta, and experimental releases. What's the consensus on the current best of breed?

 

[RMerlin]

I apologize for not paying better attention... but which Merlin build is currently the best all-around for the RT-N66U?

I see stable, beta, and experimental releases. What's the consensus on the current best of breed?

There's no best-for-everyone at this time, due to the wireless issues. The latest stable release is what works most reliably in general. The experimental build with SDK6 is what it says - experimental. See the thread about Pixie Dust in this forum for the general feedback on that build - so far it yields better compatibility, at the cost of a shorter 2.4 GHz range, and a not fully-fleshed out webui (There might still be some AC66U leftovers on the webui).

All the current beta stuff is pretty much superceded by the more recent stable build. I'm keeping these builds there a bit longer in case people need to go back to these for regression testing.

 

[2fifty6]

There's no best-for-everyone at this time, due to the wireless issues. The latest stable release is what works most reliably in general.

After much browsing in recent threads, I saw a mention that the .26b version is colloquially considered the "all-around most stable" recent release. Would you say .32 is better or no?

I occasionally swing by the forums to see where development stands, but without much time to put into it, I've been hesitant to update without thoroughly researching what I'd be getting into. The firmware currently on my N66U (or N66R, technically, though I'm told there's no real difference other than the purchase location) is 3.0.0.4.354. It's been rock solid since buying it, so I'm hesitant to shake things up without a fairly good outpouring of confidence in a particular version on the forum. My main motivation right now to upgrade is to be able to track data usage beyond the 24 hours of the stock firmware--and to be able to save the data.

Also, having read through some of your documentation, I'm still not clear on this particular point: do I need to update the stock firmware to its most recent version before applying a version of Asuswrt-Merlin? Or could I conceivably come all the way from the Asus.354 to the latest and greatest Merlin.33 in one fell swoop?

That's a lot of stuff there, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on these things.

 

[RogerSC]

Well, I'm liking 374.32 or 374.33_beta1 (33_beta1 is the one that I'm currently using) better than 26b, due to security fixes and the IPv6 firewall.

I believe that the above newer releases have the same wireless driver as .26b, but due to the extra fixes and other added functionality, are preferable to me.

 

[sm00thpapa]

I would have to say 374.32. Been running it for awhile with no complaints from any family members.

 

[RMerlin]

After much browsing in recent threads, I saw a mention that the .26b version is colloquially considered the "all-around most stable" recent release. Would you say .32 is better or no?

I occasionally swing by the forums to see where development stands, but without much time to put into it, I've been hesitant to update without thoroughly researching what I'd be getting into. The firmware currently on my N66U (or N66R, technically, though I'm told there's no real difference other than the purchase location) is 3.0.0.4.354. It's been rock solid since buying it, so I'm hesitant to shake things up without a fairly good outpouring of confidence in a particular version on the forum. My main motivation right now to upgrade is to be able to track data usage beyond the 24 hours of the stock firmware--and to be able to save the data.

Also, having read through some of your documentation, I'm still not clear on this particular point: do I need to update the stock firmware to its most recent version before applying a version of Asuswrt-Merlin? Or could I conceivably come all the way from the Asus.354 to the latest and greatest Merlin.33 in one fell swoop?

That's a lot of stuff there, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on these things.

The first few releases after 270.26b used a newer driver which had major compatibility issues. Later on I reverted the driver back to the same version as used in 270.26b. Personally I consider 374.32 to be the most stable one overall - exact same driver as 270.26b, but with various other fixes implemented.

You can flash directly to whichever FW version you want - it will replace all the software on the router (minus the bootloader, which is never changed). No need to flash intermediary versions. Going from such an older version it might be best to revert back to factory defaults first however.

Due to the hassle that this will cause, I would suggest waiting a few weeks. The next release will use a newer wireless driver which isn't perfect, but will provide the best of both worlds in terms of stability and performance.

 

[2fifty6]

Due to the hassle that this will cause, I would suggest waiting a few weeks. The next release will use a newer wireless driver which isn't perfect, but will provide the best of both worlds in terms of stability and performance.

Well, it's been a couple months since my question above, so "a few weeks" have definitely passed. Is the 3.0.0.4.374.33 the release you had anticipated would be that stability/performance sweet spot? (From the release notes, it sounds like the culmination of a lot of work!) Any advantage (or disadvantage) to considering the hot-off-the-press 374.34 over the .33 for an N66R?

 

[RMerlin]

Well, it's been a couple months since my question above, so "a few weeks" have definitely passed. Is the 3.0.0.4.374.33 the release you had anticipated would be that stability/performance sweet spot? (From the release notes, it sounds like the culmination of a lot of work!) Any advantage (or disadvantage) to considering the hot-off-the-press 374.34 over the .33 for an N66R?

Asus has switched the RT-N66U to the same SDK6 driver as used on the RT-AC66U, which resolved the compatibility issues with various NICs such as Intel's, at the expense of a reduction in signal strength (something Asus intends to eventually look into).

So now the two choices are the regular builds (with the more compatible but lower power output), or the SDK5 build in the Experimental folder (which uses the same 5.100 driver as on the 270.26b FW).

Between 374.33 and 374.34 I would go with the latter one.