Is the AX88U stable enough for general use also including Openvpn

[eltell69]

Hi Guys I have previously put a similar post in the asus merlin area but thought that it would be more generally viewed here - not sure if I have to delete that other one - maybe I will so I'm not multi-posting.

Vpn and AP all working but the main vpn router which is a rt-ac88u is so slow since the vpn has happened. The rt-ac86u which is the ap is pretty quick, the thing is I need the 8 ports on the
ac88u as I also have wired cat 6 connections, also an Ethernet switch near the AP which has another 4 ports occupied I'm seriously thinking about changing the ax88u for the ax88u to get the better processor for the vpn etc as I thought it would speed things up what do you think is it a good idea, is it stable enough.
All my lan addresses are static ip's, the phones and other devices including when all the family come round are all random.
Once the ax88u is initially factory reset and the merlin f/w is installed and then the static addresses are entered does there have to be any kind of router reset done that would wipe the info that I would have installed.
Thanks in advance.

 

[L&LD]

The correct order is: flash to the firmware you want to use, format jffs partition on next boot and then reboot at least tw0 more times waiting 5 to 10 minutes before the next reboot. Reset to factory defaults and follow by a WPS erase NVRAM settings. Now do a minimal and manual configuration to secure the router and connect to your ISP. Do not use any saved config files.

A future firmware upgrade may require the above to be repeated. Doing a 'dirty' upgrade is okay if doing so nets you no bugs or glitches in your network use. But if those bugs or glitches become annoying, the above is required before expecting to isolate or fix issues that may have been self-inflicted by doing the 'dirty' upgrade in the first place.

 

[eltell69]

Hi L&LD so to format the jffs partition and the WPS erase NVRAM settings are they accessed via the GUI settings. As regards the static ip addresses to be manually configured seeing as there is the possibility of having to do a factory reset after a future f/w update would it be correct to save a config file once the initial setup has concluded and then restoring from that even though there would be a new f/w installed.
As a matter of interest would for example the rt-ac88u have had to be factory reset in the early days after a f/w update until the f/w matured.

 

[RMerlin]

There's no need to format the JFFS partition. Just check the "Initialize all settings" checkbox when doing the factory default reset.

 

[L&LD]

Hi L&LD so to format the jffs partition and the WPS erase NVRAM settings are they accessed via the GUI settings. As regards the static ip addresses to be manually configured seeing as there is the possibility of having to do a factory reset after a future f/w update would it be correct to save a config file once the initial setup has concluded and then restoring from that even though there would be a new f/w installed.
As a matter of interest would for example the rt-ac88u have had to be factory reset in the early days after a f/w update until the f/w matured.

eltell69,

Please see this full post which is still relevant except for the reference to john9527's SAVE/RESTORE Utility which has since been abandoned and doesn't work with current firmware.

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/faq-nvram-and-factory-default-reset.22822/

The best use case for a saved config file is when you want to try a new firmware but want to have a way to quickly get your router up and running in a good/known state. You would save a backup config file, download and save the .trx file together with that file and keep it in a safe place.

After flashing a different firmware (doesn't matter if it's newer or older than the currently running firmware) to the router, you would do a full reset to factory defaults along with a minimal and manual configuration.

Were you to want to go back to the firmware which you have a saved backup config file for, you would flash that firmware to the router, reset to factory defaults, then import the saved backup config file and you should now be back to exactly where you started.

Read the link I provided above. You never want to use a backup config file on a different version of firmware than what created it. RMerlin's post describes it well.