Merlin - automatic firmware update possible?

[SomeWhereOverTheRainBow]

Why would the way files are hosted for this auto-update service need to be different from how/where the files are hosted today – couldn't you simply continue to use those hosting services instead of setting up your own?

(Or maybe it could be based on a peer-to-peer service like Bitorrent? I don't know.)


How would that be different from the risk that the firmware file stored on those servers today gets compromised? From your explanation, it sounds like the answers comes down to the risk that a compromised file is spread very fast.

With respect to that, allow me to make a suggestion (don't claim to be an expert telling you, just asking):

To space the automatic updates out over eg. a week or two – equivalent to the way they are dispersed manually today.

In that way, people who want to update immediately can do so manually, while people who are not keeping close tabs on their routers firmware version – and thus are exposed to security risks today – gets an automatic update a little later.

Or, just be happy with the way it is now as I suspect many others are.

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

Why would the way files are hosted for this auto-update service need to be different from how/where the files are hosted today – couldn't you simply continue to use those hosting services instead of setting up your own?

(Or maybe it could be based on a peer-to-peer service like Bitorrent? I don't know.)


How would that be different from the risk that the firmware file stored on those servers today gets compromised? From your explanation, it sounds like the answers comes down to the risk that a compromised file is spread very fast.

With respect to that, allow me to make a suggestion (don't claim to be an expert telling you, just asking):

To space the automatic updates out over eg. a week or two – equivalent to the way they are dispersed manually today.

In that way, people who want to update immediately can do so manually, while people who are not keeping close tabs on their routers firmware version – and thus are exposed to security risks today – gets an automatic update a little later.

Or, just script it yourself like I did... (the URL in the last page.)

I've been testing mine since march of this year and me and a buddies setups at home without issues...
Mine only works for Windows, but if your on Linux or Mac the logic is basically the same...

1. Search the Sourceforge page,
2. Parse for the highest version,
3. Download via the download link,
4. Unblock and expand the zip,
5. Check the log files contents between 2 dates for reset recommendation
6. Reboot the router to clear system memory
7. Wait for reconnection
8. Once reconnected, Backup DDNS certs and Firmware Configs,
9. Upload firmware file,
10. Then flash and reboot once more.

Done I've been using mine Since March of this year without issue so far.

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

 

[heywire]

Or, just script it yourself like I did... (the URL in the last page.)

I've been testing mine since march of this year and me and a buddies setups at home without issues...
Mine only works for Windows, but if your on Linux or Mac the logic is basically the same...

1. Search the Sourceforge page,
2. Parse for the highest version,
3. Download via the download link,
4. Unblock and expand the zip,
5. Check the log files contents between 2 dates for reset recommendation
6. Reboot the router to clear system memory
7. Wait for reconnection
8. Once reconnected, Backup DDNS certs and Firmware Configs,
9. Upload firmware file,
10. Then flash and reboot once more.

Done I've been using mine Since March of this year without issue so far.

I appreciate your contribution.

But in my case, I mainly want this for installations outside of my own house, meaning friends and family for whom I have set up Merlin with CakeQOS for example. Their firmware version will not get updated unless I actively do it, because normal people don't think about keeping their router's firmware up to date, and doing the update manually is quite the chore, especially for somebody who is not technical. And if there is a period I don't visit their house for a while, and maybe I don't remember to check on their router setup, it means they are running old firmware indefinitely.

And your script, while it sounds great, is not centrally maintained. And it is run on a client and not the router itself, meaning it is not fully automated (It could be done on a client, but this means it's even more prone to breaking because of changes etc, especially in the target group I'm talking about above).

I really think having an automatic update function in Merlin - similar to that in the official firmware - would be a great thing worth pursuing. I guess it was in the same spirit the firmware update check was implemented a few years ago, and this would be a logical extension of that.

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

I appreciate your contribution.

But in my case, I mainly want this for installations outside of my own house, meaning friends and family for whom I have set up Merlin with CakeQOS for example. Their firmware version will not get updated unless I actively do it, because normal people don't think about keeping their router's firmware up to date, and doing the update manually is quite the chore, especially for somebody who is not technical. And if there is a period I don't visit their house for a while, and maybe I don't remember to check on their router setup, it means they are running old firmware indefinitely.

And your script, while it sounds great, is not centrally maintained. And it is run on a client and not the router itself, meaning it is not fully automated (It could be done on a client, but this means it's even more prone to breaking because of changes etc, especially in the target group I'm talking about above).

I really think having an automatic update function in Merlin - similar to that in the official firmware - would be a great thing worth pursuing. I guess it was in the same spirit the firmware update check was implemented a few years ago, and this would be a logical extension of that.

I do agree it would be better to be on the client router itself, but that requires much more work, would need to be implemented by RMerlin directly. Some routers have more storage than others, for example, I don't know how enough about all the different router configs to script it on the router itself and be confident it would work the same.

However as a workstation Engineer for the GoC, I do know enough about MS Windows to script the manual process and be fairly confident it should work the same exempt for a few minor exceptions.
Right now my script a you said, simply goes through the manual process a person would, but automatically even if your asleep (assuming it's on a task scheduler).

My current version of the script completely setups the user environment, so it should run the same from one Windows PC to another, I use Windows 11 and my testing buddy uses Windows 10 for example, works the same on both.
It first prompts the user for some basic setup instructions, such as if they wanna backup a DDNS cert and install it on a local PC service, etc before actually downloading firmware to the workstation.

While I haven't tested it, it should work the same in such a target group, you would just setup the script on whatever device is on their network, such as friends or family, with a task scheduler to run once a week or when missed, etc.
It's really the best I can offer but as long as the logic is sound a third party tool is the only way I know to do it "automatically"

 

[thiggins]

@heywire Refrain from personal attacks and aggressive language or you will get a timeout. Locking thread