Rebooting and stability?

[htismaqe]

Yes, no TrendMicro and no Samba file shares. This way it can go forever. This is how I was using mine, as a router only.

Re-flashed 384.14 release last night and turned TrendMicro stuff off. My problem appears to be gone.

 

[htismaqe]

What's the best FS to use for USB if all I'm doing is storing traffic monitoring files? FAT32? Just looking for compatibility and low overhead. I don't have a way to format EXT3/4 but will find one if I have to.

 

[L&LD]

@htismaqe, see my signature to go to the link for the amtm Step-by-Step Guide.

I would recommend Ext4 w/journaling. The overhead is negligible, even with many, many scripts running, including a 2GB swap file.

 

[Zonkd]

What's the best FS to use for USB if all I'm doing is storing traffic monitoring files? FAT32? Just looking for compatibility and low overhead. I don't have a way to format EXT3/4 but will find one if I have to.

Read the Disk-formatting wiki page to see how much is involved. amtm was rewritten to automate the entire process for us. It’s fast, reliable and I trust it every time.

 

[Val D.]

What's the best FS to use for USB if all I'm doing is storing traffic monitoring files? FAT32? Just looking for compatibility and low overhead. I don't have a way to format EXT3/4 but will find one if I have to.

All you need is a small flash drive with default FAT. This way you can read the drive on any computer. Traffic file is a few KB only, updated every hours at best. I don’t even know what the guys above are talking about. Using Linux FS for this purpose is completely unnecessary and inconvenient.

 

[L&LD]

However, 'all you need' may be a far cry from what the router responds to best.

 

[Val D.]

However, 'all you need' may be a far cry from what the router responds to best.

The built-in disk scan utility does not support Linux file systems as another inconvenience. What best response you are talking about when writing 1KB of data every 1h is all that’s needed?

 

[L&LD]

See the link @Zonkd provided in his post above.

 

[TNCS]

In my experience it depends on how much data goes through the router. The more data, the often the reboot is needed. Mine had to be rebooted at approximately 1TB data transferred. Otherwise something just stops working, in most cases first quits Web History, followed by Traffic Analyzer Statistic, sometimes WebUI becomes unresponsive or unavailable, etc. in random order. The problem is not enough RAM to keep everything working. Swap file on a dead slow USB stick doesn't help.

Interesting, I'll keep an eye on the traffic once near 1TB, guess I need to push on on my rookie numbers for 4k streaming.

Custom settings were lost after reboot on 384.12 and 384.13. After every reboot it had to be setup again.

Just so we're on the same page, it the 'Customize' feature for Adaptive QoS, to arrange the application protocol priority, correct? If so, I think the setting sticks on mine at 384.13.

Samba is unstable due to not enough RAM. It works for a while, then starts slowing down or transfers become choppy and inconsistent. The more data you push, the faster you'll see the issue. If you have an SSD drive attached to USB 3.0 port and you hit it hard with 20GB transfer in 20.000 files (for example, like I did in my experiments), the whole router goes down with TrendMicro components crashing, VPN crashing, WAN disconnects, unable to access WebUI, etc. This is a router, not a NAS.

I understand RAM do have performance impact for data transfer, but it shouldn't be a stability issue.. And don't get me started on NAS, yes understandably it a router but I'm using it for casual / convenient purpose more than anything. So this isn't really a concern for me, as I actually almost don't use the Samba or DLNA function.

Almost forgot, what about the restart options from amtm script?

 

[Val D.]

See the link @Zonkd provided in his post above.

Again, no need of any scripts or special formatting to write 1KB data every 1h. What is needed is just a small USB stick as it is, FAT format, readable in any standard PC. It is perfectly supported in Asuswrt. Easy and convenient.

 

[L&LD]

It is usually wiser to follow best practices than doing what is merely 'easier'. To each their own.

 

[Val D.]

I understand RAM do have performance impact for data transfer, but it shouldn't be a stability issue.

What happens when too many processes compete for limited resources? First you see them slow down, then some of them get terminated, then restarted, then the race begins again.

 

[Val D.]

It is usually wiser to follow best practices than doing what is merely 'easier'. To each their own.

The best practice in this particular case is to get a USB stick and plug it into the USB port. The file in question stored there can be re-written by hand in minutes. Script, native FS, journaling... are you serious or you just have no idea what are you talking about? If you want to wear safety boots and a hard hat on the beach just because someone told you it's safer, feel free to do so. Just don't share it around as a "wise" idea, please. Someone may believe you by accident.

 

[L&LD]

See post 22. The question asked was what is best. Not an opinion. Facts.

You can keep trying to prove how right you are. Nobody cares.

 

[Val D.]

The question asked was what is best.

Exactly. The best way to write 1KB data is to plug the USB in and forget about it.

Storing traffic data as per @L&LD:
- enable custom scripts support
- install AMTM script
- plug in the USB
- format the USB with ext4, with journaling
- reboot
- select path for traffic data

Get as a bonus:
- erase all the data on USB during formatting (see options)
- make this USB incompatible with Windows PC (see options)
- prevent the built-in Asuswrt Health Scanner to check this USB (see options)

Options:
- backup the data before formatting, if you need it
- get a Linux PC to read the data, or converter software for Windows, or activate Samba
- use another script in AMTM to perform health check at boot

Storing traffic data as per @Val D.:
- plug in the USB as it is, FAT/FAT32/NTFS
- select the path for traffic data

Get as a bonus:
- save time
- maintain USB compatibility
- keep the existing data on that USB
- get it checked by the built-in Asuswrt Health Scanner
- use the USB for something else without the need to reformat and erase it

I'ts up to @htismaqe to decide what is "best" in this case.

WTFast in action again...
Some smileys:

What's the best FS to use for USB if all I'm doing is storing traffic monitoring files?

 

[htismaqe]

No need to bicker on my behalf, guys. I love you both.

 

[joe scian]

I have found that the memory leak that occurred in 384.13 and 384.12 with AIProtection ON that eventually caused the Router to reboot when memory reached 96% used seems to have been fixed in 384.14. I have had AIProtection turned back on for over 4 hrs and memory used seems stable at 67-68%%. At least it seems fixed in my environment. Even when it rebooted the Internet did not gracefully return under previous firmware so I am very very happy with 384.14. Thanks Merlin!

 

[Val D.]

At least it seems fixed in my environment.

Your router is RT-AC5300 as per your signature. We are talking about RT-AC86U.

 

[htismaqe]

Your router is RT-AC5300 as per your signature. We are talking about RT-AC86U.

Yep. I'm on the AC86U and for me, 384.14 with AI Protection on was crippling. It's running fine now with everything disabled but IMO that's not an ideal solution.

 

[Val D.]

Yep. I'm on the AC86U and for me, 384.14 with AI Protection on was crippling.

Firmware WebUI may look identical, but it's a different software running on a different hardware. Older hardware routers with less RAM run actually better, so what we see is probably a result of not yet optimized software for the new hardware platform.

It's running fine now with everything disabled but IMO that's not an ideal solution.

There is no universal ideal solution. There are options though:
- if you feel something lagging and QoS is needed, upgrade your ISP plan or experiment with Traditional QoS, it is working
- if you need malware/phishing protection - use filtering DNS service, some are really good and trusted
- if you need parental controls - use DNSFilter option with parental controls DNS, some are close to 100% effective
- if you need traffic monitoring - it's available, just not per device, as a bonus - data can be stored on a USB stick

Most browsers already have malware/spam/phishing protection plus ad-blocking, most e-mail clients include protection, most computers already have Antivirus software running watching for multiple threats, most portable devices come with parental controls, etc. No really need to stack multiple protections one on top of the other doing the same thing. Or you can run whatever you like on the router, just monitor it more often and reboot when needed. Or put it on a timer and reboot it every night... It's yours, do with it whatever you feel is best for you. I use mine as a backup router with stock Asuswrt 45717, for example. This is the best firmware released by ASUS in my opinion. I don't need Asuswrt-Merlin on a backup router.