Restoring jffs

[TheLyppardMan]

I'm just curious - can a backup of jffs made through the GUI be restored to different hardware, whether it be the same model or a different ASUS product and if so, would anything else be required to get everything working as before?

 

[L&LD]

Opinion:

Yes, it may be possible.

To get everything working it would probably require a full reset to factory defaults including checking the 'Initialize all settings...' box and followed by a minimal and manual configuration (no saved backup files used) to secure the router and connect to the ISP.

Okay, now I'm curious? Why would you want to do that in the first place? When any newer router will only make the 'clean' set up just faster anyway and the total time is less than half an hour with today's hardware, from the unboxing to walking away (and the network up and running) too.

 

[Martineau]

Opinion:

Yes, it may be possible.

To get everything working it would probably require a full reset to factory defaults including checking the 'Initialize all settings...' box and followed by a minimal and manual configuration (no saved backup files used) to secure the router and connect to the ISP.

Okay, now I'm curious? Why would you want to do that in the first place? When any newer router will only make the 'clean' set up just faster anyway and the total time is less than half an hour with today's hardware, from the unboxing to walking away (and the network up and running) too.

I have always restored my /jffs/ (nvram save script created) directory.

Even between firmware releases, I have found it necessary to tweak scripts to accommodate ASUS/RMerlin changes, so why would I wish to lose the changes?

Except for a couple of scripts (VLANSwitch.sh is one), most scripts are router hardware agnostic, and since RMerlin moved the OpenVPN certs to /jffs/ then rightly or wrongly I have been relieved of the hassle to export new OpenVPN configs to their devices.

 

[L&LD]

@Martineau, yes, that is different though what you are doing?

I'm just curious - can a backup of jffs made through the GUI be restored to different hardware, whether it be the same model or a different ASUS product and if so, would anything else be required to get everything working as before?

 

[RMerlin]

Right now, a jffs backup should be safe to reuse if you stick to the same platform (i.e. you aren't moving from a non-HND model to an HND model). That's because HND models save some of their nvram settings to the jffs partition, and I have no way of telling what kind of effect that might have if you move these settings between the two platforms.

One thing that might not work properly however is if you use Let's Encrypt, as I'm not sure if any of the saved settings are device-specific.

 

[TheLyppardMan]

Opinion:

Yes, it may be possible.

To get everything working it would probably require a full reset to factory defaults including checking the 'Initialize all settings...' box and followed by a minimal and manual configuration (no saved backup files used) to secure the router and connect to the ISP.

Okay, now I'm curious? Why would you want to do that in the first place? When any newer router will only make the 'clean' set up just faster anyway and the total time is less than half an hour with today's hardware, from the unboxing to walking away (and the network up and running) too.

I'm just trying to imagine what the process would be in certain scenarios and what would be the best way to handle them. Another thing I've been wondering is regarding the amtm scripts and what to do if/when the flash drive used for all that ceased to function properly. For instance, I presume it would mean starting over from scratch as far as the new flash drive were concerned but what about all the modifications that had been made to the jffs etc; would that be taken care of automatically or would it require some stuff to be manually removed/modified?

 

[martinr]

I'm just trying to imagine what the process would be in certain scenarios and what would be the best way to handle them. Another thing I've been wondering is regarding the amtm scripts and what to do if/when the flash drive used for all that ceased to function properly. For instance, I presume it would mean starting over from scratch as far as the new flash drive were concerned but what about all the modifications that had been made to the jffs etc; would that be taken care of automatically or would it require some stuff to be manually removed/modified?

Having similar thoughts about the life of a flash drive was enough for me to be prompted by Butterfly Bones to dig out a 160GB SSD that was doing nothing and to use that in place of my thumb drive, with the implicit assumption that a Western Digital SSD should last far longer than a flash drive

https://www.snbforums.com/threads/r...urity-enhancements.16798/page-309#post-552149

 

[L&LD]

@TheLyppardMan, for myself, like I already mentioned above, it would mean a full reset and re-install.

I know others here love to see year-long uptimes and the ability to 'move' installs from one USB drive to another, but I don't see the benefits of that myself. Not when I 'know' that a full setup takes just a few minutes longer and any issues/glitches observed will be dealt with promptly and efficiently or point to another hardware issue that will just as easily be solved too.

Even my enthusiasm for the NVRAM Save/Restore Utility is mostly for the ability to 'see' the contents of the NVRAM in human-readable form.

Rarely, if ever, have I ever used any saved backup file to flashback to an earlier firmware. I simply make the new firmware work.

Even @RMerlin isn't sure what may happen today, let alone in the future. I prefer to work with 'knowns', not just the 'easy'.

 

[L&LD]

@EventPhotoMan, I have done up to 10 routers (home/easy) installs in a day. I need to be fast to get paid and keep my job too.

Was that just a single router in your case? First time? Keep practicing!

 

[L&LD]

Install/support Lifx bulbs and other IoT 'devices'? Not in my lifetime!

I don't support (for myself or customers) any IoT devices. I may give them hints and make sure their base network support is there but after that? I'm walking out the door...

Life is too short to do that to myself, willingly.