RT-N66U support Traffic Analyzer?

[DogT]

If so how do I get it going? I installed Asus Merlin v. 380.67 from the original Asus FW that was on it. Maybe it was newer? v 3.0.0.4.380_7266-g6439257

 

[ColinTaylor]

Not supported on the N66U, the CPU isn't fast enough.

 

[DogT]

That's a disappointment, it's why I got it. What is the most cost effective Asus or other that will support similar traffic analyzer? I have a need to track usage on all my devices at my home network, per device. Thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

IIRC it's only available on the routers with an ARM CPU (like the RT-AC68U) rather than the older MIPS based routers (like the RT-N66U). But don't take my work for it because I might be wrong. Hopefully others or @RMerlin can give you a definitive answer as to which routers support the Traffic Analyser.

I use John's forked firmware rather than Merlin's and that is based on an older code base which doesn't include the Traffic Analyser at all, which is why I can't give you a definitive answer.

Before going out and buying another router, what exactly are your requirements/expectations? It's possible the Traffic Analyser won't give you the information you want anyway!

 

[DogT]

Well, I upgraded to the Merlin FW on this N66U, but I can't see that it changed much from the original. What I need to do is track traffic on each device I have on the home network. I have satellite Hughesnet ISP (read limited data BW, 20GB/mo) with their modem and it includes a wireless router and 4 wired ports pretty much like any wireless modem, and I bought this N66U thinking it would support the Merlin FW and track each device on my network. But I can't see that it does. I only see 'Traffic Manager' as opposed to the 'Traffic Analyzer'. As I understand it the 'Analyzer' will track each device on the router. The 'Manager' only gives me total data sent and received through the router which I can do from the Hughesnet site. I get a feeling something is using data that I don't know where it's coming/going from and I'm trying to isolate the device, probably the Amazon Kindle which I've disabled for the time. I've only got 2 W7 computers, a wired Mac and 2 wifi phones, Moto G5+ and an IPhone 5+ but the phones are off in the house and the Kindle which is off for now. It's the WiFi/wired MAC/Kindle I'm trying to track. The wired MAC is nearly impossible to track the usage, I have NetWorx ware tracking the 2 W7 computers and I'm not worried about the phones, yet.
Thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

You could setup IPTraffic which is a Merlin enhancement. Go to Tools > Other Settings > Enable IPTraffic (per IP monitoring). Make sure you set "Create or reset IPTraffic data files" to yes for the first time to create the data file.

Then you will see additional options under Traffic Manager > Traffic Monitor for "Per device": Real-time/Daily/Monthly.

This is what it looks like on John's firmware, Merlin's will look a bit different but you get the idea.

 

[DogT]

Thanks bunches, that may work, I'll have to keep an eye on it for a while. Can you tell me what's a 'host' and 'client'? I know enough to be dangerous as you can tell.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Can you tell me what's a 'host' and 'client'?

They can mean different things depending on the context . But in this case the terms are interchangeable. Here's a screenshot from Merlin's own site:

 

[DogT]

This is great. What's the link to that Merlin info? So here's a shot of 3 computers hooked up, Dave's PC is wired, Marg's PC is wireless and the other one I assume is the MAC that the wife had to have. Marg's PC is the wireless one, Dave's PC is wired and the Apple is wired. I assume that's the MAC address of the Apple device. Now I only need to try the Kindle carefully and see what it's been doing. I may root it to wrest it away from Jeff. Only trouble with it is it doesn't have a GPS.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Here's a link to Merlin's main site and the wiki:

https://asuswrt.lostrealm.ca/screenshots
https://github.com/RMerl/asuswrt-merlin/wiki

If you're unsure what a particular MAC address belongs to you can look up it's manufacturer at https://macvendors.com/ which might give you a clue. E8:06:88:CD:87:5E is made by Apple.

 

[DogT]

Thanks, you're a champ. Let it be known I've got a perfectly good 1969 Norton Commando in my garage, completely restored by me, if that means anything to you.
Thanks.

 

[ColinTaylor]

Nice. Although I must admit I'm not that knowledgeable about bikes (more of a car and MotoGP enthusiast). My mate was the bike mechanic. He had a war time BSA.

 

[DogT]

At least you knew it is a bike. You've been more than helpful. Kudos. Here I am in '72.