Asus RT-N66U

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RMerlin
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Joined: 05 Mar 2012
Posts: 273

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 3:36    Post subject: Reply with quote
LOM wrote:
RMerlin wrote:


Starting to wonder if the 32 KB nvram isn't actually more a bug than a stupid design decision...

Code:

nvram_linux.c:#define CFE_NVRAM_SPACE 64*1024



A #define doesn't create any code by itself.

The CFE is built for 32KByte nvram.


Well, duh. My point is, if they are using a 64KB define in part of the code, then I'm betting that their intention WAS to use 64 KB, but unintentionally they made the CFE only allocate 32 KB. That's what I'm saying - it's a bug, not a concious (poor) design decision on their part.
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Nebudchanezzer
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Joined: 09 Apr 2012
Posts: 60

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is the latest reply from mr Kwong:
Adam Kwong wrote:
Can you give me more information on your OpenVPN usage and your network setup?

I am in discussion with our development team about NVRAM and I was informed that the NVRAM is 64KB. The utility is not showing the correct amount. I am trying to get clearer information from our team so please stand by. Whether you want to wait for a response, or return the unit is up to you.



Best Regards,



Adam K.

Customer Care Specialist J

ASUS Computers International
RMerlin
DD-WRT User


Joined: 05 Mar 2012
Posts: 273

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:18    Post subject: Reply with quote
It's not just an issue with the nvram tool. The kernel driver also only sees 32 KB:

Code:

reating 5 MTD partitions on "Physically mapped flash":
0x00000000-0x00040000 : "pmon"
0x00040000-0x01fe0000 : "linux"
0x0013b400-0x01340000 : "rootfs"
0x01340000-0x01fe0000 : "jffs2"
0x01fe0000-0x02000000 : "nvram"
Found an  serial flash with 0 0KB blocks; total size 0MB
sflash: found no supported devices
_nvram_init: allocat header: 2280914944, size= 32768
LOM
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 28 Dec 2008
Posts: 7647

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 12:21    Post subject: Reply with quote
RMerlin wrote:
It's not just an issue with the nvram tool. The kernel driver also only sees 32 KB:

Code:

reating 5 MTD partitions on "Physically mapped flash":
0x00000000-0x00040000 : "pmon"
0x00040000-0x01fe0000 : "linux"
0x0013b400-0x01340000 : "rootfs"
0x01340000-0x01fe0000 : "jffs2"
0x01fe0000-0x02000000 : "nvram"
Found an  serial flash with 0 0KB blocks; total size 0MB
sflash: found no supported devices
_nvram_init: allocat header: 2280914944, size= 32768


No, the Asus development team is full of sh.t if they think they have 64KB nvram and I find it quite remarkable that a group of router enthusiasts has to tell them what specs their router has.

I have made a disassembly of the cfe and it is quite clear from the code that the cfe is made for 32KB nvram, there is no possibility at all that it should be 64KB.
The cfe allocates 32KB of nvram down from the top of flash and with a flash block size of 128KB it means that 96KB is unused followed by 32KB nvram and then we are in the end of flash.

_________________
Kernel panic: Aiee, killing interrupt handler!
pokazene_maslo
DD-WRT User


Joined: 29 Dec 2009
Posts: 84
Location: Slovakia

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 14:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Guys, I fully support your activity with asus support. Don't give it up and results will come.

So far I'm hesitating whether buy this router...
CPhoenix
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 10

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 14:55    Post subject: Reply with quote
pokazene_maslo wrote:

So far I'm hesitating whether buy this router...


Ditto.
Still waiting to hear back from Pre-sales though Sad
Fractal
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1243

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 15:25    Post subject: Reply with quote
I can confirm with LOM, I have a complete dump of the CFE, and everything shows 32k nvram.

I have personally seen this router crash when nvram has been exhausted.. I have it on the shelf, and will test if any new news from asus surfaces.

-Fractal
AndyMS
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 16:12    Post subject: Reply with quote
Haven't heard from Asus today. They asked me to clarify what I meant by no DNS, DHCP or VPN settings enabled. I then follow up that reply with a copy from dmesg showing what the kernel sees. I hadn't thought to include that until after RMerlin's last post. I'll let you all know what I hear from them when they reply.
GH0
DD-WRT User


Joined: 05 Dec 2008
Posts: 249

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 2:38    Post subject: Reply with quote
This is what I received from my contact:
Shoot me the s/n of the router, some basic contact info.
I'm going to create a case and make this an official inquiry.

So, it will either end up going the same route that yours did Andy, or it will fizzle out depending on who gets it.
Fractal
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1243

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 6:28    Post subject: Reply with quote
GH0 wrote:
This is what I received from my contact:
Shoot me the s/n of the router, some basic contact info.
I'm going to create a case and make this an official inquiry.

So, it will either end up going the same route that yours did Andy, or it will fizzle out depending on who gets it.


Looks like people even having problems with minidlna on stock asus firmware.. I think asus is getting a black eye with this one.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=11&model=RT-N66U+%28VER.B1%29&id=20120425003622363&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

-Fractal
AndyMS
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 13:50    Post subject: Reply with quote
Received a response at the end of the day yesterday. Adam is aware of what the kernel sees and has passed that onto the dev team. Looks like this thread has visibility with Asus now as well...

Quote:
On Fri, Apr 27, 2012 at 7:34 PM, <Adam_Kwong> wrote:
Hi Mr. Stafford,

Thank you for the clarification what I previously asked.

I am aware of the output as seen from dmesg. I have been monitoring this forum as well. I do not have information from our development team yet, but I should have a response early next week. Communication between headquarters and my location takes time due to time zone differences. I appreciate your patience. Have a good weekend!

Best Regards,

Adam K.
Customer Care Specialist J
ASUS Computers International
Fractal
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 19 Apr 2010
Posts: 1243

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 16:04    Post subject: Reply with quote
Just for clarification I loaded stock latest asus firmware on the N66U to see what happened.

Right out of the box, NTP broken, free nvram less than 1k.. So lets say you use the router and have NTP enabled, when the nvram write takes place at its sync interval it will set the time back to Jan 1, xxxx

here is serial output confirming this as well:
Code:
Jan  1 02:00:06 syslogd started: BusyBox v1.17.4
Jan  1 02:00:06 syslog: module ledtrig-usbdev not found in modules.dep
Jan  1 02:00:06 syslog: module leds-usb not found in modules.dep
Jan  1 02:00:06 kernel: klogd started: BusyBox v1.17.4 (2012-03-08 19:28:37 CST)
Jan  1 02:00:06 kernel: Linux version 2.6.22.19 (root@asus) (gcc version 4.2.4) #1 Thu Mar 8 19:38:57 CST 2012


It took less then 20 minutes to reproduce nvram failure with stock firmware... Here is what happens:

1. Router status notifications on the front seem fine.
2. No WAN access
3. No LAN access
4. Error's in serial console with unable to write to 0xxxx data block nvram not enough free space
5. no nvram-copy partition
6. Router will set itself back to factory defaults everytime... this is a full reset, SSID/channel, time ect. And you have to go through the setup wizard via web interface to get back onlne.

It seems to me dd-wrt lasts longer then asus original firmware and does not have NTP issue as far as I can see.

I will do more testing if needed.

-Fractal
RMerlin
DD-WRT User


Joined: 05 Mar 2012
Posts: 273

PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2012 18:06    Post subject: Reply with quote
Fractal wrote:
GH0 wrote:
This is what I received from my contact:
Shoot me the s/n of the router, some basic contact info.
I'm going to create a case and make this an official inquiry.

So, it will either end up going the same route that yours did Andy, or it will fizzle out depending on who gets it.


Looks like people even having problems with minidlna on stock asus firmware.. I think asus is getting a black eye with this one.

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=11&model=RT-N66U+%28VER.B1%29&id=20120425003622363&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

-Fractal


That's mt-daapd (iTune server), not minidlna (DLNA server).
kiteboygriff
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 8

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:34    Post subject: Reply with quote
If I wanted to contact asus regarding the nvram is there any particular email address I can use??

Went ahead and bought the router and Im pretty happy so far - but can see the nvram being an issue once Ive had time to play about
trap
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Apr 2012
Posts: 15

PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2012 11:55    Post subject: Reply with quote
LOM wrote:

I have made a disassembly of the cfe and it is quite clear from the code that the cfe is made for 32KB nvram, there is no possibility at all that it should be 64KB.
The cfe allocates 32KB of nvram down from the top of flash and with a flash block size of 128KB it means that 96KB is unused followed by 32KB nvram and then we are in the end of flash.


maybe a noob question but couldnt the cfe reallocated, reset or something else by fw-update to use more then the 32KB of the 128KB?
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