Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 49 Location: Ellsworth, ME USA
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 15:44 Post subject: E4200 V1 Upgrade Question
I have a Cisco E4200 V1 that has been running DD-WRT for over a year now and has performed faultlessly!
It is running on this version of DD-WRT: DD-WRT v3.0-r29739 mega (05/19/16)
I have studied newer firmware builds, the peacock thread, and the E4200 V1 Install page again and want to upgrade the firmware to this version:
dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv60k.bin
I assume since I am running a mega version now that the mega version on the newer firmware is appropriate.
The Router Database also offered K26 NV60 big, K26 NV60 mini, K26 NV60 open_vpn, and K26 NV60 usb_nas firmware versions.
I plan to start using the USB port on the E4200 V1 for an external hard disk soon and I wonder if one of those other versions is a better choice for that.
I am an old guy, only an very occasional user of DD-WRT, and scared that I may have missed something obvious that makes this a bad plan.
So I am asking this question to get a warm fuzzy feeling before I proceed!
Thanks for any help or suggestions!
Jack _________________ Arris TM1602AP2
E4200V1
WRT610NV1
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 16:04 Post subject: Re: E4200 V1 Upgrade Question
jackerbes wrote:
I have a Cisco E4200 V1 that has been running DD-WRT for over a year now and has performed faultlessly!
It is running on this version of DD-WRT: DD-WRT v3.0-r29739 mega (05/19/16)
I have studied newer firmware builds, the peacock thread, and the E4200 V1 Install page again and want to upgrade the firmware to this version:
dd-wrt.v24-21061_NEWD-2_K2.6_mega-nv60k.bin
Are you basing this on the Router Database? Don't use that (as noted in the Peacock). Why would you install an older version; are you having an issue? Not saying you don't have a good reason, but doesn't sound right to me. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
I thought the v24 series was a newer series than the v3 I am using. But I was also a little confused by the numbering of the firmware versions.
Ah...no that was v2.4 not 24; now it's v3.0. But that's totally arbitrary. The build number is the important part, irrespective of the versioning. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 49 Location: Ellsworth, ME USA
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2017 23:37 Post subject:
Thanks for that Jenkins link, that jogged my memory as familiar and I dug through some old backup files and realize that I had used his pages in the past in getting this router to where it is now.
I guess how I got to the firmware that is on it now is a moot point as it is working, I'm going to study up on the Jenkins page and then decide if I will upgrade to his recommended firmware. It sounds good for sure!
One last question I do have is this, when I use a trailed upgrade like this:
dd-wrt.v24-21676_NEWD-2_K2.6_mini-e4200.bin
will the router report it as something more like this without mention of the e4200?
DD-WRT v24-sp2 (05/27/13) mini - build 21676
Jack _________________ Arris TM1602AP2
E4200V1
WRT610NV1
Once you're running DD, you don't need the trailed build at all, just the nv60k build. The wiki is exaggerating a bit there, but I digress...
The reported build is independent of it being trailed or not. 'Trailed' just means there is extra header info so the OEM firmware can allow flashing it. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
Joined: 24 Feb 2007 Posts: 49 Location: Ellsworth, ME USA
Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 13:27 Post subject:
jwh7 wrote:
The reported build is independent of it being trailed or not. 'Trailed' just means there is extra header info so the OEM firmware can allow flashing it.
And so the trail is never reflected in the Router Information/Firmware Version then I guess.
I was wondering because when I looked at some old notes I was not getting a firmware ident that would let me download it again or use that same exact firmware again.
After reading the stevejenkins speed testing results again I think maybe I should be running either the stock firmware or a K2.6 build if there are some DD-WRT features I want to use that are not in the stock firmware.
I also have an E4200 V2 with stock firmware that I am not using right now. I wonder how it would do compared with the V1 with DD-WRT. Maybe I'll do some speed testing...
Jack _________________ Arris TM1602AP2
E4200V1
WRT610NV1
After reading the stevejenkins speed testing results again I think maybe I should be running either the stock firmware or a K2.6 build if there are some DD-WRT features I want to use that are not in the stock firmware.
K2.6 is faster than newer kernels due to less overhead, but OEM f/w has accelerated NAT (see my sig for details). However...DD is currently integrating it thanks to Qualcomm open-sourcing their kernel-level SFE driver which does it (Broadcom's non-open driver is called 'CTF'). The last few builds have had serious httpd issues, so wait to review posts in "New Build" threads for the next build to determine if this issue is fixed. Do not use 32597 nor 32753. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
Only the trailed build gives me time sync. The nv60 build will not provide time sync. I'm not an expert so I was wondering if I ran nvram erase and then reflash with dd-wrt will make the time sync work? The router works OK otherwise.
Using a build having SFE (like 32868) means that your router can reach amazing speeds. Take care, in build 32868 you cannot configure services through GUI, so first flash build 32170, configure the services, then flash build 32868.
I have reached 200 Mbps out of 200 Mbps (nominal speed) with an RT-N16 running build 32868, RT-N16 has more or less the same specs as E4200 V1. _________________ 2 times APU2 Opnsense 21.1 with Sensei
2 times RT-AC56U running DD-WRT 45493 (one as Gateway, the other as AP, both bridged with LAN cable)
3 times Asus RT-N16 shelved
E4200 V1 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)
3 times Linksys WRT610N V2 converted to E3000 and 1 original E3000 running freshtomato 2020.8 (bridged with LAN cable)
Using a build having SFE (like 32868) means that your router can reach amazing speeds.
Note that SFE only works on k3.x builds (3.10+ technically). Luckily it also removes (& far exceeds) the speed advantage that k2.6 had. Also, recent builds have issues with NTP, but is reported to work with the hard-coded defaults, if the server field left blank. _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
SFE looks very fresh now and not recommended by many users. Do you really think that current k3 build works better than k2.6 on this old and slow router? _________________ Netgear R7800
SFE looks very fresh now and not recommended by many users. Do you really think that current k3 build works better than k2.6 on this old and slow router?
You can't use QoS (yet...?) nor Policy-Based Routing w/ SFE. And yes, assuming k3x 33006 works on this model as c4os insinuates, it plus SFE would be much faster than k26. Test it, I dare you... _________________ #NAT/SFE/CTF: limited speed w/ DD#Repeater issues#DD-WRT info: FAQ, Builds, Types, Modes, Changes, Demo#
OPNsense x64 5050e ITX|DD: DIR-810L, 2*EA6900@1GHz, R6300v1, RT-N66U@663, WNDR4000@533, E1500@353,
WRT54G{Lv1.1,Sv6}@250|FreshTomato: F7D8302@532|OpenWRT: F9K1119v1, RT-ACRH13, R6220, WNDR3700v4
