Padavan’s Custom Firmware
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kayakj
Regular Contributor
hi guys, today i tried to transfer a folder to my pc via gigabit ethernet. the transfer rly did go up to 21mb/s(yay). but it stop halfway and says im dc from the router, but it rly didnt. my internet works fine. but my pc no longer can see my router in my network. so i unplugged my drive and replug, then i can see it on the network again. tried to copy again, it stops halfway like it did earlier. repeated the whole thing around 4 times. tried transferring wirelessly too, the same thing happened. what happened here? never had this problem before. I am now running full 3.0.3.3-042.
Yea I was having this problem too. Couldn’t seem to find a solution, but after restarting my router a few times it seemed to work. ( I tried over wifi and it was a 900mb file)
Anyone else have this problem and know of a solution etc?
Mat77
Regular Contributor
Use NAT-PMP, and everything will be nominal. It will not affect your latency at all. It «punches holes» or open ports-which ever speak you wish to use. For example, XBox360 will dynamically open a port using UPnP. Rather than you continuously having the port open within the configuration page.
I read about that xbox live works best with full cone Nat. I can change it in Netfilter. Is it neccesary if I have UPNP/NATPMP enabled? Also I read with a Full cone NAT I don´t have to use UPNP. Ist that right.
What Nat Type would you use and why? default is classical Linux hybrid NAT.
Mat77
Regular Contributor
Pierino
Very Senior Member
I just got my hands on a used rt-n56u. I have an rt-n66u that I’ve tried dd-wrt on but ended up with Merlin’s fw on it and it’s great.
I got the used n56u just to play with, it’s almost as nice as the n66u.
I want to try padavan’s firmware on it but can seem to find much info on it.
What are the benefits to it? Is it like Merlin’s in that it just builds on the stock fw or is it like dd-wrt, with a totally different GUI?
RogerSC
Part of the Furniture
I just got my hands on a used rt-n56u. I have an rt-n66u that I’ve tried dd-wrt on but ended up with Merlin’s fw on it and it’s great.
I got the used n56u just to play with, it’s almost as nice as the n66u.
I want to try padavan’s firmware on it but can seem to find much info on it.
What are the benefits to it? Is it like Merlin’s in that it just builds on the stock fw or is it like dd-wrt, with a totally different GUI?
It started as a project to take the Asus firmware as a base, and fix bugs and add a few features, similar to the Merlin firmware for the rt-n66u. It looks to me at this point that it has diverged quite a bit from the Asus firmware, so I guess it’s kind of a hybrid at this point. It has a different GUI, to answer that question, too.
GT-AX6000 3.0.0.4.388_23285, RT-AX86U 3.0.0.4.386_49599
ZenWiFi AX 3.0.0.4.386_49873 , RT-AX3000 388.2_2
Pierino
Very Senior Member
Rpdaddy
Occasional Visitor
I haven’t tried going back but it was just as easy to flash as any other. I’m still a networking newbie and don’t do much past getting devices online and making my apple devices route where they need to go. I have not hooked up an external drive yet so I don’t know about those issues but after the flash I did not have to set up any port forwarding either for iTunes or the networked printer. Everything just worked. Things seem to slow down late in the day but renewing the lease on the router seems to pick it back up. It has been a lot more stable than any of the Asus versions I tried
RogerSC
Part of the Furniture
Yes, just be sure to reset the router after changing firmware families, and manually re-enter your configuration.
GT-AX6000 3.0.0.4.388_23285, RT-AX86U 3.0.0.4.386_49599
ZenWiFi AX 3.0.0.4.386_49873 , RT-AX3000 388.2_2
kayakj
Regular Contributor
I just got my hands on a used rt-n56u. I have an rt-n66u that I’ve tried dd-wrt on but ended up with Merlin’s fw on it and it’s great.
I got the used n56u just to play with, it’s almost as nice as the n66u.
I want to try padavan’s firmware on it but can seem to find much info on it.
What are the benefits to it? Is it like Merlin’s in that it just builds on the stock fw or is it like dd-wrt, with a totally different GUI?
I would say the biggest difference is in stability. For some reason on the rt-n56u there are these kernel errors that appear if you tax the router in any way etc and basically while these errors appear you drop connection. I highly recommend trying out the newest padavan’s firmware. It has a different UI than the stock firmware, but also doesn’t really add too many new features (mostly the same at this point), but at least for me and a reasonable amount of people it is more stable than the official one.. and you can go back and forth just as easily as the merlin one ( I am on the padavan, but always try out the new official ones when they are released.. going to different versions of the official Asus firmware and the unofficial is identical in terms of going to admin and then uploading it etc)
arul
Regular Contributor
I just got my hands on a used rt-n56u. I have an rt-n66u that I’ve tried dd-wrt on but ended up with Merlin’s fw on it and it’s great.
I got the used n56u just to play with, it’s almost as nice as the n66u.
I want to try padavan’s firmware on it but can seem to find much info on it.
What are the benefits to it? Is it like Merlin’s in that it just builds on the stock fw or is it like dd-wrt, with a totally different GUI?
Recent Padavan build is really nice especially because of the new kernel 3.0.61. dont know much bout the kernel, but i do know it makes the router shines. I never had a good experience with any other build before. since the 3.0.3.3-040 came out, i was stunned. i always love how snappy the router was with any firmware at all(asuswrt/padavan), but after a day or two it will slow down on you like a bitch. i thought it was because of overheating at first. but right after a quick reboot(20-30 secs only on padavan), it will be snappy again. but since 3.0.3.3-040, i never had any slowdown at all. for the first time since mid 2012, i can forget to reset/reboot/reflash the router. not even the -206 can keep up with it. i run transmission 24/7, transferring files through gigabit ethernet/5ghz, dlna streaming, my brother playing online games, you name it.
taedan
Regular Contributor
In the latest build, for Media Server, what is the string to enter under A/media, P/media, and V/media to specify the source path for the files? Do I enter it after «A/media» and so forth or do I replace it?
I have a HITACHI ext HDD where the audio, video and pictures are in a folder labeled «Media» under subfolders «Music,» «Videos,» and «Pictures.» So would it be «A/media/HITACHI/Media/Music» for the path for audio?
Shikami
Senior Member
Im starting to wonder if its a phat vs slim setup, but that still shouldn’t matter, cause I don’t have this issue with stock or wrt.
The routers are basically based on some of the same libraries and you would think that all routers would operate the same manner, but they do not. As for your issue, I cannot really help much. But most problems, are usually, simple networking issues, or such. For example, sometimes it can be an option that is incompatible with a wireless chipset.
Personally, I do know this one interesting fact that some may not know about this router. If you are to use USB attached storage use the port that is closer to the back. In-other-words do not use the top port for NAS. There is an electrical issue with the board and the ports, and this can cause erratic behavior.
I know some suffer from attached storage issues, and this may help some. But it can still be finicky, which leads me to think that really it may be better to make a power efficient and capable NAS (or buy one).
Can you give me a short rundown on how all of the settings should be configured with my router for optimal Xbox live first person shooter playback? I absolutely hate the slightest bit of lag. I’ve got 20mb down, 1.5mb up.
The settings that matter most will vary from network and needs. My options are all enabled for both radios and also my preambles are set to short. I do also have IGMP snooping, and that is it. I have all the options enabled on my wireless network for both radios because my devices are modern and capable.
As for the lag, you can still be configured properly but experience lag due to another player’s network. But I can say that 1.5Mb up can start to slow you down in some cases. Especially, if others are using the network. You have only 187,500 bytes a second egress. Around 8Mb/s is where you start to have some head room because that is 1MB/s that is possible egress. This is a lot more headroom to work with multiple users.
I hate lag too, but with consoles you are basically in a set standard for gameplay. The only way you can make it better is how you connect it and connect it with. I always use Ethernet for gaming, and if not possible I will do everything to make it possible. I also would rather use a wireless bridge if I had to Wi-Fi. I would never be caught dead using a USB Wi-Fi adapter for gaming.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_address_translation ) NAT will affect the relationship of the packet traversal. You basically create a segregated network that will need translation of a public network to a private network and vice versa; especially since it is one public IP to many private IP’s. That segregation differs with various NAT’s, with some allowing more loose rules to the packets. Now one thing to note that NAT can and usually adds some security to a network, but it is inadvertently done so. But due to this NAT has become an expected security measure due to the segregation it creates.
Because of all of this some packets, which are based on particular connections, don’t work well and need a little help to work with NAT. These are gateway applications, ALG’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Application-level_gateway). UPnP and NAT-PMP helps too, basically, in the same manner. In other words if you wish to run a server you have to have a service running that allows connections, then the router has to have ports that allow packets to traverse to a host. If these ports are not allowed, or the NAT is too strict then a connection may not take place because the packet cant traverse from the Internet to your private network.
I always use restricted and it is perfectly fine and the best NAT for MY network. Note, I have all the ALG’s enabled; and note that sometimes they can impede rather than help too, which means that they should be disabled; if that is the case.
I think this project is the best 3rd party firmware project for a router. He has everything up to date, which with Linux can help a lot, and at times cause a problem (gotta love Linux). For example, going to the 3.x kernel solved soft IRQ’s issues that are actually solved with a latter kernel, but for some reason no one complies a more modern kernel. 3.x also has better drivers and support for USB, better network handling of the protocols, etc.
They also keep everything up to date and recent, and they make sure the high performance is always a standard. That is unheard with many 3rd party projects. They have resolved many issues that Asus would never fix (some years later), and have added many features such as VPN and IPv6 to this router. Please give them a tip in the jar for their hardware work. Send them a mail with some respect; they deserve it.
but after the flash I did not have to set up any port forwarding either for iTunes or the networked printer
iTunes server? Just to use something on a host does not necessitate the need to open a port. Ports only needs to be configured if something is trying to come into your private network. For example, to FTP to your PC you will need port(s) opened, depending on the type of FTP, for someone to connect. All packets will traverse through the NAT when YOU open that connection. Hence, the NAT table; the relationship of the connection that are created. This will do : http://www.firewall.cx/networking-topics/network-address-translation-nat/228-nat-table.html
Recent Padavan build is really nice especially because of the new kernel 3.0.61. dont know much bout the kernel, but i do know it makes the router shines.
I agree tremendously. Ever since 027 build many drivers have been updated and performance has increased. The past few updates resolved minor issues to that and made it even better. That is what I love about this project-making this router the best that it can be. You would never see that with many companies. Thankfully, there is Linux, and thankfully there are those that can work with it.