Build for Netgear R7800

@hnyman Sorry for the missunderstanding. My actual question was whether it is possible to go from 4.14 kernel (large build) back to 4.4 (19mb build) without tftp flash. But anyways. I tried and failed. :wink:

The reason why I wanted back was that the LAN speed is significantly worse with the new builds.

master-r7136-987e10af07-20180607-large-flash ~500mbit/s (latest master)
lede1701-r3909-b6a1f43075-20180606 ~950mbit/s (17.01)

I took the measurements with 3 different machines (Solus/Win10/Xubuntu) and directly after the TFTP flash. So without old configuration.

Can anyone confirm that?

There is not hnyman's build mistake!

My measurements for my builds:

1.) OpenWrt SNAPSHOT, r7135-a0a616e1b8
Interval Transfer Bandwidth
0.0-13.6 sec 1.05 GBytes 665 Mbits/sec ----> LAN from notebook
0.0-43.0 sec 1.12 GBytes 224 Mbits/sec ----> Wifi from phone

2.) OpenWrt SNAPSHOT, r7046-5857088c5e
Interval Transfer Bandwidth
0.0-13.7 sec 1.41 GBytes 882 Mbits/sec ----> LAN from notebook
0.0-43.1 sec 2.18 GBytes 435 Mbits/sec ----> Wifi from phone

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Sure, it's not hnymans mistake. I didn't mean that. I only noticed it when I updated to a new build. I am not a native speaker, sorry if there was a misunderstanding. But anyways, thanks for you measurments :+1:

Interestingly narrow regression range, but still 90 commits.
Can you narrow down the range?

the nlbwmon service keeps doing high cpu usage every so often, I am not sure what is causing it. I will update tomorrow and do a full clean again, I upgraded via tftp from 17.01, used to use master daily but I had an issue with PS4 parties and PS4 connectivity in general.

I thought that was fixed but brother has told me he gets issues with PS4 dropping chat and other things. I've manually opened the ports that should be in use and I'm curious if that fixes the issue. I'll keep you posted, could be a bug with the upnp system.

I've scrutinized this thread for days, and all I can understand is that the LEDE branch has the highest speeds and is generally likely the most stable, with exception of it having the most buffer bloat. Is that about accurate?

Depends on the use case.

  • lede-17.01 is the stable branch from early 2017 and is otherwise ok, but is getting old. It does not receive much updates and still uses kernel 4.4. Right now the only branch with official releases
  • openwrt-18.06 is the new stable branch for the forthcoming release and has newer kernel 4.9 and lots of updated packages.
  • master is the ongoing development branch with new stuff (kernel 4.14, flow offloading)

Generally the routing performance has gone down by the kernel upgrades as the amount of features and complexity grow. On the other hand, new kernels enable new features (like flow offloading) that speed up things. With normal home connections you will likely see no difference, but if you are looking at gigibit speeds like above, then you may notice somwthing. Usually the major performance regressions get fixed sooner or later in master.

Morning hnyman, I've just brought a r7800 and am now researching the flashing procedure...

I see the current stable version is very old now, and it looks like the newer stable version is due the end of this month or very early July...

So being the r7800 guru im after your personal advice.... Do I wait for the next stable? Or install one of your builds, 18.06 or master... You have the router so what would you recommend?

Can I do the factory install to one of your builds or does it need to be via the recovery tftp malarky.

Thank you in advance

I would install either master or 18.06 build from me. You get pretty much the normal functionality included. 17.01 is already old. Current master is quite ok (like it usually is), but 18.06 builds are supposed to be always stable.

I am not quite sure if you can install new factory images from the OEM firmware, but you can try that. TFTP process is quite easy, once you get the hang of it, so do not be afraid of that.

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Ok then ill give it a go via tftp then, it shouldnt be too difficult...

From reading and re-reading i the main difference in your 18.06 or master versions, is the fact the master version use 4.14 kernel and flow offloading... the rest is much the same.

when the updated stable build gets released what kernel will that be using?

Is this the link for the master img file i would need...

R7800-master-r7136-987e10af07-20180607-2111-sqfs-factory.img ยท 11.25 MB

I guess so but it has no mention of being the large-flash in the title?

Thanks again for the help and hard work.

That is the file.
I am dropping the large flash from the build title as that is now default in master. (Not a specialty any more)

18.06.x stable releases will use 4.9.x kernel for R7800

i see there is quite an interesting work on moving Luci under nginx

do you think this is someting will enter your build? :slight_smile:
it would be nice to have a (much better) webserver, considering now we have the space :slight_smile:

No. I try to keep the core parts of the build near the official versions, so that my build indicates if the current defaults work ok. So, it will be uhttpd for now

But it should be possible to install ngixg by opkg, and possibly also luci-nginx versions (once those get into the repo).

If the stable version will be 4.9 then maybe using the 18.06 version is a better bet, or do you think the 4.14 master version is stable enough for everyday use... would downgrading the kernel from 4.14 be possible if i went for the official stable release when its out?

I use master in my main router. It is quite stable.

I thought recommending 18.06 for you, but then I thought that the 18.06.1 might not yet have large partition by default, so if you would then want to install 18.06.1 you would need TFTP flash in any case.

My 18.06 already has the large partition, so I am able to jump between my master and 18.06 builds on daily basis via sysupgrade. (According to my log, I have flashed my R7800 so far 102 times this year, plus some unlogged debugs.)

So go with the master is what your saying? And see how it goes...

Yes.
In practice, master = 18.06 + one month of development, including LuCI config rollback (soft-brick prevention)

For other purposes they are still quite near each other.

So im now running master, it was easy enough, vdsl settings added and its working... ive started SQM Qos with it set to "piece of cake" as per the wiki recommendation... anything else i need to enable for normal use?

Even if there might be small issues with master I would recommend it for everyone aswell, you get a larger partition and from what I've seen the devs are quite fast at fixing issues. Once you find a master bulld that you are happy with you can always stick to that unless you want to try new features and live on the edge. :slight_smile:

well, easier than that, consider that @hnyman is on master and he tests his builds, this is enough for me :slight_smile: