Success on installing DD-WRT to WRT32X w/o USB TTL cable

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spuriousoffspring
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 13:31    Post subject: Reply with quote
Lantis wrote:
Serial: yes
Openwrt GUI: haven’t tried, but don’t see a problem.

You must use a factory image, not sysupgrade like Linksys provides.


I have the 3 stock Linksys images, but not a non-sysupgrade Venom image.

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ghoffman
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 13:45    Post subject: Reply with quote
spuriousoffspring wrote:
Lantis wrote:
Serial: yes
Openwrt GUI: haven’t tried, but don’t see a problem.

You must use a factory image, not sysupgrade like Linksys provides.


I have the 3 stock Linksys images, but not a non-sysupgrade Venom image.


i can't get a lede/openwrt factory.img to boot after successful flash from the ssh command line from dd-wrt.

i *tried* reverting after setting silent=1 back into uboot environment, but this has resulted in a soft-bricked device. thus - don't do that.

from the linksysy forums, i got this response -
http://community.linksys.com/t5/Wireless-Routers/Success-in-installing-DD-WRT-or-OpenWRT-to-WRT32X-without-using/m-p/1317844/highlight/true#M352473

that file is no longer available. i have it, but my furhter endeavors will await a longer blokc of time that i have right now for serial access....

for what it's worth - the june 1 ddwrt build was working very well. i just dont want to be stuck on it.

thanks again to all for help.
spuriousoffspring
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Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 981
Location: Louisiana, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 13:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ghoffman & @isg17 I saw the image posted to the Linksys Forum ( 1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-161 ), but it was taken down before I could grab it.

Would either of you mind uploading it here? Thanks in advance.

_________________
DD-WRT Installation & Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=311117

WRT32X DD-WRT Installation Procedure
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=315569

IPVanish OpenVPN Client Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308565

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USB NAS: Western Digital BLACK 1 TB Hardrive + Startech USB 3.0 External SATA III Enclosure
spuriousoffspring
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Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 981
Location: Louisiana, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 14:20    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ghoffman With all the serial flashing / testing you've been doing I would recommend installing a 3.5mm jack in your WRT32X.
It's a huge convenience not having to take the case apart and reassemble every time.

The parts are relatively cheap and only light soldering is needed.
The one drawback is you have to drill a 1/4" hold in the side of the WRT32X.

What you would need:
JST 2.0mm 6 Pin Female Connector with Wires
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Sets-JST-2-0mm-PH-6-Pin-Female-Housing-Connector-with-Wire-and-Male-Connector-/201998296689?hash=item2f08096671

3.5mm Connector 3 Pin
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-PACK-HQ-gold-plated-3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Audio-Jack-Connector-panel-mount-B156-/173349680558?hash=item285c7235ae

USB TTL AJ Cable 3.3V
https://www.amazon.com/FTDI-USB-Ttl-232r-3v3-aj-1-8m-cable/dp/B00M31652Q

_________________
DD-WRT Installation & Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=311117

WRT32X DD-WRT Installation Procedure
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=315569

IPVanish OpenVPN Client Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308565

FIRMWARE: OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r8217-2cc821e / LuCI Master (git-18.276.41146-280dd33)
MODEM: ARRIS SURFBoard SB8200
ROUTER: Linksys WRT32X
USB NAS: Western Digital BLACK 1 TB Hardrive + Startech USB 3.0 External SATA III Enclosure
adi-brasov
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Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 126

PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 18:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
here is a flat venom image. i posted somewhere on this forum how to convert a sysupgrade to a flat image.
spuriousoffspring
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Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 981
Location: Louisiana, USA

PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 20:38    Post subject: Reply with quote
Found it:

adi-brasov wrote:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2017 5:08 Post subject: Reply with quote
respun01 wrote:
@ghoffman :
2- does anyone have a venom.img that can be loaded from the wrt32x (uboot209) bootloader?


there is no need to compile a image from source.all can be done from dd-wrt or lede prompt.if you have FW_WRT32X_1.0.170828.208.img, then copy with winscp to /tmp and extract kernel and root files, and make the image :

#cd /tmp
#tar -xf FW_WRT32X_1.0.170828.208.img
#cd sysupgrade-armada-385-linksys-venom

- kernel is 2090870 bytes . acording to new partition layout, kernel has alocated 3mb so we must pad with 0 :

#dd if=/dev/zero of=padk bs=1 count=1054858
#cat padk >> kernel

now we have a 3mb kernel.

- now we must ubinize root file.create a file ubi.cfg with this content :

[rootfs]
mode=ubi
image=root
vol_id=0
vol_type=dynamic
vol_name=rootfs
vol_alignment=1

[rootfs_data]
mode=ubi
vol_id=1
vol_size=1MiB
vol_type=dynamic
vol_name=rootfs_data
vol_flags=autoresize
vol_alignment=1

- run this command :

#ubinize -o ubi_root -p 128KiB -m 2048 -s 2048 -v ubi.cfg

- appent to paded kernel file :

#cat kernel ubi_root > wrt32x.img

thats all. we have a image that can be flashed to new partition layout (new env vars must be set) from u-boot or from dd-wrt/lede using "mtd -f write" command.


about the mtdparts : the partition layout is stored in dtb file (compiled dts).actualy the kernel file is zimage+dtb. you can see it with an hex viewer at the end of kernel file starting with a "d0 0d fe ed". it can be decompiled in linux with dtc command.
i played with editing some values in dtb zone, modifying some partition size, to see if it is working. and it is.
the opensource firmware doesnt use mtd params passed to kernel, using instead dts or internal table compiled with kernel. wich make sense, preventing the manufacturer to enforce mtdparts boot argument.

_________________
DD-WRT Installation & Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=311117

WRT32X DD-WRT Installation Procedure
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=315569

IPVanish OpenVPN Client Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308565

FIRMWARE: OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r8217-2cc821e / LuCI Master (git-18.276.41146-280dd33)
MODEM: ARRIS SURFBoard SB8200
ROUTER: Linksys WRT32X
USB NAS: Western Digital BLACK 1 TB Hardrive + Startech USB 3.0 External SATA III Enclosure
ghoffman
DD-WRT User


Joined: 03 Jan 2010
Posts: 453

PostPosted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 23:48    Post subject: Reply with quote
@adi and @spurious -
i used that technique to buidl the flat file a number of months ago. it worked on my old wrt3200acm converted to wrt32x.

on my new wrt32xb, i used that file to try to revert from dd-wrt by flashing from the dd-wrt console to mtd7 (boot_part 2). that image would not boot. i diffed it witht he flat file that you just uploaded, and there were seom differences, so maybe i had a bad image. i'll try again with the one you uploaded. but it will be a few days till a get time and access.

thanks all. i'd of course be interested in experiences of others.
adi-brasov
DD-WRT User


Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 126

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 5:45    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ghoffman : i presume you are using ddwrt for wrt32x (and you have the default values for u-boot env vars). so to flash flat image you can use serial or from ddwrt terminal :
#mtd erase mtd7
#mtd -f write fw.img mtd7
ghoffman
DD-WRT User


Joined: 03 Jan 2010
Posts: 453

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:05    Post subject: Reply with quote
@adi - my logs show that i followed your directions; i appreciate your step-by-step to build a ubifs image.
my flat image (built from linksys FW_WRT32X_1.0.180404.58.img) had 142 recurrent differences from yours. i'm wondering if there are two versions of 'stock' with the same date floating around - it wouldn't be the first time.
the other possibility is that my env vars are messed up. i'll check before resetting.
anyway - i'll be checking all by serial in a couple days and let you know.
thanks
adi-brasov
DD-WRT User


Joined: 03 May 2017
Posts: 126

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 16:09    Post subject: Reply with quote
ghoffman wrote:
@adi - my logs show that i followed your directions; i appreciate your step-by-step to build a ubifs image.
my flat image (built from linksys FW_WRT32X_1.0.180404.58.img) had 142 recurrent differences from yours. i'm wondering if there are two versions of 'stock' with the same date floating around - it wouldn't be the first time.
the other possibility is that my env vars are messed up. i'll check before resetting.
anyway - i'll be checking all by serial in a couple days and let you know.
thanks


do not confuse ubifs with ubi volumes. the steps provided actualy make ubi volumes. the filesystem under ubi volumes may be jffs,ubifs,squahfs,etc. think of ubi volumes they are like linux LVM's, adapted to mtd devices.
and i hope you adapted kernel size with the actual size from your sysupgrade image.
a more elegant command would be #truncate -s 3M kernel, but it is not available in ddwrt (i dont know if it is in lede). or to avoid calculation of count :

#dd if=/dev/zero of=3mz bs=1048576 count=3
#cat kernel 3mz > kernel_tmp
#dd if=kernel_tmp of=kernel_3m bs=1048576 count=3

, and use this kernel_3m to append ubinized rootfs.
isg17
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 28 Apr 2018
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 20:56    Post subject: Reply with quote
spuriousoffspring wrote:
@ghoffman & @isg17 I saw the image posted to the Linksys Forum ( 1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-161 ), but it was taken down before I could grab it.

Would either of you mind uploading it here? Thanks in advance.


Here's the requested file. Unfortunately, I renamed the file a while back to what it is and didn't preserve the original name. I too was trying to find the file link from Linksys's download area but couldn't.

The SHA an MD5 checksums are as follows:
$ shasum -a 256 FW_WRT32X_1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-1619.img
88b42e8ef69f8a9c37bee20eb41037281644f88642a87b96e43cb374773d3d8b FW_WRT32X_1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-1619.img

$ md5 FW_WRT32X_1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-1619.img
MD5 (FW_WRT32X_1.0.170919.nonjenkins-inteliboy-1619.img) = ce1b15595f9602cf0b7c4d033e28b441
isg17
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 28 Apr 2018
Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 21:00    Post subject: Reply with quote
spuriousoffspring wrote:
@ghoffman With all the serial flashing / testing you've been doing I would recommend installing a 3.5mm jack in your WRT32X.
It's a huge convenience not having to take the case apart and reassemble every time.

The parts are relatively cheap and only light soldering is needed.
The one drawback is you have to drill a 1/4" hold in the side of the WRT32X.

What you would need:
JST 2.0mm 6 Pin Female Connector with Wires
https://www.ebay.com/itm/10-Sets-JST-2-0mm-PH-6-Pin-Female-Housing-Connector-with-Wire-and-Male-Connector-/201998296689?hash=item2f08096671

3.5mm Connector 3 Pin
https://www.ebay.com/itm/5-PACK-HQ-gold-plated-3-5mm-Stereo-Female-Audio-Jack-Connector-panel-mount-B156-/173349680558?hash=item285c7235ae

USB TTL AJ Cable 3.3V
https://www.amazon.com/FTDI-USB-Ttl-232r-3v3-aj-1-8m-cable/dp/B00M31652Q


@ spuriousoffspring Thank you so much for spec'ing these out. I was looking all over the place for the 6 pin female connector! Very Happy
Skoda Zek
DD-WRT User


Joined: 07 Apr 2018
Posts: 66
Location: Calgary, AB Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 16:10    Post subject: Reply with quote
My WRT32X arrived today (yay!)

BTW, thanks again spurious for all your help over the last few days in regards to getting me ready to get this thing working my with expressvpn and policy based routing.

Was wondering how close brainslayer is to a gui flashable DD-WRT image?
and if not ready, should I try the method in the first post in this thread via SSH and wget? does the DD-WRT function fully once installed via SSH?

Thanks guys!
spuriousoffspring
DD-WRT Guru


Joined: 05 Apr 2017
Posts: 981
Location: Louisiana, USA

PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 16:40    Post subject: Reply with quote
An image was released just yesterday, but no one has verified it yet on a WRT32X.

ftp://ftp.dd-wrt.com/betas/2018/06-10-2018-r36104/linksys-wrt32x/

_________________
DD-WRT Installation & Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=311117

WRT32X DD-WRT Installation Procedure
https://forum.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=315569

IPVanish OpenVPN Client Setup TUTORIAL
http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=308565

FIRMWARE: OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r8217-2cc821e / LuCI Master (git-18.276.41146-280dd33)
MODEM: ARRIS SURFBoard SB8200
ROUTER: Linksys WRT32X
USB NAS: Western Digital BLACK 1 TB Hardrive + Startech USB 3.0 External SATA III Enclosure
Skoda Zek
DD-WRT User


Joined: 07 Apr 2018
Posts: 66
Location: Calgary, AB Canada

PostPosted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 19:17    Post subject: Reply with quote
just an fyi. I decided to try the VPN through the venom firmware and the performance was worse than my WRT1900ACv2. My WRT1900ACv2 could get around 55 mbit throughput over the VPN (ExpressVPN which uses encryption that is demanded on router CPU). The WRT32x has a 1.8 Ghz dual core vs. the 1.6 dual core in the WRT1900ACv2/ACS. Yet maximum throughput over the vpn was 44mbit.

Even had it worked better it still would not be a solution for me because Policy Based Routing is absolutely essential in my circumstances. 5 of my devices MUST NOT be behind VPN and MUST use a custom DNS while the rest of my Devices (17 of them) need to be fully protected behind the VPN.
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