Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2024 13:48 Post subject: Dynalink DL-WRX36 Support
Brainslayer got the DL-WRX36 working ... there is still some more testing to be done ...
just some teaser and some warning:
flash of DL-WRX36 will not be not trivial
some devices have serial access partial disabled and require to enter blind commands while seeing nothing, some required preflash by ssh then final image etc ... details later ...
The console was not locked and installing OpenWRT was about 20 minutes work but you do have to carefully follow the instructions, no need to open up the router but you do need an USB stick
The wiki omits the important observation that the Dynalink IP is 192.168.216.1, which meant, since my linux mint laptop by default doesn't accept rsa host identification, to connect I needed ssh -oHostkeyAlgorithms=+ssh-rsa admin@192.168.216.1 with, of course, password askey1234
In the wiki the command to run "If the current OEM slot is 2" has an extra single quote ' at the end, so it should be just
fw_setenv mtdparts 'mtdparts=nand0:0x6100000@0x7a00000(fs),0x6100000@0x1000000(fs_1)'
I first tried the procedure using the factory-to-ddwrt.ubi file for the just-out dd-wrt build r56941. It went flawlessly until I attempted to boot into dd-wrt. When I visited http://192.168.1.1, I was in OpenWRT/luci, not dd-wrt.
My first thought was that perhaps something in the instructions, perhaps in the fw_setenv wizardry, was tailored to the original Dynalink-compatible build, 56820, so I backed up to the scp step and proceeded from there using the factory-to-ddwrt.ubi file from 56820. Made no difference. Still booted into OpenWRT with luci in the browser.
I'm not familiar at all with OpenWRT or, of course, Dynalink internals, so at this point I am good and truly stumped as to where to go next. Ideas? _________________ On 59582: 2x Dynalink DL-WRX36, Linksys MX4200v2, MR7350. On 61465: DL-WRX36, MR7350. WPA2personal/WPA3 w/ AES, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), Two SmartDNS/DoT providers and one DNSCrypt provider via VPNs. DNSmasq manages that plus ad blocking and local DNS.
In any case, I noticed in the instructions that it will hardly boot from the flash if the USB stick is the first boot device.
Otherwise you have done something wrong, nowhere in the instructions is openwrt written in the flash
You may also need to clear your browser cache.
If the luci and dd-wrt have been running under the same IP address at some point, browser problems are inevitable _________________ Quickstart guides:
Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 16137 Location: Texas, USA
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 17:32 Post subject:
@SurprisedItWorks / @ho1Aetoo: Thank you both for the meticulous feedback. Wiki has been edited, I used the direct link from the OpenWRT downloads page "https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/23.05.3/targets/ipq807x/generic/openwrt-23.05.3-ipq807x-generic-dynalink_dl-wrx36-initramfs-uImage.itb" instead of the mirror address you provided. Not having router in hand to have proof-tested the procedure, as @ho1Aetoo said, if the USB stick is inserted, it will boot to that first. Looking at what the OpenWRT Wiki provided, it is booting usb first, so I need to insert a "remove USB drive" in the procedure and a note to reinsert/reboot if DD-WRT boot fails. It wouldn't be the first time the OpenWRT Wiki has had a goof in it that would cause something like this for those not paying attention .
Joined: 04 Aug 2018 Posts: 1562 Location: Appalachian mountains, USA
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 18:01 Post subject:
Thanks guys! I still had the USB stick in. I was guilty of using that fw_setenv bootcmd... command without actually looking at it.
Booting without the USB stick just now did indeed bring up dd-wrt. Next I'll upgrade to the current build and start working on configuring it.
Does that fw_setenv bootcmd 'run openwrtusb; run openwrtboot' command also need fixing now in the wiki to reverse the order (as one of you hinted above)? Will that make it serve the original purpose of providing a fallback boot? Or are other tweaks required as well?
Anyway, once these little details were fixed, I'd have to rank the whole process of bringing up dd-wrt on this router as surprisingly simple, considering the number of arcane steps involved. Other than this pull-the-damned-stick-out mishap, the biggest hassle was simply wrestling with ssh in my laptop to convince it to deal with a rsa host ID. _________________ On 59582: 2x Dynalink DL-WRX36, Linksys MX4200v2, MR7350. On 61465: DL-WRX36, MR7350. WPA2personal/WPA3 w/ AES, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), Two SmartDNS/DoT providers and one DNSCrypt provider via VPNs. DNSmasq manages that plus ad blocking and local DNS.
No, you don't have to fix anything at the moment.
You can leave it as it is.
If the boot partition is damaged later, i.e. the router can no longer boot from the flash, it may flag the partitions as "bad"
then you have to unlock the partitions manually after you have restored them - but that's another topic. _________________ Quickstart guides:
Joined: 04 Aug 2018 Posts: 1562 Location: Appalachian mountains, USA
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2024 21:21 Post subject:
Progress report, bringing up a DL-WRX36 on dd-wrt 55941.
Has functioning WAN as secondary router behind an XR500 55630 primary in a dual-NAT setup. Primary Status does show the DHCP lease for the hardwired DL-WRX36. Encrypted Quad9 DNS is up. I can connect to the Dynalink via ssh, and in ssh I can ping IPs and FQDNs. In Firefox (LibreWolf variant) I can browse a major news site.
BUT all this is from a laptop connected by ethernet. I have no wifi signals and no Wireless tab in the GUI! Visiting [Router IP]/Wireless_Basic.asp in a browser shows a stub page with only the footer with the Save/Apply/Cancel buttons. The router is in Gateway mode, with nvram vars showing wlan0_mode and wlan1_mode as ap (i.e. not disabled). The whole long list of wlan[01]_.* vars seems to be there.
No SwitchConfig tab either, FWIW. Eventually I'll try VLAN setup the old swconfig way.
Ideas re wifi? _________________ On 59582: 2x Dynalink DL-WRX36, Linksys MX4200v2, MR7350. On 61465: DL-WRX36, MR7350. WPA2personal/WPA3 w/ AES, VAPs, NAS, station mode, OpenVPN client (AirVPN), wireguard server (AirVPN port forward) and clients (AzireVPN, AirVPN, private), Two SmartDNS/DoT providers and one DNSCrypt provider via VPNs. DNSmasq manages that plus ad blocking and local DNS.
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