Build and test image for TP-Link WDR842ND router

[andygunn]

This router is a prime candidate for Commotion support. Build and test images, triage switch configuration issues as they come up (possibly dependent on build script fixes)

[radurambet]

I am currently testing image on 842ND V.1; Unfortunately V.2 the new version is supported only in Barrier Breaker .

[andygunn]

@radurambet - excellent. We have only been able to get version 2 routers, which won't work with the current version of Commotion (until it is ported to Barrier Breaker). Were you able to get a working build?

[westbywest]

I'm patching AA to support the TL-ML3420v2, which is similar to the WR842ND but with only 4MB flash. If you end up patching AA to support the WR842ND, make sure the resultant patched firmware writes a valid value to /tmp/sysinfo/board_name. Otherwise, the /sbin/sysupgrade tool will fail on subsequent reflash attempts. Cf. https://dev.openwrt.org/ticket/17885

On Mon, Oct 20, 2014 at 9:03 AM, Andy Gunn notifications@github.com wrote:

@radurambet https://github.com/radurambet - excellent. We have only been able to get version 2 routers, which won't work with the current version of Commotion (until it is ported to Barrier Breaker). Were you able to get a working build?

— Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/opentechinstitute/commotion-router/issues/141#issuecomment-59758408 .

Ben West me@benwest.name

[radurambet]

i was so busy lately , but what i managed to do is to get 842ND v1 and V1.1 working

In fact the router works flawless . There is a BUT:
I made a small change to /etc/config/network and replaced eth0 with eth1. The config file in the image is not working due to a mistake. The WAN port for this router is eth1 not eth0 for that reason the router is unable to get IP address if you configure it as gateway.

I was using it as a test mesh node without gateway (internet) access .

Yesterday i looked into it a little bit more and realized that there is this mistake in the config file. I don't know if the config file is automatically generated or not but if you make this small change it will work flawless.

And there is more. If you change /etc/config/wireless and add =>option noscan '1' and replace htmode 20HT with htmode '40HT+' or minus it will mesh wit 300 mbps .

For 20 EUR i guess this router is great.

I bought a bunch of them from local classifieds website as I also needed v1 & v1.1 since these are out of stock and you cannot buy them as new.

[jheretic]

Thanks for testing, @radurambet! No, the /etc/config/network file is not generated automatically; we just package a different one for different devices. Can you post the /etc/config/network file you're using now just to make sure we get it exactly right? Then I can add it in to future builds.

As far as the htmode in /etc/config/wireless (which is automatically generated), we don't turn on noscan or HT40+ by default just because due to interference issues it isn't always desirable to try and use the full 40MHz wide band, as in a dense network the interference might outweigh the potential increased bandwidth. We leave setting that as an exercise for the advanced user so that they can pick what is best for their particular setup.

[radurambet]

Related to HT mode I know the drawbacks , but what I wanted to mention is that in a clean environment the radio operates at full 40Mhz speed.

Below my working config file /etc/config/network

config interface 'loopback'
        option ifname 'lo'
        option proto 'static'
        option ipaddr '127.0.0.1'
        option netmask '255.0.0.0'
config interface 'lan'
        option proto 'commotion'
        option class 'client'
        option type 'bridge'
        option bridge_empty '1'
        option ipaddr 'xx.xx.xx.x'
        option netmask '255.255.255.0'
        option _orig_ifname 'wlan0'
        option _orig_bridge 'true'
        option ifname 'eth0'
config interface 'wan'
        option ifname 'eth1'
        option proto 'commotion'
        option class 'wired'
        option meshed '0'
        option dhcp 'client'
config alias 'thisnode'
        option interface 'lan'
        option proto 'static'
        option ipaddr '169.254.xx.xx'
        option netmask '255.255.0.0'
config interface 'xxx_xxx'
        option class 'mesh'
        option proto 'commotion'
        option profile 'xxx_xxx'

If you look in kernel log file you will find that eth0 is the switch.

[    0.850000] eth0: Atheros AG71xx at 0xba000000, irq 5
[    1.410000] eth0: Found an AR7240/AR9330 built-in switch
[    2.440000] eth1: Atheros AG71xx at 0xb9000000, irq 4
[    2.990000] ag71xx ag71xx.0: eth1: connected to PHY at ag71xx-mdio.1:04 [uid=004dd041, driver=Generic PHY]

I hope this is useful to everyone having V1 or V1.1 tplink 842ND

[jheretic]

Cool, good point about the HT mode. And thanks, that configuration information is extremely useful. I'll make sure that gets added to our build configurations.