#94 Missing build for TL-841ND

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opened 4 years ago by keverets · 8 comments
keverets commented 4 years ago

From the release notes at https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/releases it's noted:

The package feed in this release was curated based upon packages that have been pulled from the server over the last year. If you find a package is missing or want recommend a new piece of hardware, please file an issue or write to one of the libreCMC mailing lists.

My router is a TL-841ND v9. https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/v1.4/docs/Supported_Hardware.md indicates that it's still "Supported Hardware", but the "TL-WR841n[d] v9 Sysupgrade" link on https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/v1.4/docs/TL_WR841ND.md is broken (goes to a "This page is missing!" page).

Right now it's running 1.4.6 but it's not clear if there will be an update for it. The release note made it sound as though it would only affect those packages that haven't been pulled in the past year, but I did pull the 1.4.6 version in that time.

Is this router one that's been deemed too old or low-end to maintain? And if so, should it be removed from the documentation as "Supported Hardware"?

If support is ending, it might be good to do a round of updates that change the main interface to have a banner indicating that the user will need to find another distribution (or fork this one) soon so there's some warning that there will be no further security updates, etc.

From the release notes at https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/releases it's noted: > The package feed in this release was curated based upon packages that have been pulled from the server over the last year. If you find a package is missing or want recommend a new piece of hardware, please file an issue or write to one of the libreCMC mailing lists. My router is a TL-841ND v9. https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/v1.4/docs/Supported_Hardware.md indicates that it's still "Supported Hardware", but the "TL-WR841n[d] v9 Sysupgrade" link on https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/v1.4/docs/TL_WR841ND.md is broken (goes to a "This page is missing!" page). Right now it's running 1.4.6 but it's not clear if there will be an update for it. The release note made it sound as though it would only affect those packages that haven't been pulled in the past year, but I did pull the 1.4.6 version in that time. Is this router one that's been deemed too old or low-end to maintain? And if so, should it be removed from the documentation as "Supported Hardware"? If support is ending, it might be good to do a round of updates that change the main interface to have a banner indicating that the user will need to find another distribution (or fork this one) soon so there's some warning that there will be no further security updates, etc.
RISCI_ATOM commented 4 years ago
Collaborator

Please don't spread FUD or "doom and gloom". You left out the most important part of the release notice:

v1.4.8 Legacy images will be available soon / at a later date.

I'm sorry that I dropped the ball with this release. For a while now (many years), it has been a struggle to support this and other 4M targets with the luci web-ui and a basic IPv6 stack. In the past, upstream developers have recommended disabling IPv6 support or the web-ui and I find this to be an unreasonable solution. These bloat issues are becoming a critical problem and my view is that people should not have to buy new devices because of it.

The project will continue to support these targets one way or the other since they helped build the project. I don't have an ETA on new images right now and there is a possibility that they won't be available until the release of v1.5.x.

Please don't spread FUD or "doom and gloom". You left out the most important part of the release notice: > v1.4.8 Legacy images will be available soon / at a later date. I'm sorry that I dropped the ball with this release. For a while now (many years), it has been a struggle to support this and other 4M targets with the luci web-ui and a basic IPv6 stack. In the past, upstream developers have recommended disabling IPv6 support or the web-ui and I find this to be an unreasonable solution. These bloat issues are becoming a critical problem and my view is that people should not have to buy new devices because of it. The project will continue to support these targets one way or the other since they helped build the project. I don't have an ETA on new images right now and there is a possibility that they won't be available until the release of v1.5.x.
keverets commented 4 years ago
Poster

Sorry, I didn't notice that part of the release notes. It's not my intention at all to spread FUD or "doom and gloom". For whatever reason that line didn't stand out when reading through the notes but the others about dropping things did.

I understand the difficulty in supporting these old devices and appreciate all of the work done to maintain them, especially when others are encouraging dropping support.

Thanks for describing the challenges, and for your continued effort.

Sorry, I didn't notice that part of the release notes. It's not my intention at all to spread FUD or "doom and gloom". For whatever reason that line didn't stand out when reading through the notes but the others about dropping things did. I understand the difficulty in supporting these old devices and appreciate all of the work done to maintain them, especially when others are encouraging dropping support. Thanks for describing the challenges, and for your continued effort.
mishgun commented 4 years ago

keverets, you may should read this one here https://openwrt.org/supported_devices/432_warning and this one https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/saving_space

in short - old devices is gonna be obsolete soon enough and the developers has focused on adding new features into the project instead wasting time on keeping support for old devices like yours

in my case, i had to build firmware for my tl-941nd v5 myself wihtout ipv6 support and opkg(package manager) to save some flash space . You can read more about building your own firmware right here https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/LTS/docs/How_To_Build_libreCMC.md perhaps you don't need ipv6 too

keverets, you may should read this one here https://openwrt.org/supported_devices/432_warning and this one https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/saving_space in short - old devices is gonna be obsolete soon enough and the developers has focused on adding new features into the project instead wasting time on keeping support for old devices like yours in my case, i had to build firmware for my tl-941nd v5 myself wihtout ipv6 support and opkg(package manager) to save some flash space . You can read more about building your own firmware right here https://gogs.librecmc.org/libreCMC/libreCMC/src/LTS/docs/How_To_Build_libreCMC.md perhaps you don't need ipv6 too

I noticed the broken links too. Has there been any progress on builds for TL-WR841N? I saw this device on the supported page, and would love to install it on my device!

Thanks everyone

I noticed the broken links too. Has there been any progress on builds for TL-WR841N? I saw this device on the supported page, and would love to install it on my device! Thanks everyone
RISCI_ATOM commented 4 years ago
Collaborator

The only images available right now are v1.5.0 RC3 images.

https://librecmc.org/librecmc/downloads/snapshots/v1.5.0-rc3/targets/ath79/tiny/

libreCMC v1.5 is expected to be released on January 1st with support for 4M targets.

The only images available right now are v1.5.0 RC3 images. https://librecmc.org/librecmc/downloads/snapshots/v1.5.0-rc3/targets/ath79/tiny/ libreCMC v1.5 is expected to be released on January 1st with support for 4M targets.

That is excellent to hear! Thank you for all that you do with this project and supporting those older devices.

I didn't see "tiny" in the flavors page. Does "tiny" have a specific meaning different than main, core, or legacy?

That is excellent to hear! Thank you for all that you do with this project and supporting those older devices. I didn't see "tiny" in the flavors page. Does "tiny" have a specific meaning different than main, core, or legacy?
RISCI_ATOM commented 4 years ago
Collaborator

I didn't see "tiny" in the flavors page. Does "tiny" have a specific meaning different than main, core, or legacy?

"Tiny" is the name for an upstream subtarget that was introduced in 18.06. Its purpose was to group these 4M targets and apply additional stripping with other space saving options, some of which were applied in v1.4.x. The "flavor" name scheme in libreCMC applies to the packages included in images for specific purposes. For example, Legacy images did not ship with opkg or ssl support because the images would be too large for 4M targets. In the final release of v1.5, the naming scheme may be kept to reduce confusion.

> I didn't see "tiny" in the flavors page. Does "tiny" have a specific meaning different than main, core, or legacy? "Tiny" is the name for an upstream subtarget that was introduced in 18.06. Its purpose was to group these 4M targets and apply additional stripping with other space saving options, some of which were applied in v1.4.x. The "flavor" name scheme in libreCMC applies to the packages included in images for specific purposes. For example, Legacy images did not ship with opkg or ssl support because the images would be too large for 4M targets. In the final release of v1.5, the naming scheme may be kept to reduce confusion.
RISCI_ATOM commented 4 years ago
Collaborator

Will be fixed as of the v1.5.0 release. ath79 tiny images will be available.

Will be fixed as of the v1.5.0 release. ath79 tiny images will be available.
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