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remote_upgrade_poc [2023/06/27 00:17] – [Proof of Concept] -formatting hogwild | remote_upgrade_poc [2023/07/13 16:43] – [Concerns, Issues, and Known Challenges] -formatting hogwild | ||
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- Reach the remote location in x hours/days or; | - Reach the remote location in x hours/days or; | ||
- Have someone on site who can recover from a failure. | - Have someone on site who can recover from a failure. | ||
- | - (Such as using the factory | + | - (Such as using the Reset button to restore the backup configuration/ |
- | - One problem with these routers is that newer firmware is written on top of the running firmware. This involves some risk that \\ the (now invalid) filesystem could cause issues/ crash during reboot. This would cause a manual power cycle to be needed. | + | - A problem with these routers is the newer firmware is written on top of the running firmware. |
- This could be easily resolved if someone on site could perform the power cycle. \\ \\ | - This could be easily resolved if someone on site could perform the power cycle. \\ \\ | ||
- Asus tries to avoid this by creating a temporary rootfs where the critical bits are copied during reboot. | - Asus tries to avoid this by creating a temporary rootfs where the critical bits are copied during reboot. | ||
- | - Newer Broadcom routers solve this using two separate | + | - Newer Broadcom routers solve this using two firmware partitions. The new firmware is written to \\ the other partition, so the running filesystem remains intact. |
- **If you need something that is remotely managed, you need a router designed for that.**\\ | - **If you need something that is remotely managed, you need a router designed for that.**\\ | ||
- Trying to script fail-safe procedures for all possible scenarios will require a lot of work. | - Trying to script fail-safe procedures for all possible scenarios will require a lot of work. | ||
- | - Other, potentially unrecoverable issues remain when physical access isn't available. Even in non-critical use cases, \\ it's annoying to perform that kind of recovery. \\ \\ | + | - Other, potentially unrecoverable issues remain when physical access isn't available. |
- You are strongly advised to perform an NVRAM full erase/reset after a FreshTomato upgrade. | - You are strongly advised to perform an NVRAM full erase/reset after a FreshTomato upgrade. | ||
- On its first run, FreshTomato will recreate and initialize required default parameters. | - On its first run, FreshTomato will recreate and initialize required default parameters. | ||
- A " | - A " | ||
- | - Some form of permanent storage is needed. A full erase/reset of NVRAM-stored parameters via // | + | - Some form of permanent storage is needed. A full erase/reset of NVRAM-stored parameters via // |
- What is the difference betweeen the // | - What is the difference betweeen the // | ||
- | - Issuing the //nvram erase// command still erases the nvram mtd. However, | + | - Issuing the //nvram erase// command still erases the nvram mtd. However, |
- | - The //nvram erase// command maintains the NVRAM structure (header/ | + | - The //nvram erase// command maintains the NVRAM header/ |
- | - Thus, options for storage persistence seem to be: | + | - Thus, options for storage persistence |
- JFFS. However, by default, if NVRAM is cleared, JFFS is unmounted. Also, JFFS needs to be unmounted \\ before an upgrade, since occasionally it gets repartitioned/ | - JFFS. However, by default, if NVRAM is cleared, JFFS is unmounted. Also, JFFS needs to be unmounted \\ before an upgrade, since occasionally it gets repartitioned/ | ||
- USB storage \\ \\ | - USB storage \\ \\ | ||
- | - All forks of Tomato | + | - All forks of Tomato trigger execution of certain shell scripts with the < |
- Automount mounts all partitions to subdirectories in "/ | - Automount mounts all partitions to subdirectories in "/ | ||
- | - Logic is needed to distinguish | + | - Logic is needed to tell if the .autorun |
- | - Performing an upgrade via the shell is safer than via the web interface. From the shell, you download a .zip and check \\ for magic number errors when extracting the archive. Most devices have enough RAM to host the .zip. Uploading a " | + | - Performing an upgrade via the shell is safer than via the web interface. From the shell, you download a .zip \\ and check for magic number errors when extracting the archive. Most devices have enough RAM to host the .zip. \\ Uploading a " |
- Clearing NVRAM and restoring variables remotely via a script could lead to a serious lockout or bootloop. \\ Even if such an approach (having a list of nvram set commands) saved time, too many things could go wrong.\\ | - Clearing NVRAM and restoring variables remotely via a script could lead to a serious lockout or bootloop. \\ Even if such an approach (having a list of nvram set commands) saved time, too many things could go wrong.\\ | ||
- | - Having a persistent basic Internet connection, VPN, and LAN parameters could allow an internal device (such as a PC, \\ or small service/ | + | - Having a persistent basic Internet connection, VPN, and LAN parameters could allow an internal device |
- | - Upgrade options using TFTP wouldn' | + | - Upgrade options using TFTP wouldn' |
- | - Other options for FreshTomato to do a controlled reconfiguration during upgrade might include leaving specific entry points, | + | - Other options for FreshTomato to do a controlled reconfiguration during upgrade might include leaving specific |
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The Main Preserve Script, with a list of parameters to save, creates the Restore script with actual parameter values. | The Main Preserve Script, with a list of parameters to save, creates the Restore script with actual parameter values. | ||
- | **Caution: Unexpected side effects can occur if any parameter value contains the single quote (') character. | + | **Caution: Unexpected side effects can occur if any parameter value contains the single quote (') character. Consider replacing single quotes with double |
- | + | ||
- | **Consider replacing single quotes with double | + | |
\\ | \\ | ||
- | After every upgrade, you should review the FreshTomato | + | After every upgrade, you should review the FreshTomato |
- Bug fixes | - Bug fixes | ||
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- New features | - New features | ||
- Explicit recommendations from the developers | - Explicit recommendations from the developers | ||
+ | |||
\\ | \\ | ||
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\\ | \\ | ||
+ | |||
<code bash> | <code bash> | ||
#!/bin/sh | #!/bin/sh | ||
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| | ||
===== Alternatives ===== | ===== Alternatives ===== | ||
+ | |||
- Compile your own firmware with your settings hard-coded within it. | - Compile your own firmware with your settings hard-coded within it. | ||
- Building the compilation environment requires a lot of effort. | - Building the compilation environment requires a lot of effort. | ||
- Consolidated experience with such process is necessary. | - Consolidated experience with such process is necessary. | ||
- | - Several previous attempts were made using directions from: freshtomato-arm [[https:// | + | - Several previous attempts were made using directions from: freshtomato-arm [[https:// |
===== References and Online Resources ===== | ===== References and Online Resources ===== |