Add support for ASUS RT-AX89X AX6000

[remittor]

@Shadowdream

So, what I did was to get rid of the firmware-default “kmod-hwmon-gpiofan” and replaced it with alpine fan control: https://github.com/openwrt-xiaomi/openwrt-alpine-fan-control/releases

After editing settings in /etc/control/alpine-fan-control to have a higher drv_speed_min, set tmp_sens to “gpio008” and fan_cont to “fan”, I got the fan to run and cool down the hardware sufficiently:

Thank you for testing on this router. I didn't think this would work.

It is very likely that you also need to do this:

Add support for ASUS RT-AX89X AX6000

To set a fixed fan speed, you need to add a few lines to file rc.local (LuCI -> System -> Startup): for file in /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/mode; do echo disabled > "$file"; done echo 1600 > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon0/fan1_target

This script should disable control of FANs in the kernel.

[Shadowdream]

@shmerl

So what exactly is the part that makes that gpio sensor so hot?

Idk man, it always heated up on idle (what is idle on the router? It was just sitting there, no high bandwidth stuff running, just surfing casually, etc)
I don‘t even know what piece of hardware this is, just that the readout is uncomfortably high without a running fan. When electronics start to get this ionized smell, you know something needs cooling.

@remittor

Thank you for testing on this router. I didn't think this would work.

It is very likely that you also need to do this:

Np, happy to help improve things with the little knowledge I have
I remember that post, and I have replied to it a while back because it didn‘t work for me. I assume that kmod-hwmon-gpio does set it‘s own fan speed and keeps updating the target value. At least, I was not able to set my own targets, they always got overwritten by another process. Been mentioning it several times, i.e here:

@Shadowdream

So far, the only thing I can’t get up is fan control. There is a package for gpio_fan installed, but no matter what I do, it only spinns during boot. For some reason, even when I revert to asus firmware, it refuses to run once up.
The router is heating up quite a bit, feels like 80°C to the touch on the backplate.

The setup I described earlier is working nicely. No need for more scripts etc. I only noticed that the menu won‘t show up in Luci anymore, only cli

[robimarko]

Yeah, it seems that AQR gets crazy hot.

So, we can just add a thermal zone for it so fan also triggers when it reaches some preset trip point.

I am on vacation currrently though

[loaNga0m]

the aquantia phys always get very hot.
85°C is nothing, they are specified up to 108°C

I have 3x AQR-113 in the router

The single-port devices are available in compact 7 mm x 7 mm
or 7 mm x 11 mm flip-chip BGA packages. AQR113/AQR114/
AQR115 and AQR113C/AQR114C/AQR115C are pincompatible within the same package featuring multi-gigabit to
address multiple network connectivity applications and speed
requirements, and available in Industrial (-40°C to +108°C)
temperature operating range as well as the Commercial (0°C to
+108°C) temperature operating range.

The AQR107/AQR108/AQR109 are pin-compatible, multi-gigabit,
single-port PHYs that address multiple network connectivity
applications and speed requirements. These devices are
available in compact 7 mm x 11 mm flip-chip BGA packages
featuring the Industrial (-40°C to +108°C) temperature
operating range.

[Shadowdream]

Ok, so this is what is going on.
Thanks for sharing that it has been in a safe temperature range. I was worried that I might have cooked it a bit during the last few days - especially since it got that typical smell of hot electronics.

[loaNga0m]

I wouldn't worry about that, they have a integrated thermal management.
They will probably throttle or shut down if they get too hot.

All Aquantia 10Gbit chips are known to get very hot.

Just start a 10Gbit iperf3 test (over a longer duration -t 600) and observe how warm the chip actually gets and whether it throttles and possibly needs a higher fan speed.

But the silicon is fine, as I said it can withstand such high temperatures without any problems

[shmerl]

Oh, I see. A good way to avoid higher temperature could be not using 10 Gbit RJ45. Fiber optical SFP+ or DAC SFP+ consumes way less power and should run cooler.

So if you need several 10 Gbps ports, you can use an extra switch that's SFP+ only with the same idea.

[shmerl]

To give an example using SFP+ adapters:

RJ45 ~ 2.5 W max
fiber optical simplex LC/UPC ~ 1 W max.
DAC ~ 0.1 W max

After digging into 10 Gbps options, some findings:

• DAC is the coolest, but most limited in length.
• If anyone wants to use the fiber optic simplex SFP+ one, note you need paired wavelength adapters on both ends, they are not symmetrical so pay attention. I.e. on one end - 1270nm-TX/1330nm-RX, on the other end the reverse 1330nm-TX/1270nm-RX.
  Or alternatively, there is duplex LC/UPC, but cables are more bulky / take more space since there are two.

[shmerl]

Oh, I found this. Just 1.8 W max for up to 100 meters RJ45 SFP+ transceiver. Better than 2.5 W though pretty expensive.

[JordanFromIT]

What fan connector do I need to replace the built in fan? 4 or 3pin 5v?

[napierzaza]

Yeah I bought the referenced fan. So any guides with photos would be helpful (as well as configs)

[shmerl]

This one works, I didn't need any extra cables for it (it comes with 3 pin one):

https://noctua.at/en/products/fan/nf-a9-5v

Don't use screws. Rubber elements can make it work way more silently.

[Shadowdream]

I got the Noctua NF-A9x14 HS-PWM, installed and running fine. Scroll up to an earlier post of me, where I noted how I got it working.
Pin count does not matter, they are cross compatible. And since this fan is 12V, it seems to be fine with that too.

[Shadowdream]

this one here

[Gin1AK-tion1]

Just to clarify, your able to shove this whole noctua fan you are all talking about into the router? or are you leaving the top exposed?

[JordanFromIT]

That is a good followup question, I don't want an open chasis

[Shadowdream]

Yes. The fan I mentioned is the same height as the original one. The difference is that the original is a 70mm and the noctua is a 90mm fan, so you can not use all the screw holes to screw it down. You actually need to get a long screw to fix it that way, if you wish to.
I just placed the tape and a nail to hold it in place. Shitty diy but it‘s not like I will shake it or anything

From what it looks like you might be able to install a standard pc fan. There is some free height on top. But maybe that would limit how much air it can draw, since the immediate above is solid.

[shmerl]

In my case yes - I put that fan (5 V one which is a bit thicker than 12 V one) into the router and used rubber connectors to prop it to the lid and rubber kickstands underneath to avoid it touching the surface there. I.e. no screws and very silent operation in result. All fits inside and lid closes neatly.

Rubber connectors are ones coming with the fan and kickstands are the rubber tips (pawn shaped parts) cut off from NA-SAV2: https://noctua.at/en/na-sav2

I.e.

put four pawn shaped kickstands on the surface, put the fan on them (four holes of the fan frame over the kickstands) and then put rubber connectors that come with the fan in the upper four holes to face upwards - they will be propped by the lid once you close it. That will make sure the fan doesn't wiggle.

[Ironalchemy]

Thanks for posting your experience with temperature. I have just compiled the firmware and installed it. It is working great so far. Thanks robimarko and remittor for making that possible!

However, I am not getting alpine-fan-control to work properly and could use advice.

In short, I cloned openwrt-alpine-fan-control and luci-app-temp-status into the package directory. I enabled them and disabled kmod-hwmon-gpiofan in make menuconfig.

The temperature status report on the Luci->Status->Overview page works a treat.

However, when I go to Luci->System->Fan Control, it lists "Service status: inactive". The "Enabled" tic box is checked. If I restart the service, it still shows inactive. This page also does not display "Current fan speed:".

I have set "Temp_sens" to "gpio008" and "fan_cont" to "fan".

If I add remittor's suggested script to rc.local. There is no change.

@Add support for ASUS RT-AX89X AX6000

To set a fixed fan speed, you need to add a few lines to file rc.local (LuCI -> System -> Startup): for file in /sys/class/thermal/thermal_zone*/mode; do echo disabled > "$file"; done echo 1600 > /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon0/fan1_target

Did I miss something?

Edit: I did miss something. Checking the System Log I find

Fri Jul 26 10:06:20 2024 user.notice root: alpine-fan-controller start...
Fri Jul 26 10:06:20 2024 user.notice root: alpine-fan-controller: ERROR: fan controller fan not found

So it looks as if I have some further investigating to do.

[Shadowdream]

@Ironalchemy

I enabled them and disabled kmod-hwmon-gpiofan in make menuconfig.

Could it be that gpiofan includes the necessary controller? I don‘t know enough about it (and it’s dependencies) to make specific comments.
I can just say that I had installed the official firmware snapshot, and from there on installed the two packages from remitor to display temperature and add fan control. At that point hwmon-gpiofan kept interfering by turning off the fan (probably because cpu temps were below the threshold), so I removed it. After that I edited the alpine file in CLI, just as I posted earlier (and as you seem to have done), rebooted, and then it ran fine.
Did you also use a higher value for „drv_speed_min“? I have it set to 100, but a smaller value should work fine.

@Ironalchemy

If I add remittor's suggested script to rc.local. There is no change.

This did nothing for me. I don‘t even have it setup currently. Might be useful on it‘s own, but seems like alpine fan control takes over the rc.local script‘s job

Edit: alpine fan control should come with a menu in luci. For some reason on my current install it does not. I have CLI access only to the settings. On a previous install it did show up though and I don‘t know what difference I made.