Netgear GS308T persistence

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

New to the OpenWRT so please be kind.

I wanted more out of my Netgear GS308T and decided to flash it to OpenWRT. There are few things that I noted in the results

  • I only have SSH shell, the WebUI never got installed. When I checked the uhttpd in ps, it isn't present.
  • Any change or file copy I do to the switch, it is not persistent. I searched the forum, for similar issues and there was mention of execution of the command: sysupgrade -n /tmp/openwrt-realtek-generic-netgear_gs308t-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin. It runs and reboots the box but then it is back to the same default settings.

Below is os-release in /etc

root@OpenWrt:/etc# cat os-release
NAME="OpenWrt"
VERSION="SNAPSHOT"
ID="openwrt"
ID_LIKE="lede openwrt"
PRETTY_NAME="OpenWrt SNAPSHOT"
VERSION_ID="snapshot"
HOME_URL="https://openwrt.org/"
BUG_URL="https://bugs.openwrt.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://forum.openwrt.org/"
BUILD_ID="r22153-107f7374c9"
OPENWRT_BOARD="realtek/rtl838x"
OPENWRT_ARCH="mips_4kec"
OPENWRT_TAINTS=""
OPENWRT_DEVICE_MANUFACTURER="OpenWrt"
OPENWRT_DEVICE_MANUFACTURER_URL="https://openwrt.org/"
OPENWRT_DEVICE_PRODUCT="Generic"
OPENWRT_DEVICE_REVISION="v0"
OPENWRT_RELEASE="OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r22153-107f7374c9"

I would really appreciate any help, I am not good with soldering so if I can avoid going serial then I would prefer it. Thanks

2

The snapshot releases are built without LuCi the WebUI. If you want LuCi you'll either need to install it and/or build your own image or use a release image. The initial install is in RAM only, you need to do the sysupgrade in order to have a persistent installation.

3

Thanks Raylynn, I wasn't aware of that, I can work to get UI installed.
I did execute the command for sysupgrade (below) but no avail, is there anything I am supposed to do to make it persistent.

sysupgrade -n /tmp/openwrt-realtek-generic-netgear_gs308t-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin

4

That should be everything needed.

5

What do you mean by no avail? Did you get any errors on the command line or see anything else happen?

I assume you had already copied/downloaded the file from the downloads site and into the /tmp directory on the router first?

6

It didn't give any errors. Upon command execution, it goes for a reboot and comes back to its original state without a password and all settings are lost. When I set a new password and reboot, it repeats the exact behavior of not persisting the information.

I will try with the file, you had mentioned and report back.

7

sysupgrade 2023-02-27 164608
sysupgrade 2023-02-27 1646081384×567 127 KB

Attaching the screenshot of the command execution.

Post reboot I set the password, did a reboot and the system came back with default of no password on root.

8

To be clear, did it - or did it not upgrade successfully?

9

It said it is doing but looks like it is the same. Below is the cat on openwrt_release

root@OpenWrt:/etc# cat openwrt_release
DISTRIB_ID='OpenWrt'
DISTRIB_RELEASE='SNAPSHOT'
DISTRIB_REVISION='r22153-107f7374c9'
DISTRIB_TARGET='realtek/rtl838x'
DISTRIB_ARCH='mips_4kec'
DISTRIB_DESCRIPTION='OpenWrt SNAPSHOT r22153-107f7374c9'
DISTRIB_TAINTS=''
10

Ummmm...that's today's yesterday's snapshot!

It is the same.

screen470
screen470913×273 40.5 KB

opkg update
opkg install luci-ssl

or

:spiral_notepad: Or add luci-ssl to a custom SNAPSHOT image here: https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=SNAPSHOT&target=realtek%2Frtl838x&id=netgear_gs308t-v1

:notebook: This link appears to have a newer SNAPSHOT

screen471

screen472

11

Thanks, figured out how to get Luci to work. (Switch wasn't picking up the default gateway and nameserver so had to force it before the installation of luci)

I tried uploading the firmware from it too, and it basically has the same behavior ie., Firmware uploads and flashes fine reverts back to the default settings.

Attaching screenshot of the status page, not sure if this helps

Untitled picture
Untitled picture1001×1012 37.4 KB

12

You're currently running an intramfs image, so it's not at all surprising that you're having this issue.

You need to upgrade to the normal squashfs image to have a system that is persistent.

Since you have LuCI running, you might as well use the LuCI firmware update path. Download the sysupgrade image to your computer.... then use the web interface to upgrade:

System > Backup / Flash Firmware > Flash new firmware image

Be sure to not keep settings across the upgrade. Let us know if you encounter any errors, warnings, or any other issues along the way.

1 Like
13

I think I confused you. I did flash like you said with openwrt-22.03.3-85cce25b7351-realtek-rtl838x-netgear_gs308t-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade file, and it still keeps reverting back to the intramfs

14

Is that the actual filename of what you're using? If so, it seems a bit odd to me... where did it come from?

When I download it from the link I provided earlier, I get this filename:

openwrt-realtek-rtl838x-netgear_gs308t-v1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
15

Is active partition set to primary? It seems that initramfs image written to secondary is booted.

$ fw_printsys
1 Like
16

Thank you, this is output I get:

root@OpenWrt:~# fw_printsys
bootpartition=1
SN=00000000001
dualfname1=image
17

Ok, it's secondary partition...
Next, try the following command to switch to primary:

fw_setsys bootpartition 0

and check:

fw_printsys

Finally, reboot your device.

2 Likes
18

Thanks Musashino, this seemed to be the problem. I made the change you suggested and it solved the issues I was having. Thanks again for being super responsive

1 Like
19

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