Reclaim RAM used for WiFi firmware?

Routers
1

Hi GL.iNet community!

First, let me start by saying (as I've said in other recent posts from me) that as I've explored the GL.iNet product line, I'm routinely very pleased. You have a new fan in me, and I've already left reviews stating such and started recommending you all via word of mouth.

Now, moving to the reason of this post: I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has thought about this, but I didn't find any post about this in the forum or documentation/discussion from GL.iNet, so I figured I'd get the idea out there to see if others would like this and if GL.iNet is willing to consider it.

I currently use GL.iNet products in different use cases. In one use case, I very much want the WiFi capability of the GL.iNet router. However, in another use case - which I'm willing to bet is not rare among the GL.iNet community - I use the GL.iNet router for its routing capabilities, but everything WiFi is handled by downstream access points. Thus, the RAM that is reserved for WiFi is just ... sitting there ... collecting dust. This hurts the system optimization part of my brain, even more so considering how that RAM could immediately contribute to boosting performance (e.g., not just more RAM available for applications, but also caching). I realize some GL.iNet products come without WiFi capability (e.g., Brume, Brume 2), but I've read mixed reviews (e.g., heating up), and the overall specs (e.g., VPN speeds) aren't as competitive as some of the routers.

Is this something GL.iNet would be willing to consider? Perhaps an "opt-in" feature for folks who understand the implications? As I mentioned above, in a key use case, I know I will never use the WiFi capability of the router. Sorry if I missed already-existing posts or instructions about this.

2

WiFi is part of the functionality of consumer routers. WiFi function is hardware-retained RAM, I think it is mandatory for the system (OpenWRT/Kernel) and cannot be recycled or utilized.

The peak rate of a VPN depends on CPU performance, not RAM space.

Thank you.

1 Like
4

Thanks for replying, @bruce. And understood regarding not being able to reclaim that RAM. I'm not sure why you mentioned performance of VPN in your reply, though. My interest in reclaiming RAM is for overall performance, not VPN performance. I mentioned VPN performance only in pointing out Brume and Brume 2's specs aren't as good as some of the router specs (VPN speeds being one such element), and the mixed reviews noting these product lines can get really hot; hence, neither of these would be an answer to my question, which I could see someone otherwise suggesting given my lack of interest in WiFi for one of my use cases. On that note, I'm not sure your comment about that being required by OpenWRT makes sense, because OpenWRT can be flashed to things like Brume and Brume 2, as well as things like Raspberry Pi, which do not have WiFi capability. But nevertheless, understood if GL.iNet does not support my ask.