Setup for fastest startup

statler · 2017-02-23T05:08:45.000Z

Hi,

I use the great mini routers from GLI for a while and I love them. Now I would like to use a setup for which I need some help to get the optimal configuration.

I would like to use a mini router with a connected LTE-USB-Stick as wireless AP in my car to provide (fast) internet to my android head unit. The minirouter is connected to a power-outlet which is switched on and off with the ignition of the car. So after starting the engine the router must boot before the head unit can connect. This already work very well but I now would like to increase the usability by reducing the boot-time of the mini router.

At the moment I have the following mini routers:

GL-MT300N
GL-MT300A
GL-AR150
GL-AR300M

Here are my questions:

Which of my devices should I use for fastest startup?
How can I tweak the setup of this device to get fastest possible startup time?

Thanks in advance and best regards,
Markus

alzhao · 2017-02-25T12:18:04.000Z

AR300M and AR150 should boot a little faster. But all the routers are pre-installed with a lot of software packages which slows down the boot progress. Seems you only need to tethering your data and there is a lot of kernel modules and software package could be turned off.

If you have some openwrt skills you can try to use the clean packages and then only install necessary packages.

What protocol are you using to tether your data?

statler · 2017-02-26T05:04:59.000Z

Hi alzhao,

thanks for your reply.

You asked which protocol I use:
I use a LTE USB-Stick which shows up as network interface.

I did some testing which shows the results you already predicted.

I measured the boot-time with stock firmware V2.25 from plugging in until the WIFI-LED is switched on (as I checked with a fast WIFI scanner this is also the time when the SSID of the mini router shows up) - I used a fixed WIFI channel. Here are the results:

GL-AR300M: 48s
GL-AR150: 49s
GL-MT300A: 53s
GL-MT300N: 112s

As predicted by you the Atheros devices are faster. So I moved forward with the GL-AR300M. I deactived the services for SMB and UPNP –> this reduced the boot-time by only 2 seconds.

So far I don’t have advanced openwrt skills - nevertheless I moved forward by cloning the actual sourcetree from github and built it with the inital configuration (NAND firmware). After that I installed LuCI by opkg. No I get a boot-time of 34s instead of the 48s before which is good but still more than I desired.

Now I am unsure how to get forward. Without deep knowledge about openwrt I have no clue which packets I should include to get the basic function I need (tethering by just provide the 3G internet access by the WIFI-AP) and which packets I can safely remove to get the minimal system. Are there some suggestions?

Thanks again and best regards,
Markus

alzhao · 2017-02-27T12:58:28.000Z

The firsttime it needs a little more time to boot. I think with more optimization in the kernel the boottime can reduce to 20 to 30 seconds, but it is very difficult to get faster any more.

alzhao · 2017-02-27T14:06:43.000Z

The firsttime it needs a little more time to boot. I think with more optimization in the kernel the boottime can reduce to 20 to 30 seconds, but it is very difficult to get faster any more.

If your firmware size is between 3 and 4MB, there is not too many package you can remove.

statler · 2017-03-01T04:14:59.000Z

Just to complete this issue I started, here my final results.

I compiled a clean openwrt version and I used the one provided als “clean” firmware V1.0 form GLI. With both I get a startup time of about 34 seconds on a GL-AR300M. It seems that it would not be easy to reduce it furthermore. So I will stick with “clean” firmware from GLI.

To use tethering over USB I added the packages “kmod-usb-net kmod-usb-net-rndis kmod-usb-net-cdc-ether usbutils udev”. This did not increase the boot time significantly.

So I have a solution for my needs with a boot time of 34 seconds instead of the initial 48 seconds.

So thanks to alzhao for your support.

Regards, Markus

kuniyoshimegane · 2024-10-28T09:01:32.723Z

Hi, GL inet Team,
Im faceing same boot-time issue, and let me ask , is this same boot time for GL-AR300M now?
and is this "clean" firmware still available now?

kuniyoshimegane · 2024-11-06T02:03:20.244Z

Hi, I hope someone is watching this conversation.

bruce · 2024-11-06T02:33:55.871Z

Hi,

With the GL firmware v4.3.18, AR300M NAND about 100 seconds. As the hardware performance is mediocre for now, and current v4.x firmware, system feature is also relatively large.

I haven't seen any 'clean firmware' that GL release. Probably it is the third-party firmware or vanilla OpenWRT?

May I know what are the usage scenarios and why do you care about boot time?
If you are concerned about it, please consider the stronger performance router model.

kuniyoshimegane · 2024-11-07T08:11:07.835Z

Hi, I just found in this conversation above, @alzhao mentioned about the optimization in the kernel can reduce boot time, but this conversation was done at 7 years ago...

My application is to mount to a industrial vehicle and provide connectivity, and power supplied from the vehicle. Vehicle is turned off when not in use. And only when it is using, it will be powered on. The driver/system connects to the system each time to check the task, and the system monitors the status of the vehicle. However, each time you will have to wait for a long startup time.

The reason why we choose this is because of its small size and perfect fit to the vehicle.

alzhao · 2024-11-07T08:26:26.185Z

Unfortunately Linux kernel is upgrade during this 7 years and boot slower.

kuniyoshimegane · 2024-11-07T08:52:59.317Z

I see. Thank you for your reply and would appreciate your advice.

I will try on my side, Is there any possibility to speed up the time by uninstalling plugins, applications? For example, we don't use VPN.
Or does it not make sense to remove plug-ins, applications because of the long kernel boot time?

Can we downgrade the kernel or firmware to speed up the boot time?
Is it possible to try firmware from 7 years ago?

What other models have faster boot times?

Appreciate your advice.

alzhao · 2024-11-07T09:16:08.403Z

kuniyoshimegane:

Is there any possibility to speed up the time by uninstalling plugins,

Not too much. What you can do is the check the init scripts in

/etc/rc.d/
/etc/modules-boot.d

Remove unnecessary init scripts and modules.

kuniyoshimegane:

Can we downgrade the kernel or firmware to speed up the boot time?
Is it possible to try firmware from 7 years ago?

Yes. This will be the most efficient way to reduce boot time.
Depends on what model you have, you can find old openwrt firmware from openwrt website.
The older, the faster.
https://downloads.openwrt.org/

kuniyoshimegane · 2024-11-07T10:38:22.288Z

@alzhao Thank you for your advice, I will try to down grade OpenWRT.
Is the GL inet firmware need to downgrade as well?

alzhao · 2024-11-07T11:03:24.874Z

Yes. It is a firmware that you need to replace the stock firmware completely.