ASUS RT-N18U · firmware 386.3_3

SmartWAN Manager

Local Docker panel for SmartWAN, ASUS Dual WAN, VPN, DMZ, failover monitoring, diagnostics, backups, and router automation over SSH.

Launch interactive demo Open repository Installation
SmartWAN Manager interactive demo administrative panel Interactive demo · open panel →
SAFE BROWSER SANDBOX

Test the panel before installing it

Demo online

Explore the original Raspberry Pi panel interface without connecting to a router. The demo is built from the same panel component, network map, Aurelka mascot, styles, and animations. It starts in Expert mode and uses fictional ASUS RT-N18U, Starlink, Orange Fiber, VPN, device, routing, backup, and log data.

DEMO USERNAMEdemo
DEMO PASSWORDdemo
English / Polski11 panel sectionsWAN failure simulationAurelka reactions
Open interactive panel

Everything runs locally in the browser. Demo controls never contact your router or save real credentials.

Administrative panel

This panel was created for ASUS RT-N18U running version 386.3_3 of the unofficial gzenux Asuswrt-Merlin RT-N18U firmware line. The firmware must be installed and prepared before SmartWAN Manager is connected. Most applied settings continue to operate on the router after the panel is stopped: SmartWAN rules and presets, router-side watchdog and failover, managed VPN/DMZ policy, and Merlin hooks.

Keep the container running for WAN country/location checks, Cloudflare DDNS, Tailscale access, persistent WAN-event archiving, the public status/network map, and Aurelka notifications.

SmartWAN

Presets, domain/CIDR/source rules, 1-second default watchdog, 2 failures to switch, and 3 successes to return.

ASUS Dual WAN

Port roles, load balance or failover, ratios, service groups, validation, and conflict previews.

VPN and remote access

OpenVPN Server 1/2 policy and profiles, Tailscale subnet routing, and Cloudflare DDNS.

Safety

Ed25519 keys generated in the panel or with SSH Key Forge, host fingerprint checks, automatic backups, restore preview, and managed Merlin hook blocks.

Dashboard

Router resources, WAN health, Internet probes, persistent events, logs, and route visualization.

Network map

Read-only trusted-LAN preview, active devices, per-device routes, WAN state, and VPN downloads.

Managed DMZ

WAN-aware inbound and return routing with follow-failover or preferred-WAN-only behavior.

Guided setup

Model/firmware detection, change preview, safety backup, confirmation, script installation, and apply.

Container management

Manage SmartWAN Manager and other Docker hosts locally or remotely with hattimon/DCC.

REQUIRED BEFORE SMARTWAN INSTALLATION

Prepare the router firmware first

SmartWAN Manager extends the supported Asuswrt-Merlin RT-N18U firmware; it does not flash or upgrade firmware. The underlying project brings Asuswrt-Merlin features to the ASUS RT-N18U, based on the official RT-N18U GPL codebase. Starting with 384.9, its version numbers do not map directly to official Asuswrt-Merlin releases.

STABLE RELEASE386.3_3

An unmodified copy is preserved in the hattimon fork so the SmartWAN-supported firmware remains available if the upstream file is moved or removed.

SHA-256 · F6C6DC222B0EC089AC913B3BF75108947B06A91462CA336424EB28BA028A318A
  1. Read and back upReview the firmware instructions and save the current router configuration before making changes.
  2. Prepare official AsusWRTIf the router still uses official AsusWRT, first upgrade it to 3.0.0.4.382.52288.
  3. Install Merlin 386.3_3Upload the supported RT-N18U firmware separately through the ASUS web interface.
  4. Reset and configure cleanlyAfter switching firmware, use the hardware reset button. Do not restore settings saved under another firmware version.
  5. Enable SSH and JFFSEnable SSH and custom JFFS scripts/configs. SmartWAN Manager can then install its scripts, configuration, presets and managed Merlin hooks.

Firmware installation is performed at the router owner's risk and may affect the warranty. SmartWAN Manager only manages scripts and settings after the firmware preparation is complete; it does not replace the firmware image or bootloader.

Download preserved firmware copy Download from original source Read firmware installation note View upstream firmware project
CROSS-ROUTER COMPATIBILITY

Other ASUS routers with Asuswrt-Merlin

ASUS RT-N18U with firmware 386.3_3 is the only validated and supported target today. Other models from the official Asuswrt-Merlin supported-model list can be evaluated as experimental candidates only when their own interface provides Dual WAN.

VALIDATED

RT-N18U · 386.3_3

Full reference platform for scripts, NVRAM, Dual WAN, watchdog, VPN/DMZ policy and recovery behavior.

EXPERIMENTAL CANDIDATE

Official Merlin + Dual WAN

Dashboard, SSH diagnostics, JFFS hooks and observe-only monitoring have the best portability.

REQUIRES MODEL TEST

Managed routing changes

Dual WAN Apply, failover, port mapping, DMZ and VPN policy depend on each platform's NVRAM, route tables and firewall.

The architecture is portable because the panel uploads POSIX shell scripts over SSH, stores them under /jffs/addons/smartwan.d, uses standard Merlin hooks and discovers live WAN interfaces from NVRAM. But applying settings also writes Dual WAN NVRAM, restarts WAN and manages ip rule, ip route and iptables; it is not merely a file uploader.

Compatibility gate for another model

  • Official Asuswrt-Merlin support and Dual WAN visible in the router UI.
  • SSH and JFFS custom scripts enabled; working services-start, firewall-start, nat-start and wan-event.
  • Two detected WAN units with interfaces, gateways and separate policy-route tables.
  • nvram, ip and iptables available; full router/JFFS backup made first.
  • Initial run with SmartWAN disabled or in Observe only mode—without Setup Wizard or Dual WAN Apply.

Candidate families include RT-AX, GT-AX, RT-AX Pro, ZenWiFi Pro and RT/GT-BE models listed by the official project. This is not a certification list. Newer 3006.102 platforms require separate validation, and an RT-N18U backup or preset must never be restored on another model.

Official supported models Asuswrt-Merlin features Merlin user-script hooks

Aurelka — guardian of both WAN links

Aurelka eye colors for healthy, checking, one-WAN-down, and both-WANs-down states

Each eye represents one WAN. Green means healthy; orange means checking, stale or missing data, or recovery confirmation; red means that WAN is down. Aurelka identifies the failed link, changes her expression and bulb, and—when sound is enabled—quietly purrs while both WANs are healthy. The purr fades out during checking or an outage; Aurelka then meows twice and repeats every 30 seconds. New local messages and WAN state changes also pulse the notification bulb.

Install on Raspberry Pi, Ubuntu, or WSL 2

Complete the router firmware preparation before installing the Docker panel. The following commands install SmartWAN Manager only; they do not install firmware on the router.

Recommended: 64-bit Linux, 2 GB RAM, 2 GB free storage, Docker Engine with Compose v2, Git, wired LAN, and SSH reachability to the router. A Pi 3B+ with 1 GB and swap is a practical minimum; Pi 4/5 with 2 GB+ is preferred. 

git clone https://github.com/hattimon/SmartWAN-Manager.git
cd SmartWAN-Manager
cp .env.example .env
docker compose up -d --build
docker compose exec smartwan-manager node server/setPanelPassword.js admin 'replace-with-a-strong-password'

Open http://<host-address>:8888. In WSL 2, open http://localhost:8888.

Optional Tailscale networking on Linux with /dev/net/tun:

docker compose -f docker-compose.yml -f docker-compose.tailscale.yml up -d --build

See the complete installation, feature, security, and operation guide in the repository README.