Developer Blog 1: The Future of DumaOS: Version 3.0

[bacevedo]

Last year we released our first major update for DumaOS, Milestone 1.3. You guys loved it, so we quickly got to work on the next milestone, packing it full of features to make your Nighthawk Pro Gaming Router even more powerful.

Instead of a milestone update, we will instead be releasing a new version, DumaOS 3.0, and it marks the biggest leap forward in our history. It will contain a huge amount of features never seen before on a router. Instead of just sending out each of the features piece by piece, we needed to wrap them all up into one giant release. We will explain why soon 😉 (but don't worry, there are no plans to do an EA!).

We know you guys will want to get your hands on 3.0 as soon as possible and we are working very hard to make this happen. But until we are sure, the release date is ‘to be confirmed’. But in the meantime, here is a teaser one of the many features coming to your router in 3.0: Data History.

With Data History you can see how much bandwidth you’ve used over time and drill-down to see which devices and/or applications are eating up all your data or find out how many hours you spent gaming over the weekend. If you are under a data cap, you can also see if you are nearing your monthly limit.

This is just a small glimpse into 3.0. We will be gradually revealing more features so keep an eye out for more developer blogs from us.

Big things are coming.

Thank you for your support.
The Netduma Team

[IRONEAGLE777]

 An auto forwarding function screen for multiple Consoles would be a game changer! Port settings get over lapped too easily in the UPnP screen resulting in a console getting kicked to moderate NAT or STRICT NAT. Then the user has to uncheck the Auto UPnP box ☑ to reset the ports numbers and restart the consoles. Having the this service would make it a new industry standard! Management and releasing frustrating NAT issues is what everyone is looking for. - IRONEAGLE777

[Rick6922]

I think a high percentage of people that spent big money on a gaming router has unlimited internet, hope us guy and gals are not spending to much time and resourses on things like that. lol   I think you should stick to the selling points of the router, a better gamming experince. 

[Netduma_Alex]

We're expanding DumaOS beyond just gaming. We're trying to make the best router operating system around.

[Rick6922]

it would be nice if the gaming part was perfected before going off on any other type of stuff, I mean it is the nifgthawk GAMING router. just my opition .

[Rick6922]

I sure you guys know this already and the numbers are not out for 2019, in the top 2 games sold in 2018 , call of duty was one of them. if  you could maybe fix the geo-filter for cod,  that would be a good start.  

[OlegP]

Hey, any actual ETA on any of this because like everyone else on these support forums I'm really losing my patience with the XR500 router? The list of bugs and glitches is just unacceptable in a $300 piece networking equimpent, especially since there haven't been any timely firmware updates of any acutal substance at all.

I still can't use IPv6 without killing off the router's main QOS features. The USB print share still doesn't work at all on the latest Windows build. Fugly and sometimes broken UI. The Network Monitor is a joke and so is the Device Manager since neither of them are giving accurate readings at all. These are just a few things that I can think off the top of my head at the moment as I'm writing this and I can only imagine what surprises that other users are enduring.

XR500 is trully a gift that keeps on giving the longer you use it. At this point the product really seems like a half-baked abandonware that's constantly riding on top of empty promises. I don't know whether Netgear or Netduma is to blame here, but neither one of them will own up to the problems and provide a solid answer.

Data History? Seriously? For F's sake. Fix your product. Patch out the bugs so that we can actually use the damn router like it was originally intended. Unfortunately, I feel it's all just falling on deaf ears and these routers are abandoned like the rest of Netgear's consumer grade line of products.

[Netduma-Fraser]

We're optimising the cloud for CoD at the moment and so we'll be able to release that automatically when ready - no need for an update. We can't give any estimations on deadlines as they're always subject to change and could cause disappointment. The 3.0 update includes reworking of existing features which in itself should resolve any current issues.

[Rick6922]

sounds good, tks.

[YT-xIndicaxHigh]

Can you add to this update where I can pick the closest server to me! I live in Washington an In Call of Duty. I keep connecting to the Origon Server for the COD Datacenter in California. When the router should root me to the Seattle one when I have Filter Mode on. I feel that Geo-Filter has not been working right when I set my Matchmaking to a 500 Mile Radius an have my State in the entire Area to Canada so I can avoid being connected to the Origon server or the one in Los Angela's. Unless I'm not understanding what Geo Filter does. But it does give me the ping I desire I'd like to get lower than 30 if possible. I'm for sure if I'm always connected to the Seattle Modern Warfare server my ping ingame should be 15ms instead of keep connecting to the one in Los Angela's that gives me 30ms.

[YT-xIndicaxHigh]

I wanna report two bugs tho.

In device manager sometimes it doesn't see my Console pop up as active on the landline itd be stuck on offline when I'm literally have it turned on over a wired connection!

Geo-Filter keep putting me on a date center that's not in my Geo Filter area. It sometimes go out of my "Filtered" Area an connect me to a server I dont wanna be one. Sense I'm literally an hour from seattle. Which is a big hub for gaming data servers its keeps rooting me to the ones in Oregon & Los Anglas when that's not in my Filter Area. Definitely something that needs to be fixed In this 3.0 update!


Added features I'd like is a force host mode. Where in curtain games that do Peer to Peer aka Call of Duty. Itd be awesome where I could tell my router to make me host the lobby everytime. So pretty much it start out as myself in the lobby aka that means imma host it. Than its connect players to my end instead of me being on there end.

Another feature I'd like is to be able to have a option to have geo Filter find me players close to my state like it search for players in Washington to my region in the country if you know what I mean by this. It crap that I keep getting players outside where there ping is like 60-100ms an there connect is so bad that my shots don't register on em because there internet sucks. Pretty much a feature itd find me players near me like in Filter mode but a Advanced Version of the Search Radius. That you can toggle.

Another great one is where I can set my Ping-Assist lower than 30. That would be a GAMECHANGER. Sense where I live I'm an hour from the biggest Game Server hub which is seattle! Please add this in 3.0 where i can set the ping assist Lower than 30ms! It's great to have it search me for 30ms games. But I like to go lower than 30.

[FURRYe38]

If your having problems with the router, please contact NG support and let them know what your having problems with. Ask for an RMA. 

https://www.netgear.com/mynetgear/registration/login.aspx

NG doesn't post when future FW updates for forthcoming. 

---

@OlegP wrote:

Hey, any actual ETA on any of this because like everyone else on these support forums I'm really losing my patience with the XR500 router? The list of bugs and glitches is just unacceptable in a $300 piece networking equimpent, especially since there haven't been any timely firmware updates of any acutal substance at all.

I still can't use IPv6 without killing off the router's main QOS features. The USB print share still doesn't work at all on the latest Windows build. Fugly and sometimes broken UI. The Network Monitor is a joke and so is the Device Manager since neither of them are giving accurate readings at all. These are just a few things that I can think off the top of my head at the moment as I'm writing this and I can only imagine what surprises that other users are enduring.

XR500 is trully a gift that keeps on giving the longer you use it. At this point the product really seems like a half-baked abandonware that's constantly riding on top of empty promises. I don't know whether Netgear or Netduma is to blame here, but neither one of them will own up to the problems and provide a solid answer.

Data History? Seriously? For F's sake. Fix your product. Patch out the bugs so that we can actually use the damn router like it was originally intended. Unfortunately, I feel it's all just falling on deaf ears and these routers are abandoned like the rest of Netgear's consumer grade line of products.

---

[Netduma-Fraser]

The Geo-Filter does get you the closest server currently, you may be experiencing issues with mislocated servers but we'll be doing a cloud update soon to resolve this so you may find that improves then. The Device Manager issue we are aware of so that will be fixed. Not sure I understand the Geo-Filter issue, this may be Ping Assist connecting you to games outside your radius. You won't be able to force yourself to be host - this would also be considered cheating. You can only force the server you connect to not the players, you can't influence other peoples connections. You can set the Ping Assist to lower than 30 but depending on your location, base ping etc you may not get a game under this.

[YT-xIndicaxHigh]

How is force host cheating! Me always being the host of the games makes my ping lower. So I just dont know how its cheating when I'm making my latency even lower because I'm the host of the game!

Another thing Ping Assist doesn't work on PC for Modern Warfare. Just went to a lobby today an I have it set to 30ms with no fast search an i got into a lobby with 70ms with Filtered mode on. At a 311 Radius. Sense seattle is my closest server. That need a fix as well if that can be done with this update. I never use fast search unless I'm playing a old game like Advanced Warfare. I have it toggled off for Modern Warfare. So I wanted to notify you that. I know there's a COD server in Seattle which I'm a hour away from.

[Netduma-Fraser]

Forcing yourself to be host gives you an advantage over everyone else, it's also not possible to do as it's primarily a server based game anyway. Did you set Ping Assist prior to loading up the game or while you were on the game? If you do it while the console is off and then try does it work correctly?

[YT-xIndicaxHigh]

The advantage for a force host option is lower ping means your shots register before his does that's a good advantage. Why should my KD or Overall stats suffer because they cant afford good speeds or have a good internet setup. Like I pay for equipment to get my ping as low as possible so I can have a edge against players. Force host is not cheating in my book an should be a future feature for DumaOS to all P2P games like Call of Duty. COD Matchmaking isnt the best anyways. All itd do is always make you the host of the game which would = best ping in the lobby because you be the one hosting the game. which is a great advantage an definitely ain't cheating because your trying to accomplish a faster connection & responsiveness Ingame. I personally dont like losing to someone with high ping or a bad network setup. Its hella unfair & frustrating.

Not trying to bash people with this but if your internet cant handle a game like COD which every lobby is competitive anyways. Do not play the game. Because I dont want to be the one dying from you because I cant hit you because your lagging so bad on my screen. Delt with this too many times on MW2 an MW3.

I hope you understand my point man & not trying to bash people but honestly Call of Duty is not for casual people anymore an its common sense to not try to play a game if your internet is not sufficient to handle it.

[Netduma-Fraser]

I do understand your point but if we were to allow people to force themselves to become host every time then you could use the router to cheat by fluctuating the connection so much making others lag. This happened on Halo 2 way back on the day and was a widely used cheating technique. CoD uses dedicated servers anyway so this wouldn't be possible but I understand why you'd want it.

[YT-xIndicaxHigh]

Ok Call of Duty does not run multiplayer lobbys on a Dedicated server the lobbys run on Peer to Peer. It's been that way for ages. The server that's Dedicated is just a backend to help the person host the game on their network. But the entire lobby is hosted on somebody consoles or PC Machine on their network.


If Call of Duty run on REAL Dedicated we would have a Server Browser. Host Migrations wouldn't exist when somebody ragequits an it needs to find a new host to host the game. Itd be just like battlefield plus they run 24/7 an never say Most Migration in progress when the player that hosts the game leaves. If you have bad internet it just say you disconnected from the server an everybody can still play without the annoying "Host Migration in Progress" an if the person has a bad ISP internet package an they got other people using the network eating bandwidth that could impact everybody in the lobby causing high latency matches. Or cause bs moment's where I put 5 bullets in a dude an he still kills me first when I was lighting him up.


The host problem can be altered where they cant make people lag the game. All I want it for is to pretty much put me in my own lobby aka I'll host the game because my internet is good enough an can provide the best connection. I'm not wanting to cheat I want it because I'm tired of joining games with people with either "Bad Network Setups" or "Horrible ISP Speed Package". I bet there is a way you guys can figure out how to make host option. You guys have degrees in that type of field to figure that stuff out.


Like our mothers taught us Nothing is impossible if you try. Like instead of making it like a real Force host. Why not make it where you tell the game you prefer to be host of the game. Which that setting could provide the Best Ping & Connection an Responsive that every competitive player desires. You know what I man. I'd rather host the game knowing my speeds are good enough to handle everybody than let some randy host the game an have a bad setup an a bad Package that they pay for.

[Netduma_Alex]

Sorry but i'm pretty sure Call Of Duty does actually use dedicated servers. The reason they don't allow you to use a server browser is because they use skill based matchmaking so heavily. It's possible that they use a hybrid system which involves some peer connections, but I know that they do have dedicated servers.

You say "Why not make it where you tell the game you prefer to be host of the game."... You make it sound simple, but unfortunately this wouldn't be possible. In order to control the game's preferences, we would have to have direct control of the game. The Geo-Filter works by limiting the connections that the game is allowed to make, essentially tricking the game into thinking the unwanted servers just don't exist. We cannot change the game's preference for hosting a game, that is something that only a developer or hacker could do.

And as previously mentioned, we are always very careful to not make any tools that enable cheating. We're interested in letting people get the best connection they can, but I think that forcing the game to make you the host, even if it was possible, would cross the line into cheating territory.

[DRU732]

100% agreement with OlegP

I've had the XR500 since it came out and the only meaningful Duma update I see is the ability to view my Network Map as a table vs the tree map ... which is a visual mess if you have many computers/phones/people/iot/smarthome devices.  I've pursued both Duma forums and Netgear forums ... and there is a lot of finger pointing back and forth.  It's not clear who owns the underlying router functions

This router might be good in a house 10-20 devices, but more than that and sometimes the visual interface makes everything more difficult.

• Lookup a device by MAC addresss?  nope
• Export a device list? nope
• Sort by MAC address or IP?  nope
• Updated device types? (camera, iot, SmartHome, switch/hub/extender ...) nope
• Device names that stay tied to MAC address?  nope
  • Devices that I have named, frequently return as "unnamed device"
• Usable logging?  nope
  • If "Marking a marked device" is a dev message not meant for me (the user), give me a checkbox to filter it out
  • Seriously 90% of my logs are "Marking a marked device", should I have to export the file to excel and manually filter it out to figure out if I am getting DDOS/intrusion traffic?
• Ability to monitor OpenVPN connections to the router?  nope
  • Router doesnt show connected devices
  • IP range is outside of DHCP, and non-configurable
  • ...

[Netduma-Fraser]

Some of the things you've mentioned are possible such as sort by MAC/IP and some will be possible in future updates. It's important to remember that we wanted to create an easy to use gaming router, things like logs do not affect gameplay performance at all. More niche/usual router functions like that can come later based on customer feedback which we listen to constantly.

[DRU732]

I understand your goals and I am glad your product exists.  I'm a gamer and I do appreciate some of the gaming centric functions.  However I think the gaming functions can't exist in a vacuum without some of the basic router functions too. It's like you are building the Ferarri of routers, for Gamers, that can go 300mph... but there are no headlights, rearview mirror, and you can't parallel park in it.

I'm curious how many gamers would have a separate internet connection for this router, and only have gaming devices connected to it?  Most people are buying this router because they game ... AND they have a house full of non-gaming devices that also need be managed and connect to the internet.

Is there any way to know what version of Duma my XR500 has currently?

[Netduma-Fraser]

The actual DumaOS version or the firmware version? We removed the DumaOS version from System Information as it was unneeded and confused matters as the versions weren't using the same format.

[Alewi]

Heloo great team of dumaOS!
Is there any possible date available for the launch
of dumaOS 3.0 ?

[Netduma-Fraser]

Hi Alewi, we don't have a date but we will be releasing some sneak peeks soon so keep an eye on our social media and forum.