RAK4631 (WisBlock / RAK19007) freezes after ~1–2 days when node list grows large

[Basti77]

Hardware
RAK4631 WisBlock Core (nRF52840 + SX1262)
RAK19007 Base Board
868 MHz

+8 dBi omnidirectional antenna

powered via Solar and Lion Battery

Firmware versions tested

MeshCore 1.12

MeshCore 1.13

MeshCore 1.14

All versions show the same behaviour.

Description

My node runs fine initially but freezes after about 1–2 days.
After the freeze the node does not respond anymore and only a reboot fixes it.

The location is in a RF shadow for transmitting, but reception is extremely good.
With the +8 dBi antenna I receive a very large number of nodes (sometimes even traffic from England). Because of this the node list grows very large.

When the node list approaches ~200 entries the device eventually freezes.

Observations

RX is very strong (large number of nodes received)

TX range is limited due to terrain shadow

Node list grows continuously

freeze happens after ~24–48 hours

reboot restores normal operation

behaviour is identical across firmware 1.12–1.14

Configuration

Frequency: 868 MHz

Hop limit reduced to 12

No external sensors connected

Only LoRa + BLE used

Additional notes

The same hardware runs Meshtastic for months without any stability issues, even during summer temperatures.
So this appears to be specific to MeshCore.

My suspicion is that the node list grows too large and eventually causes a memory issue on the nRF52840 (256 KB RAM).

Questions

Is there currently a limit for the node table size?

Is there a way to automatically prune old nodes?

Would it make sense to add a maximum node limit (e.g. 100–150 entries)?

Is there a watchdog or auto-reboot option available?

If needed I can provide logs or additional information.

[gjelsoe]

Are you running Companion firmware?

It has a limit of 350 Contacts and max of 40 Channels for Companion firmware.

Defined by in PlatformIO.ini for your variant.

  -D MAX_CONTACTS=350
  -D MAX_GROUP_CHANNELS=40

It should overwrite of entries.

[Basti77]

Thanks for the clarification.

I am using the companion firmware because I currently rely on an existing relay in the network. Setting up my own relay is not really practical for my location.

My node is in a RF shadow for transmitting, so I need a +8 dBi omni antenna just to be heard by that relay. Because of the antenna and the location the receive side is extremely good, so the node hears a very large number of nodes (sometimes traffic from NL and even UK).

Due to this the node table keeps growing even though:

auto-add nodes is disabled

public channels are disabled

the node is configured to only react when mentioned

So it looks like nodes are still added to the internal node table whenever a packet is received.

Once the node table grows to around ~200 entries the device eventually freezes on my RAK4631 (nRF52840).

My intention is not to run a relay myself, but simply to reach an existing one. Because of the strong reception environment the node ends up seeing a large part of the network.

Would it be possible to implement automatic pruning or a configurable node table limit (for example 100–150 nodes)?
That would likely prevent memory exhaustion on nRF52840 devices in high-RX environments like this.

[recrof]

I suspect flash corruption - please export your config, factory reset and import settings back.

[Basti77]

I have now reflashed the hardware to repeater mode. Let's see if it runs better or more stable.

But I had already thought about the flash erase with the companion version.

[NickNYC123]

I got the same freeze (node list is only about 10) after 3 days. Had to climb on the roof and reboot it : (

[weebl2000]

I got the same freeze (node list is only about 10) after 3 days. Had to climb on the roof and reboot it : (

Can you try the firmware mentioned in #2019 it should hopefully fix nRF52 devices getting stuck. It's not going to solve the root problem but it will would prevent hanging and simply reset 60s after it notices a hang.

[ipduffy]

Possibly related to #2089 also. I was experiencing BLE stack hangs with my Wisblock where the blue light would be solid even though my iPhone / MC app was not connected.