Remote Computer Power Up

[TJF1960]

Interesting link. I just checked to see if I had those services installed and checked, they were not checked. Didn't have to port forward the router or open port 9 either.

 

You do not have to enable internet access either.

 

Have you tryed unchecking the services? What about using the ip sniffer to see if the packets are getting to your computer?

[Teken]

I wanted to chime in as well. I can not get this WOL to work either? I am using Windows Ultimate 32 bit edition.

 

All of the above settings mirrors the other users . . . Can someone who has it working chime in because this is quite embarrassing as I come from a network environment.

 

Teken . . .

[ih574]

As I understand, WOL is strictly a Layer 2 (ethernet) function. Layer 3 (IP) should not matter. The Layer 2 (ethernet) packet simply needs to contain the MAC address somewhere in the packet (so it can be constructed as an IP/UDP packet, but doesn't have to). Also, since the OS is not running when the computer is off, there is no Layer 3 portion of the stack even available. The only intelligence the NIC card has is knowledge of its own MAC address. So the NIC can only look for a Layer 2 packet that includes its MAC address.

 

All that said, I would return all my IP and firewall settings to normal. Also, make sure the target machine is on the same LAN (broadcast domain) as the ISY. If you have a router between the LAN of the target and the LAN of the originator, WOL will not work without special provisions for forwarding the WOL packet, which I have not seen in simple Linksys or inexpensive routers.

 

Another possibility is the inability of some router models to forward special broadcast packets on their Layer 2 switch ports, especially if the originator is wireless. I have a few cheap Monoprice wireless routers which I turn on for various uses. Some of these do a poor job of forwarding wireless DHCP broadcast packets through their switched ports, even though the DHCP server is on the same Layer 3 (IP) subnet. WOL appears to be a similar type of broadcast, so it could be a limitation of the router.

 

So, I might recommend 1) using a conventional switch versus a router to see if that worked and 2) don't use wireless for originator or target until you figure it out on a wired network.

 

Its likely you know all this, but just in case . . .

 

Regards,

 

Tom C.

http://www.outcropacres.com

[paauto]

I think you got it. I have several wireless routers in my house. The ISY is connected to a different router than the PC I am attempting to wake. I will replace the router with a switch that I have laying around to see if that fixes it. I'll let you know...

[Teken]

I was connected to a computer down stairs on the same network via a tethered connection. Still no go at this point, I will look into firewall settings, and port forwarding.

 

Teken . . .

[paauto]

I don't think you need to worry about port forwarding so long as the initiating computer is on the same LAN as the ISY, but perhaps someone more knowlegable can advise...

 

I think my issue (I have many, ha ha) has to do with the fact that my ISY is connected to a router (router 2) which in turn is connected to anothe router (router 1). The PC I am trying to wake up is connected to router 1. So, if Tom is correct, the WOC packet would need to pass thru 2 routers to get to the PC, which appears to be the issue. I am going to add a network switch at the PC I am trying to wake, and will move the ISY to that network switch. I'll report back to see if it works.

[ih574]

I wanted to clarify some ideas from my post above. When I said "If you have a router between the LAN of the target and the LAN of the originator," I meant a device which routes packets from one Layer 3 (IP) network to another. In other words, I consider a router a device that connects two or more IP subnets (e.g., 192.168.5.0 to 192.168.8.0 or 172.16.0.0). Typically, folks have only one true router in their home networks and that is the one that connects the ISP provided network (on the Internet or WAN side of a home router) to your home network (typically 192.168.x.0). The rest of the Cat 5 ports (and all wireless "ports") on a home router are typically switch ports, which should act as the Layer 2 (ethernet) network. There is no "routing" going on between the switch ports - those ports are "switching." Additionally, all switch ports should be in the same broadcast domain, meaning that if any broadcast packet is sent from one port, it will be repeated on all switch ports, including wireless ports.

 

If you connect one home router to another by its switch ports and they are all part of one IP subnet, then the WOL packets should be broadcast on all ports. Where I have had issues with low cost home routers is with their ability to actually broadcast packets on all switch ports. For example, DHCP requests that come from wireless devices are either not forwarded to other switch ports (where the DHCP server is) or the reply from the DHCP server is not forwarded to the wireless ports. The same thing may be happening with WOL broadcast packets. A Wireshark sniff will let you know.

 

r-

 

Tom C.

http://www.outcropacres.com

[paauto]

When I have some time later today I will hook up a switch at my PC and see if that fixes the issue.

 

That said, I did submit a ticket to UD and they are now informing me that WOL will not start up a computer that has been completely shut off and that it only works for computers that are hibernating. That was the point of this thread in the first place - how can I turn on my computer remotely after a power outage? I know that I can set a switch in Bios to turn the computer on after a power outage, but my issue is I have a UPS which shuts the computer off in a controlled fashion once a power outage occurs, so that won't work.

 

Thoughts anyone? Is it true that WOL will not start a completly shut down computer? I can see a light on the NIC when the computer is off, so it is getting some type of power.

[paauto]

By the way, when I say I have several routers what I really have is one primary router (that distributes IP address) and two linskys wireless routers that are essentially access points (i.e. they are plugged into the primary router via an ethernet cable via a WAN port).

[andyf0]

When I have some time later today I will hook up a switch at my PC and see if that fixes the issue.

 

That said, I did submit a ticket to UD and they are now informing me that WOL will not start up a computer that has been completely shut off and that it only works for computers that are hibernating. That was the point of this thread in the first place - how can I turn on my computer remotely after a power outage? I know that I can set a switch in Bios to turn the computer on after a power outage, but my issue is I have a UPS which shuts the computer off in a controlled fashion once a power outage occurs, so that won't work.

 

Thoughts anyone? Is it true that WOL will not start a completly shut down computer? I can see a light on the NIC when the computer is off, so it is getting some type of power.

 

I work for HP in the commercial notebook engineering department (please, no snarky comments ). Our commercial notebooks support WOL from standby and hibernation but not off.

 

That said hibernation puts the system into an off state so there's no technical reason why an OEM couldn't support it from off. It's just a bit in a chipset register.

[paauto]

Good news and bad news.

 

I was able to get the ISY to wake the computer from a hibernate state (sleep) with the current configuratin I have (i.e. the ISY is hooked up to a second wireless router that serves as an access point and the PC I am waking up is connected to my main router - the one that assigns IP addresses).

 

It does not appear that my network card allows the computer to be turned on when it is in a shut off state. Bummer b/c my objective was to be able to power it up remotely after the power went out and I was travelling. I do a lot of remoting in and need the thing on.

 

The good news is that in messing around with the Bios I found an option to have the machine power up on certain days at a specific time. I set it to power up everyday at 8 AM, thinking if there is a power outage and I am out of town, the worse case scenario is I will have to wait until the next day for the thing to power up so I can remote in. Now I'm wondering what will happen when it trys to power up if it's already on. Tell you tomorrow!!

 

Anyway, on to irrigation next...

[ih574]

Paauto,

 

I could have led with this, but the network stuff is more fun to troubleshoot.

 

I have an old IBM PC in the garage that is configured to Power On after Power Loss in the BIOS. The BIOS option is under Power and under the "After Power Loss" setting. It is set to Power On. I then have that PC along with a couple of AV Receivers powered by an Insteon ApplianceLinc. When the ApplianceLinc turns on (by a program or a few KeyPadLincs around the house), the PC starts up and starts playing music. I think that's what you are after.

 

r-

 

Tom C.

[TJF1960]

Thoughts anyone? Is it true that WOL will not start a completly shut down computer? I can see a light on the NIC when the computer is off, so it is getting some type of power.

This has not been my experience. My Compaq tower does support wol (surprisingly since it is a very inexpensive machine) and the ISY will start it when it is in the off state and has been doing so for the last 5 months every day. Before that the last computer my wife had also supported wol and the ISY woke it up every day as well.

 

Laptops and notebooks may be a different story since they are battery powered, so I could see wol only working for those when they are in hibernation. In your original post you didn’t mention that your dell was a laptop or tower, I assumed tower since it was connected to a ups.

 

So the long and short of it is I have to disagree with the info you were given. At the same time however I have no idea why wol is not working for you from an off state yet it does for me, and I am assuming a lot of others as well.

 

Tim

[andyf0]

In addition to BIOS settings you should also check the Properties of your NIC in Device Manager. Under the Power Management tab make sure the Wake On LAN and Wake On Magic Packet is checked. Also go into the custom NIC driver settings (Advanced Tab), sometimes there are Wake On xxx settings also. If there is an Enable PME setting, that should be enabled.