WOL

[Tom Metro]

Jerry Feldman wrote:
> I actually tried to configure my desktop system to...wake up using a
> Wake-On_LAN signal from one of the BLU servers. ...I was not able to
> get it working from inside of my LAN.

I haven't looked at the WOL protocol, but I'm pretty sure it is
something that operates at the Ethernet layer, and thus not something
that'll pass through your router. Lets see...yup:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_on_lan#How_it_works

It's a layer 2 packet fired at a MAC address.

However the article also has a section on "Wake on Internet":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_on_lan#Wake_on_Internet

where it talks about either using a VPN to extend the reach of the LAN,
or custom firewall rules to let the packet cross your WAN router.


When setting up a router recently with the Tomato firmware, I noticed it
has a WOL tool, which lets you issue "magic" WOL packets to any of the
client machines it knows about. Documentation here:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Tomato_Firmware/Menu_Reference#WOL_.28Wake_on_LAN.29

Live demo here:
http://lampiweb.com/tomato/tools-wol.htm

I don't see any GUI for scheduled wakeups, but they do have a command
line tool to send the WOL packet, and support cron scripts.

Should be easy to do likewise with any third party firmware that provide
shell access.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA
"Enterprise solutions through open source."
Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/