Wake-on-Lan on OS 9.2.2

1. Ceebee - 31 March 2006

   Hi, I have two G4's, each with OS 9.2.2 and OS X (10.2.8). I'm trying to wake them up with magic packets -- one works, the other doesn't. As far as I can tell, I've configured all the relevant settings the same (i.e., checked "wake on network administrative access," made sure tcp/ip and appletalk are set to use Ethernet, etc.).

   The 733MHz G4 always wakes up when I send it the magic packet (I'm using wol.exe from http://www.gammadyne.com/cmdline.htm on a windows machine). The Dual 1-GHz G4 does not wake up if I've gone to sleep from OS 9.2.2, but it DOES wake up if I've gone to sleep from OSX 10.2.8, so that seems to rule out that the network card isn't compatible or that there are connection or hardware problems.

   Are there other settings that I should be checking are identical? Or does anyone know of certain configurations or extensions that prevent wake-on-lan?

   Background: I am trying to wake the machines at night for a daily backup. Users often run them in OS9 when they need to run certain apps. I thought about that maybe these apps are leaving files open, etc., but I've tried going to sleep right after a clean boot and still can't wake it up. In all cases, tapping the mouse or the keyboard wakes the computer up fine.

   Other info that may or may not be relevant: both machines have DAVE filesharing software, v.4.1. For everything I could think to check, the DAVE settings are configured identically (except for the name, of course). Also, both machines are configured for DHCP and the "DHCP Client ID" setting is blank. Both are getting registered on the DHCP server with the correct MAC address.

   Any help or ideas are greatly appreciated.
   Thanks much!

   Cee Bee

2. Ceebee - 4 April 2006

   Anyone have an idea?

   Is there another group I ought to try?

   Thanks,
   Ceebee

3. Michael Vilain - 4 April 2006

   If you're an Apple Developer, you could post this on their support forums. My guess is that the MacOS 9 IP stack doesn't supports out-of-band communications so that a packet can "wake up" the sleeping hardware.

   Good luck. You'll probably have to code your own solution here.

   DeeDee, don't press that button! DeeDee! NO! Dee...

4. Ceebee - 5 April 2006

   Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, OS9 does support Wake-on-LAN. It works fine on the other machine, a 733MHz G4 OS9.2.2, just not on the Dual 1GHz G4 OS9.2.2. I think there is some configuration difference that is preventing it from working, but can't think where else to look for differences. I might try swapping hard drives between the two and seeing whether it works that way.

   -Ceebee

5. Ceebee - 11 April 2006

   In case anyone with the same problem finds this post...

   The working G4 was on a 10/100 switch. The sometimes-working G4 was on a 100 BaseT hub.

   I think the problem had to do with the way the different OSes put the network card to sleep.

   If put to sleep from OSX, the sleeping card would still maintain an active ethernet link with the 100 BaseT hub, and so would see the magic packet.

   If put to sleep from OS9, the sleeping card lost the link to the 100 BaseT hub. However, when I switched it to a 10/100 switch, it maintains the link even when it's asleep, and so sees the magic packet and wakes up.

   It also works when connected to a 10BaseT switch.

   All I can imagine is that the sleeping network card (which is 10/100) loses its ability to auto-negotiate the link speed when it's put to sleep from OS9, but somehow keeps that ability when put to sleep from OSX. When it can't auto-negotiate, it must default to a 10 BaseT protocol.

   This is bizarre, to say the least. I would have thought the asleep state would be the same whether initiated from OS9 or OSX. It's the same hardware.

   The other possibility is that it had to do with half- vs. full-duplex. The hub is half-duplex. Both switches are full duplex. Maybe it only talks full duplex when it is put to sleep from OS9.