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Remote Powering


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Guest Ayere
Posted

Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

 

I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time, but

it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office it

is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the NIC to

wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the reason

we turn it off.

 

I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable suggestions.

Any ideas?

 

Thanks,

Ayere

  • Replies 15
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Guest John John
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

Check the hardware documentation, you can power up a pc remotely with

Wake-on-LAN.

 

John

 

Ayere wrote:

> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>

> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

> but it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my

> office it is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on

> and off? I thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and

> configuiring the NIC to wake up for activity, but the security of

> leaving it offline is the reason we turn it off.

>

> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

> suggestions. Any ideas?

>

> Thanks,

> Ayere

Guest sgopus
Posted

RE: Remote Powering

 

Yes set the NIC to wake on Ring, and leave the pc in standby/hibernate mode

 

"Ayere" wrote:

> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>

> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time, but

> it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office it

> is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

> thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the NIC to

> wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the reason

> we turn it off.

>

> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable suggestions.

> Any ideas?

>

> Thanks,

> Ayere

>

>

Guest Paolo Francese
Posted

RE: Remote Powering

 

If your hardware support Wake On LAN you could use software like PowerOff to

turn on and off your remote PC.

You can download PowerOff from here:

http://users.pandora.be/jbosman/applications.html

 

bye

 

"sgopus" wrote:

> Yes set the NIC to wake on Ring, and leave the pc in standby/hibernate mode

>

> "Ayere" wrote:

>

> > Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

> >

> > I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

> > another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time, but

> > it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office it

> > is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

> > thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the NIC to

> > wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the reason

> > we turn it off.

> >

> > I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable suggestions.

> > Any ideas?

> >

> > Thanks,

> > Ayere

> >

> >

Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

John John wrote:

> Check the hardware documentation, you can power up a pc remotely with

> Wake-on-LAN.

>

> John

 

When Wake-on-LAN is enabled, you send a "Magic Packet" from your local

computer. LAN chips come equipped with various options to wake them up,

and some offer better choices than others. In the worst case, if you

don't like how the backup machine LAN chip works, you can buy a PCI

Ethernet card and try it instead.

 

(Some nice background info to get you started)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_packet

 

There are two methods for the Wake-on-LAN NIC card to wake the computer.

In the old days, there was a (three wire?) cable, that connected from

the PCI LAN card, to a special motherboard header.

 

Motherboards with PCI 2.2 compliant (or later) slots, have a signal

called PME in the slot. That signal takes the place of the three wire

cable, and has the added advantage, that any PCI slot can be used to

wake the computer. You check the BIOS, and look for either the word

PME or something to do with PCI wakeup function, and make sure it is

enabled. Wake-on-LAN cannot work, unless the setting in the BIOS

is enabled.

 

The two methods don't mix. If you have an old motherboard, with the

three pin wake header, you need an older NIC card. If you have a

recent motherboard in the backup machine, you'd want a modern NIC

card with PME on the PCI edge connector.

 

Using the LAN chip on the motherboard, renders this discussion of

PME a non-issue, at least in terms of the wiring. But if you

simply cannot get reasonable operation from the built-in LAN chip,

is shouldn't cost much to fix it.

 

The backup machine won't eliminate the need for offsite storage

of backups, and I presume you have a disaster recovery plan for

the business. For example, if the power supply goes crazy and the

12V rail burns all the disks in the backup machine, all your backups

are gone to hardware heaven. Similarly, a fire could take out

your backups as well. There should be more to your plan, than

just that machine.

 

Paul

>

> Ayere wrote:

>> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>>

>> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the

>> time, but it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving

>> to my office it is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick

>> it on and off? I thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and

>> configuiring the NIC to wake up for activity, but the security of

>> leaving it offline is the reason we turn it off.

>>

>> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>> suggestions. Any ideas?

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Ayere

Guest Bob I
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

In addition to the other "Wake on LAN" suggestions, you could configure

the PC to Wake itself up on the BIOS timer and then shut it back off

with Task Scheduler or remotely

 

Ayere wrote:

> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>

> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

> but it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my

> office it is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on

> and off? I thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and

> configuiring the NIC to wake up for activity, but the security of

> leaving it offline is the reason we turn it off.

>

> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

> suggestions. Any ideas?

>

> Thanks,

> Ayere

Guest David B.
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

Nics don't wake on ring, modems do.

 

--

 

----

Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

How to ask a question http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

How to Post http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

"sgopus" <sgopus@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:5A64FABA-8D00-4CA1-9339-C2BF7876EBD4@microsoft.com...

> Yes set the NIC to wake on Ring, and leave the pc in standby/hibernate

> mode

>

> "Ayere" wrote:

>

>> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>>

>> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

>> but

>> it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office

>> it

>> is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

>> thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the NIC

>> to

>> wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the

>> reason

>> we turn it off.

>>

>> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>> suggestions.

>> Any ideas?

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Ayere

>>

>>

Guest Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

I'll add that another option is to use an X10 appliance module which has

the advantage of isolating the box from power line surges... in the wake

on lan/ring solutions, the power supply is on and the motherboard is

receiving power albeit not full operating power.

 

In addition, it's stone simple to impliment ;-) (...although you do

need to have enough smarts to shutdown or hibernate the box before

cutting the power remotely.)

 

If you use this, you need to set the bios to assure that the machine

will power up after a power failure.

 

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

 

"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message news:f8r378$rar$1@aioe.org...

> John John wrote:

>> Check the hardware documentation, you can power up a pc remotely with

>> Wake-on-LAN.

>>

>> John

>

> When Wake-on-LAN is enabled, you send a "Magic Packet" from your local

> computer. LAN chips come equipped with various options to wake them up,

> and some offer better choices than others. In the worst case, if you

> don't like how the backup machine LAN chip works, you can buy a PCI

> Ethernet card and try it instead.

>

> (Some nice background info to get you started)

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_packet

 

Hi Paul,

 

Thanks for the detailed response, and please forgive the delayed reply. Time

seems to be at great premium these days. I haven't had time to check in to

or implement the information you've provided here, but wanted to get back

before too long and tell you thanks for the time you spent providing all

this detail. A nice start indeed. I do have questions about security and

such, i.e. could someone outside of the network send the 'magic packet' and

access the system or would the router config take care of that (not creating

the allowances in the router set up)?

 

I would be applying the PCI method, since my mainboard (Asus P4B266)

supplies PCI 2.2. I found one NIC with PME here, but the reviews reveal some

caveats:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124120

 

Do you know of any reliable card you feel good about recommending? Also, I

assume that the 'PME' card will handle both WOL *and* file transfers (i.e.,

I won't need a separate card for the remote power up)? That being the case,

I would be looking for a gigabit card to connect to my Netgear Gigabit

switch.

> The backup machine won't eliminate the need for offsite storage

 

Yes, I agree. I have an 2 external drives which I rotate to an off site

location (not nearly often enough...). I also place redundants on multiple

machines in the office.

 

Again, thanks for your helpful advice!

 

Ayere

 

 

 

>

> There are two methods for the Wake-on-LAN NIC card to wake the computer.

> In the old days, there was a (three wire?) cable, that connected from

> the PCI LAN card, to a special motherboard header.

>

> Motherboards with PCI 2.2 compliant (or later) slots, have a signal

> called PME in the slot. That signal takes the place of the three wire

> cable, and has the added advantage, that any PCI slot can be used to

> wake the computer. You check the BIOS, and look for either the word

> PME or something to do with PCI wakeup function, and make sure it is

> enabled. Wake-on-LAN cannot work, unless the setting in the BIOS

> is enabled.

>

> The two methods don't mix. If you have an old motherboard, with the

> three pin wake header, you need an older NIC card. If you have a

> recent motherboard in the backup machine, you'd want a modern NIC

> card with PME on the PCI edge connector.

>

> Using the LAN chip on the motherboard, renders this discussion of

> PME a non-issue, at least in terms of the wiring. But if you

> simply cannot get reasonable operation from the built-in LAN chip,

> is shouldn't cost much to fix it.

>

> The backup machine won't eliminate the need for offsite storage

> of backups, and I presume you have a disaster recovery plan for

> the business. For example, if the power supply goes crazy and the

> 12V rail burns all the disks in the backup machine, all your backups

> are gone to hardware heaven. Similarly, a fire could take out

> your backups as well. There should be more to your plan, than

> just that machine.

>

> Paul

>

>>

>> Ayere wrote:

>>> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>>>

>>> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>>> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

>>> but it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my

>>> office it is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on

>>> and off? I thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and

>>> configuiring the NIC to wake up for activity, but the security of

>>> leaving it offline is the reason we turn it off.

>>>

>>> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>>> suggestions. Any ideas?

>>>

>>> Thanks,

>>> Ayere

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

 

"John John" <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in message

news:O1LtLiI1HHA.4932@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Check the hardware documentation, you can power up a pc remotely with

> Wake-on-LAN.

>

> John

 

Thanks, John.

>

> Ayere wrote:

>> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>>

>> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

>> but it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my

>> office it is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and

>> off? I thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring

>> the NIC to wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline

>> is the reason we turn it off.

>>

>> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>> suggestions. Any ideas?

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Ayere

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

 

"sgopus" <sgopus@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:5A64FABA-8D00-4CA1-9339-C2BF7876EBD4@microsoft.com...

> Yes set the NIC to wake on Ring, and leave the pc in standby/hibernate

> mode

 

I'd rather power down.

 

Thanks!

 

>

> "Ayere" wrote:

>

>> Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>>

>> I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>> another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the time,

>> but

>> it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office

>> it

>> is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

>> thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the NIC

>> to

>> wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the

>> reason

>> we turn it off.

>>

>> I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>> suggestions.

>> Any ideas?

>>

>> Thanks,

>> Ayere

>>

>>

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

 

"Paolo Francese" <francese at polito dot it> wrote in message

news:3A7898D8-F3CA-409A-AF1C-ADB9A4B3FB93@microsoft.com...

> If your hardware support Wake On LAN you could use software like PowerOff

> to

> turn on and off your remote PC.

> You can download PowerOff from here:

> http://users.pandora.be/jbosman/applications.html

 

 

Hi Paolo,

 

Thanks for the link. The problem is that the scheduled times won't work for

me. I need to be able to power up and down as desired.

 

Ayere

 

 

>

> bye

>

> "sgopus" wrote:

>

>> Yes set the NIC to wake on Ring, and leave the pc in standby/hibernate

>> mode

>>

>> "Ayere" wrote:

>>

>> > Not exactly sure which group to post this in...:

>> >

>> > I have an XP SP2 PC that I use exclusively for backups. It resides in

>> > another part of the building. We don't want to leave it on all the

>> > time, but

>> > it's an annoyance to have to physically turn it on (moving to my office

>> > it

>> > is not practical). Is there a way I can remotely kick it on and off? I

>> > thought about allowing it to sleep or hibernate and configuiring the

>> > NIC to

>> > wake up for activity, but the security of leaving it offline is the

>> > reason

>> > we turn it off.

>> >

>> > I know I've just kicked the legs out from under some probable

>> > suggestions.

>> > Any ideas?

>> >

>> > Thanks,

>> > Ayere

>> >

>> >

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

 

"Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]" <BevNoSpamBevHoward.com> wrote in

message news:e2Xy1gR1HHA.1100@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> I'll add that another option is to use an X10 appliance module which has

> the advantage of isolating the box from power line surges... in the wake

> on lan/ring solutions, the power supply is on and the motherboard is

> receiving power albeit not full operating power.

>

> In addition, it's stone simple to impliment ;-) (...although you do need

> to have enough smarts to shutdown or hibernate the box before cutting the

> power remotely.)

 

 

HI Beverly,

 

Thanks for the response. I google the X10 appliance you suggest, but it

seems as though going to the machine to shut it down before I remotely power

it off sort of defeat the purpose of the 'remote' aspect...

 

Thanks,

Ayere

 

> If you use this, you need to set the bios to assure that the machine will

> power up after a power failure.

>

> Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

Ayere wrote:

>

> Hi Paul,

>

> Thanks for the detailed response, and please forgive the delayed reply.

> Time seems to be at great premium these days. I haven't had time to

> check in to or implement the information you've provided here, but

> wanted to get back before too long and tell you thanks for the time you

> spent providing all this detail. A nice start indeed. I do have

> questions about security and such, i.e. could someone outside of the

> network send the 'magic packet' and access the system or would the

> router config take care of that (not creating the allowances in the

> router set up)?

>

> I would be applying the PCI method, since my mainboard (Asus P4B266)

> supplies PCI 2.2. I found one NIC with PME here, but the reviews reveal

> some caveats:

>

> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124120

>

> Do you know of any reliable card you feel good about recommending? Also,

> I assume that the 'PME' card will handle both WOL *and* file transfers

> (i.e., I won't need a separate card for the remote power up)? That being

> the case, I would be looking for a gigabit card to connect to my Netgear

> Gigabit switch.

>

>> The backup machine won't eliminate the need for offsite storage

>

> Yes, I agree. I have an 2 external drives which I rotate to an off site

> location (not nearly often enough...). I also place redundants on

> multiple machines in the office.

>

> Again, thanks for your helpful advice!

>

> Ayere

>

 

The problem I have, looking at the Newegg products, is I cannot tell what

chip they use. Otherwise, for the ones that have a datasheet, like an

Intel chip, you could look up what kind of packet detection features

it has got.

 

Wake on LAN is an additional feature, besides all the standard packet

transferring stuff. So in that sense, any NIC card is a NIC card

first and foremost. There are some NIC cards, that wake up when

*any* packet is received. And that is not the function you are

looking for. (I have a Gigabit Ethernet built into the motherboard

and it uses an Intel chip. I have "Wake on Link" disabled, which would

wake up more than you would want. The WOL function is set to "OS

controlled", so in fact it doesn't say whether it is looking for a

standard Magic Packet or not, but I would presume so.)

 

I'd take a chance on an Intel NIC card. There is one for $30 which

is Gigabit. Recognize, that a gigabit interface, like the other

speeds, can be run "full duplex". If, in actual fact, both

directions were running full blast, that is more bandwidth than a

PCI slot can handle. The link, as a result, could not run full blast,

but would run at perhaps half speed in each direction. If you are

mainly transferring data in one preferred direction, like doing a

backup, you'll get to use most of the link bandwidth. The PCI

slot might deliver 110-120MB/sec. And there is an assumption about

the OS as well. The machine I'm typing on, uses Win2K, and the

upper limit across Gigabit, is about 40MB/sec. (I've tested that

using two RAM disks as source and sink.) I understand WinXP can do

better in that regard. But at least some backup software is dog-slow

(5MB/sec), so perhaps all this worry about the link speed is not the

real issue.

 

Paul

Guest Beverly Howard [Ms-MVP/MobileDev]
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

each of the suggested approaches has it's drawbacks;

 

wake on lan... setup bios and assure a wake on lan compatible card, plus

the software to send the magic packet

 

wake on ring... requires dedicated telephone line and will also respond

to wrong numbers

 

x10 requires manual shutdown or living with with ramifications of power

off with os loaded.

 

Beverly Howard [MS MVP-Mobile Devices]

Guest Ayere
Posted

Re: Remote Powering

 

Thanks again, Paul, for all the details. You've given me a great start.

 

Ayere

 

 

"Paul" <nospam@needed.com> wrote in message news:f92jsu$s4p$1@aioe.org...

> Ayere wrote:

>>

>

>> Hi Paul,

>>

>> Thanks for the detailed response, and please forgive the delayed reply.

>> Time seems to be at great premium these days. I haven't had time to check

>> in to or implement the information you've provided here, but wanted to

>> get back before too long and tell you thanks for the time you spent

>> providing all this detail. A nice start indeed. I do have questions about

>> security and such, i.e. could someone outside of the network send the

>> 'magic packet' and access the system or would the router config take care

>> of that (not creating the allowances in the router set up)?

>>

>> I would be applying the PCI method, since my mainboard (Asus P4B266)

>> supplies PCI 2.2. I found one NIC with PME here, but the reviews reveal

>> some caveats:

>>

>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124120

>>

>> Do you know of any reliable card you feel good about recommending? Also,

>> I assume that the 'PME' card will handle both WOL *and* file transfers

>> (i.e., I won't need a separate card for the remote power up)? That being

>> the case, I would be looking for a gigabit card to connect to my Netgear

>> Gigabit switch.

>>

>>> The backup machine won't eliminate the need for offsite storage

>>

>> Yes, I agree. I have an 2 external drives which I rotate to an off site

>> location (not nearly often enough...). I also place redundants on

>> multiple machines in the office.

>>

>> Again, thanks for your helpful advice!

>>

>> Ayere

>>

>

> The problem I have, looking at the Newegg products, is I cannot tell what

> chip they use. Otherwise, for the ones that have a datasheet, like an

> Intel chip, you could look up what kind of packet detection features

> it has got.

>

> Wake on LAN is an additional feature, besides all the standard packet

> transferring stuff. So in that sense, any NIC card is a NIC card

> first and foremost. There are some NIC cards, that wake up when

> *any* packet is received. And that is not the function you are

> looking for. (I have a Gigabit Ethernet built into the motherboard

> and it uses an Intel chip. I have "Wake on Link" disabled, which would

> wake up more than you would want. The WOL function is set to "OS

> controlled", so in fact it doesn't say whether it is looking for a

> standard Magic Packet or not, but I would presume so.)

>

> I'd take a chance on an Intel NIC card. There is one for $30 which

> is Gigabit. Recognize, that a gigabit interface, like the other

> speeds, can be run "full duplex". If, in actual fact, both

> directions were running full blast, that is more bandwidth than a

> PCI slot can handle. The link, as a result, could not run full blast,

> but would run at perhaps half speed in each direction. If you are

> mainly transferring data in one preferred direction, like doing a

> backup, you'll get to use most of the link bandwidth. The PCI

> slot might deliver 110-120MB/sec. And there is an assumption about

> the OS as well. The machine I'm typing on, uses Win2K, and the

> upper limit across Gigabit, is about 40MB/sec. (I've tested that

> using two RAM disks as source and sink.) I understand WinXP can do

> better in that regard. But at least some backup software is dog-slow

> (5MB/sec), so perhaps all this worry about the link speed is not the

> real issue.

>

> Paul


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