Wake on Lan

[The late XV105]

When I am elsewhere in the home and need to wake my W7 x64 Media Center PC from S3 sleep I do so by using the Wake on Lan Magic Packet Sender from MagicPacket.free.fr that is installed on each laptop and netbook.

This works reliably, but gives rise to two questions:


Given that it is only this PC that I ever need to wake, I would like a single click utility instead of requiring two clicks (One to open the utility and give the opportunity to choose the remote device, and one to press Send). Leaving the dialogue open, ready to press Send if required, is not an option. Web searches haven't found a utility or technique to do this, so I wonder if a fellow PPRuNer can help, please? This is not a problem in the slightest - just me wanting to fine tune the process and remove screw-up possibilities before I introduce it to the rest of the family! :)
When invoking WOL from my laptop whilst it is connected to the office via Palo Alto Global Connect VPN, it doesn't work because instead or hunting around on my home network for the I.P and MAC addresses it needs to find, it does so by taking a walk around the Corporate network. As soon as Pal Alto is disconnected, WOL works again. In case relevant: of the available options,the Magic Packet Sender is using subnet mask 0.0.0.0 (direct broadcast) and UDP.


Thanks for any pointers,
TLXV

[mixture]

WoL is OSI layer 2.... i.e. you need something on the same subnet to send the packet.

Trying to use any form of layer 3 mechanism (VPN or otherwise) to send the packet directly won't cut it.

In the business world it's fairly simple, pick a server on the subnet and use that to send your WoL packets. Not an option in your average domestic setting.

Consider BIOS tweaks for boot on power cycle in conjunction with a power switch or.... if such a thing exists and is compatible with your kit .... a third party IPMI card.

[The late XV105]

Thanks, mixture.

My surprise was that the magic packet even "saw" the VPN connection, my understanding being that internet traffic always attempted connection "locally" first and only if this failed, then tried the VPN connection. Although this was based on running a traceroute command in a DOS window with and without VPN active but with the same destination and watching the hops, your reply informs that there is more to it.

I guess I'll have to live with it as the laptop is (per inference) not my property and although I have a very understanding and tolerant employer, they won't thank me for BIOS hacks or installing other cards.

Cheers,
TLXV

[mixture]

Just re-read your post.

VPN clients can be configured so that they prevent you sending local traffic and VPN traffic at the same time (in order to prevent you from copying across data locally, or your employer being subject from scans and viruses from your local network).

So rather than going over the VPN, I suspect your wol packets are just being quietly dumped until such time as you disconnect from the VPN.

[The late XV105]

Thanks, mixture. It is still odd though because my work laptop has full home network connectivity even when VPN is active and connected to the gateway. As an example of this, I routinely use Windows Explorer to locate a server share in our HQ and then copy and paste the document I need, the pasting being to a NAS share on my home network. I also do the converse.

Next time I'm in the office I'll have a word with our IT guys to see what they might have configured that allows the above but stops WOL.