WOL over internet help

[Gillbot]

Ok, I had it set up and working via WAN, then it just stopped. I'm not sure if it was working by accident or what but regardless I have no idea how to get it to work again.

The setup is WRT54G router with stock linksys firmware. Current router address is 192.168.100.254 and the subnet is 255.255.255.0. I have been using this site for the WOL command: http://www.depicus.com/wake-on-lan/woli.aspx. I have dyndns set up so I don't need to track my actual IP address. Everything works locally so WOL is configured properly, it just doesn't work via WAN.

I believe for a "broadcast all", I need to send the magic packet with MAC address to my IP with an open port identified, such as 2222. I need have the router configured to open the port 2222 forwarded to the internal IP of 192.168.100.255 but the linksys firmware doesn't allow an entry for 255, it maxes at 254. I can forward the port to the IP of the machine but if the machine is off, there is no ip for the router to forward to so nothing happens.

Any ideas?

 

[JackMDS]

The port has to be forward toward the IP of the computer that is ready for WOL.

http://www.ezlan.net/WOL.html

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
The port has to be forward toward the IP of the computer that is ready for WOL.

http://www.ezlan.net/WOL.html

I've tried that, the issue is the machine will not wake up. Since the "off" PC has no IP, I think the router is dropping the packet.

 

[JackMDS]

Did you try first to use the WOL locally (the MAC address in the WOL GUI has to be the one of the computer that need to be waked, and it can Not be Wireless computer).

The Linksys WRT54G stock firmware does not do DHCP reservation.

If your Router is compatible with DD-WRT firmware, flash it and then you can do IP reservation.

The IP reservation is according to MAC, and IP, so the Router would retain the info even if the computer is Off.

The MAC address is available because the WOL capable Network card of the computer keeps it on the Network.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
Everything works locally so WOL is configured properly, it just doesn't work via WAN.

Everything is fine locally, I can use the WOL client inside the network and the machine wakes up via MAC just fine.

I have all my machines currently set to static IP but the WOL via WAN does nothing even with ports forwarded to each machine individually.

 

[Gillbot]

Ok, I have three machines i'm trying to configure this on. It fails on all three.

My "server", IP 192.168.100.101
My "main rig", IP 192.168.100.100
My HTPC, IP 192.168.123.169

I have ports forwarded to each in the linksys port forward setup.
1111 goes to 192.168.100.101
2222 goes to 192.168.100.100
3333 goes to 192.168.100.169

WOL via WAN will not wake up any machine.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Did you try first to use the WOL locally (the MAC address in the WOL GUI has to be the one of the computer that need to be waked, and it can Not be Wireless computer).

The Linksys WRT54G stock firmware does not do DHCP reservation.

If your Router is compatible with DD-WRT firmware, flash it and then you can do IP reservation.

The IP reservation is according to MAC, and IP, so the Router would retain the info even if the computer is Off.

The MAC address is available because the WOL capable Network card of the computer keeps it on the Network.

Alternatively, tomato does this also (same as DD-WRT). I just looked at the GUI setup of my Asus router (running Tomato 1.23). Just make sure that the WRT54G is version 4 or less (version 1 to 4).

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

WOL via WAN will not wake up any machine.

1. Can you wake each one of them by itself locally from one computer to the other?

2. If you can, did you try actually to do the WOL from another location, or you are using the External IP from you own Network?

 

[Engineer]

From ...

here (click me)...

Configuring the router

Fortunately I found this blog n01getsout.com which provided the solution. In the Linksys web configuration, you have to specify the subnet for the LAN DHCP pool as 255.255.255.128. You then configure the port forward (on any port, 5850 was one suggestion of a free port) to forward to xxx.xxx.xxx.127 which will forward the magic packet to all PCs on the network. The MAC address within the packet ensures that only that the specified PC turns on. Note: the WakeOnLan packet is not port specific so the destination port does not actually matter.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: JackMDS

Originally posted by: Gillbot

WOL via WAN will not wake up any machine.

1. Can you wake each one of them by itself locally from one computer to the other?

2. If you can, did you try actually to do the WOL from another location, or you are using the External IP from you own Network?

They all can be powered up from within the network individually.

Originally posted by: Engineer
From ...

here (click me)...

Configuring the router

Fortunately I found this blog n01getsout.com which provided the solution. In the Linksys web configuration, you have to specify the subnet for the LAN DHCP pool as 255.255.255.128. You then configure the port forward (on any port, 5850 was one suggestion of a free port) to forward to xxx.xxx.xxx.127 which will forward the magic packet to all PCs on the network. The MAC address within the packet ensures that only that the specified PC turns on. Note: the WakeOnLan packet is not port specific so the destination port does not actually matter.

Will changing my subnet from 255.255.255.0 to 255.255.255.128 have any adverse affects? I an completely unfamiliar with subnets and IP address workings.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Will changing my subnet from 255.255.255.0 to 255.255.255.128 have any adverse affects? I an completely unfamiliar with subnets and IP address workings.

I'm not a networking guy but if I had to guess, I would say that it would cut your usable IP range from down to 126 (192.168.0.1-192.168.0.126 for example), but that's just a guess.

 

[JackMDS]

Leave alone the subnets and the IPs they have nothing really to do with the WOL.

The WOL works according to the MAC address. Actually you do not need even to open 3 ports one port would be enough since through it the packets would go in and affect only the computer with the MAC address as entered into the WOL GUI of the packets.

I never did this with stock firmware WRT54G with all due respect the WRT54G Sux, the only reason that they climb to fame is the capacity to be flashed with DD-WRT (then they are Good).

From the links put by Engineer it seems that the stock WRT54G has some problem with broadcasting the MACs.

This is a screen shot of an Old WRT54G it is flashed with the pre DD-WRT firmware called HyperWRT-tufo

That is the way the WOL menu look like, and it works very well, http://www.ezlan.net/example/wrt54g-wol.jpg

As you can see under the table the only variable that is relevant to the WOL is the MAC address.

P.S. Whatever you do you have also to try it from another location, most Router do not support tying locally an external IP that suppose to loop back to the same Network.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: JackMDS
Leave alone the subnets and the IPs they have nothing really to do with the WOL.

While that may be true, the purpose of changing the subnet mask (according to the OP of the link that I posted) was to allow the "all broadcast" to work (i.e. xxx.xxx.xxx.255) which is not possible to do on a stock Linksys router (no xxx.xxx.xxx.255 allowed). I do agree, however, that I would flash with DD-WRT or Tomato and get rid of the headaches with the standard firmware!

 

[Gillbot]

I have tried it from an external location, it DOES NOT work.

I am NOT flashing my firmware on my router either, I spent better than an hour de-bricking it last time that was attempted.

The problem lies within the WRT54G in that when you send it a packet, when the the port forward is ipen on IP is not active, it disregards the packet. You cannot open port 255 because the firmware doesn't accept that, only up to 254. You need to trick it into broadcasting to all ports, which is what i'm trying to do.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
I have tried it from an external location, it DOES NOT work.

I am NOT flashing my firmware on my router either, I spent better than an hour de-bricking it last time that was attempted.

The problem lies within the WRT54G in that when you send it a packet, when the the port forward is ipen on IP is not active, it disregards the packet. You cannot open port 255 because the firmware doesn't accept that, only up to 254. You need to trick it into broadcasting to all ports, which is what i'm trying to do.

I assume you mean ip ending in 255 (all broadcast - 192.168.100.255 in your case), not port 255?

I've searched and it seems that most if not all Linksys routers suffer from the issue described and the only solution that I found was tricking it into forwarding ip ending in 255 by masking the subnet.

 

[Gillbot]

Correct,
I tried changing the subnet to 128, that was a disaster. Many machines wouldn't communicate between each other. I just decided to put it back to 255.255.255.0 and try to battle with upgrading to HyperWRT thibor. Hopefully it has a fix for the WOL issue.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
Correct,
I tried changing the subnet to 128, that was a disaster. Many machines wouldn't communicate between each other. I just decided to put it back to 255.255.255.0 and try to battle with upgrading to HyperWRT thibor. Hopefully it has a fix for the WOL issue.

The reason that nothing would communicate is that you had your HTPC and router IP numbers ending in a number higher than 126 (based on your previous posts). You would need to change the IP's of those (all) devices IP's ending in 126 or lower. You would probably have to change the subnet on each PC to 255.255.255.128 also (but that's a guess on my part since you aren't using DHCP).

Also, if you're looking for an easy firmware, I recommend looking at Tomato but make sure that your WRT54G is version 4 or lower (will not work on versions 5 and higher).

Good luck!

 

[Gillbot]

WRT54G Ver 2, I've used HyperWRT before so I'll give it a run. Also, I have 6 machines online right now, none of them would communicate with each other nor the internet so I must have screwed something up somewhere. I got HyperWRT on it and see the WOL setting, I guess you need to use remote management and let the router wake the PC up. Works for me I guess, I just need to test it at work tomorrow. Otherwise the wife will have to walk downstairs and push the power button again. LOL!

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
WRT54G Ver 2, I've used HyperWRT before so I'll give it a run. Also, I have 6 machines online right now, none of them would communicate with each other nor the internet so I must have screwed something up somewhere. I got HyperWRT on it and see the WOL setting, I guess you need to use remote management and let the router wake the PC up. Works for me I guess, I just need to test it at work tomorrow. Otherwise the wife will have to walk downstairs and push the power button again. LOL!

There also may be an option to place static IP's into the router via MAC address so that router will remember them even if off. You can then forward ports to them on a permanent basis. Not sure if HyperWRT has this feature or not.

Version 2 will take tomato (I've got it on a version 2 right now) just in case. Edit: was reading about HyperWRT and found out that Tomato was originally based off of HyperWRT, lol!


I wouldn't leave the router remote interface open on the web but that's just me!

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: Gillbot
WRT54G Ver 2, I've used HyperWRT before so I'll give it a run. Also, I have 6 machines online right now, none of them would communicate with each other nor the internet so I must have screwed something up somewhere. I got HyperWRT on it and see the WOL setting, I guess you need to use remote management and let the router wake the PC up. Works for me I guess, I just need to test it at work tomorrow. Otherwise the wife will have to walk downstairs and push the power button again. LOL!

There also may be an option to place static IP's into the router via MAC address so that router will remember them even if off. You can then forward ports to them on a permanent basis. Not sure if HyperWRT has this feature or not.

Version 2 will take tomato (I've got it on a version 2 right now) just in case. Edit: was reading about HyperWRT and found out that Tomato was originally based off of HyperWRT, lol!


I wouldn't leave the router remote interface open on the web but that's just me!

That's what i'm trying to avoid but all other efforts seem futile. Since HyperWRT took, I guess I can give tomato or DD-Wrt a try. Any suggestions? I prefer HyperWRT due to it's stock "appearance" and ease of use.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: Engineer

Originally posted by: Gillbot
WRT54G Ver 2, I've used HyperWRT before so I'll give it a run. Also, I have 6 machines online right now, none of them would communicate with each other nor the internet so I must have screwed something up somewhere. I got HyperWRT on it and see the WOL setting, I guess you need to use remote management and let the router wake the PC up. Works for me I guess, I just need to test it at work tomorrow. Otherwise the wife will have to walk downstairs and push the power button again. LOL!

There also may be an option to place static IP's into the router via MAC address so that router will remember them even if off. You can then forward ports to them on a permanent basis. Not sure if HyperWRT has this feature or not.

Version 2 will take tomato (I've got it on a version 2 right now) just in case. Edit: was reading about HyperWRT and found out that Tomato was originally based off of HyperWRT, lol!


I wouldn't leave the router remote interface open on the web but that's just me!

That's what i'm trying to avoid but all other efforts seem futile. Since HyperWRT took, I guess I can give tomato or DD-Wrt a try. Any suggestions? I prefer HyperWRT due to it's stock "appearance" and ease of use.

Well, DD-WRT has many more features, but Tomato is much more simple and, IMO, had a cleaner layout.

Also, from what I can tell, you need to add each PC (that you need WOW for) in as a permanent IP address using the MAC address into the tomato router and then forward a (the) port necessary for WOW to that PC. Since the router will have a permanent IP assigned to that MAC address, it will always send the forwarded port even if the PC is off.

DD-WRT may have a better system, but I'm not familiar with it.

 

[Gillbot]

Well, my last tangle with DD-WRT ended quite badly and I spent a considerable amount of time de-bricking my router. Maybe i'll shoot for tomato and see how that goes.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Gillbot
Well, my last tangle with DD-WRT ended quite badly and I spent a considerable amount of time de-bricking my router. Maybe i'll shoot for tomato and see how that goes.

Just be careful as to which version of Tomato that you use. There are now two versions...a standard version and a "ND" version. ND = New Driver and is only compatable with certain routers. IIRC, there is something about it and how to determine on the Tomato site.

Edit: Looks like you would use the NON ND verion. I have an Asus router and it uses the ND version. I'll have to remember not to flash my WRT54G at the same time as my Asus and end up bricking one or both, lol!

 

[Gillbot]

There are now many versions of DD-WRT also, which may be the cause of my headaches the other night. :laugh:

Luckily it had the reflash tool and original firmware from linksys to revive it.

 

[JackMDS]

At this point it is starting to turn into Video type of argument (nVidea - ATI. etc.).

I have many Routers variety of Brands and models, some are with stock firmware many with DD-Wrt and the one I took a screen shot with HyperWRT.

How come? Cuz whatever the Router with HyperWRT needs to functionally do, it does it with HypwerWRT (that was flash into it 3 or 4 years ago) and there is No reason to waste time and energy and risk the system when ever someone else wrote a new firmware.

So use what ever you are comfortable with personally if I need currently to flash I use DD-WRT.

From all the flashing I ever did this HyperWRT is the easiest.

http://www.linksysinfo.co.uk/thibor/