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Demonstration Video
VNCScan allows you to wake up
computers on your network using "magic packets". At least one
other product that uses VNC has a version of this technology with one
major shortcoming ... You must know the MAC address of the destination
computer for theirs to work.
This is not required with
VNCScan because while it's scanning your network and detecting VNC, it
is also logging the MAC address into an XML file. This means that
at any time in the future, you can simply right-click the computer and
choose "Wake on LAN" and within moments, the computer will be alive and
responsive.
You may need to configure
your network cards to listen for these magic wakeup packets because most
computers are shipped with that feature disabled.
Here is a video that we put together to show
you how to enable this technology on your computers. Although
every network card is a little different, the steps to configure this
are pretty much the same. An Overview of Remote PC Wake-Up
Most modern network adapters have
the ability to wake a computer (switch it on from a low-power state) in
response to an event such as the reception of a particular packet on the
network.
Wake-on-LAN is a technology which
allows an adapter to wake a machine when a special MAGIC PACKET (TM)
frame is received on the network.
As well as supporting Wake-on-LAN,
Windows 98/2000 supports the OnNow
initiative, which provides
support for general packet match wake-up plus wake-up on LAN cable
removal/connection. Windows 2000 provides the NIC driver with templates
of frames to match which will cause the NIC to wake the machine, for
example an ARP request for the computer's IP address.
ACPI Power Management
The Advanced Configuration and Power Interface,
a specification from Microsoft, Intel, and Toshiba (with support from
many participating PC and networking industry vendors), is designed to
extend and standardize the power management and Plug-and-Play
capabilities on the PC platform. ACPI provides a standards-based
platform that enables network managers to remotely administer and manage
PCs through the network connection from a single network management
console. For details, see the ACPI Advanced Configuration and Power
Interface website
http://www.acpi.info/index.html.
Wake-On-LAN
Wake-On-LAN is IBM's initial strategy for
remotely powering on and configuring a PC through a network management
application. Whereas ACPI's remote wake-up capability utilizes the PCI
bus to send the wake-up signal from the LAN connection to the PC system,
Wake-On-LAN requires a cable connection inside the PC from the network
adapter to the motherboard.
Wake-on-LAN uses a special 3-wire
cable fitted to the adapter and the computer motherboard to supply the
adapter with auxiliary power when the computer is shutdown and to enable
the adapter to signal wake-up events to the computer. Computers which
support the latest PCI power management specification support an extra
PCI bus (PME) which the adapter can use to signal wake-up events rather
than requiring a Wake-on-LAN cable.
OnNow
OnNow is a Microsoft initiative
designed to enable the instant availability of the PC, regardless of its
current power state. ACPI-compliance in the PC is a requisite capability
for OnNow. To achieve this functionality in a networked environment, the
PC's network adapter must also be ACPI-compliant.
MAGIC PACKET™
MAGIC PACKET™
is a protocol devised by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to trigger the
remote wake-up of the PC via the network connection. Wake-On-LAN's
remote wake-up function relies on the MAGIC PACKET™
being transmitted over the network connection to initiate the system
wake-up sequence; ACPI can also utilise the MAGIC PACKET™,
as well as other Power Management techniques.
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