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Setting up a System w/ Wake-on-LAN and VNC?

Posted by Cliff on from the systems-on-demand dept.

andrebsd asks: "I'd like to make myself some sort of webpage where I could startup my system with 'Wake on Lan', and once it is started, use VNC to login. Once I'm done doing what I need the system for I would then like to shut it down again. I'm wondering how one might go about putting something like this together. VNC has various scripts for making that part work, but I haven't seen any scripts that can function as a 'Power on/Power off' button for a webpage. Thanks to anyone with any way of doing this." While there are helpful reference for Wake-on-LAN tools, how would you integrate all of these into a coherent system? How might one keep such a system (relatively) secure?

2 of 74 comments (clear)

  1. Um, too obvious? by tunah · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What's wrong with something simple? Throw a .htaccess in a directory with this (untested) script.
    <html><body>
    <?php
    $machine="123.123.12 3.123";
    $connect="wakeonlan --wakeup $machine"; // or whatever
    if($_REQUEST['connect']) {
    exec($connect);
    ?>
    Starting up <?=$machine?>.
    <?php
    } elseif(ping($machine)) {
    ?>
    <?=$machine?> is up.
    <?php
    } else {
    ?>
    <?=$machine?> is down. <a href="?connect=1">Start up</a>.
    <?php
    }
    ?>
    </body></html>

    --
    Free Java games for your phone: Tontie, Sokoban
  2. Re: it's not IP, so it won't get routed by graf0z · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I have to correct myself: You may use ANY packet You want (IP, IPX, whatever), as long as it

    • contains the "magic sequence"
    • is contained in a valid ethernet frame
    • is address to the target's MAC- or a multicast address (including broadcast).

    Because of the handshake You cannot use TCP, but any UDP or ICMP (ping!) packet including the magic would do it. It has to pass the firewall (if any). The dest address could be

    • unicast if the last router has a static arp entry for the dest
    • broadcast if the last router forwards broadcast packets
    • multicast if You have a multicast routing path from You into the last subnet.

    Read AMD whitepaper and a howto.

    /graf0z.