VMware Cloud Community
continuum
Immortal
Immortal

Wake on Lan - possible with any VMware product ?

I am looking for a success story where a user was able to setup WOL inside any VMware product.

So far I have not found a single report that this works

Thanks Ulli




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VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay


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Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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23 Replies
msemon1
Expert
Expert

That's interesting since some SCCM updates depend on WOL capabilities. That would limit updates being pushed out by remote push technologies. Let us know what you find.

Mike

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RParker
Immortal
Immortal

Well ESX has WOL, and I know that works... So "any" needs to be qualified.

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

I am speaking about VMs - not about ESX hosts




___________________________________

VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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ksc
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

What type of "wake" are you expecting?

WoL is supposed to work for e1000 and vmxnet2/3 (not 100% sure about vmxnet2), waking from S1 to full operation. This is tested on ESX; I don't recall how much of the WoL functionality is ESX-dependent so I do not know if it would work on Workstation/Fusion. Also, on Workstation/Fusion because the default S1 behavior is to suspend the VM, whereas on ESX the default S1 behavior is to remain running but completely idle. (The option is "chipset.onlineStandby", default is true for ESX and false for Workstation/Fusion).

WoL obviously will not work for a suspended VM; there is nothing listening for a wakeup.

Can't give you at a success story because those by definition do not come from employees Smiley Happy

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

ksc - we just discussed this recently in the german forum and we have a current topic in WS-section about it.

Do you know of any kb-entires or other documentation that describes how to use this feature ?

Thanks Ulli




___________________________________

VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

Technical success story is a little different than a customer success story, but nomenclature aside .... does this actually work? I tried it with the e1000, and the vmxnet, to no avail. I was unaware of the vmxnet2/3, so I will have to try those out, as well as the other option you mentioned: "chipset.onlineStandby"

I understand your post to say that you have tested WoL in ESX, but not in VMware Workstation. Is this correct? If so, can you get with the Workstation development team to validate how Wake on LAN is supposed to work in Workstation?

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

So, the e1000 has the "Allow this device to wake the computer" option grayed out. Any idea why this is?

8522_8522.PNG

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

If you enable the "vmxnet3" network adapter, it enables the wake-up features in the network device properties, under "Power Management" ... see the following screenshot. I still have not been able to successfully wake up the machine, however, and I did add the earlier mentioned chipset option in the VMX file.

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

Okay, so I tried unchecking the bottom-most checkbox in the "Power Management" tab, which seems more restrictive, and tried again, to no avail.

Any ideas?

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

I upgraded to VMware Workstation 7.0.1, which was just released, and it's still not working. Is there any way of telling whether or not the virtual network adapter is still "awake?"

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

Quick update ... I've submitted a service request for this issue.

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

Good - please lets us know the result ... !http://sanbarrow.com/gifs/dubbio.gif!




___________________________________

VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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Curaxx
Contributor
Contributor

Any news about the service request?

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

Unfortunately, the only news I have to share is that VMware Support leaves a lot to be desired.

-Trevor

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RParker
Immortal
Immortal

So far I have not found a single report that this works

I have tried, NADA. Can't get it to work either. So this looks like a real problem, although since you are the first person to bring this to VM Ware attention (that we know of) that means no one has actually attempted it.

So I tried different WoL programs, different NIC, dffferent VM OS, nothing is working. The problem is the vSwitch doesn't pass it to the VM, so it doesn't seem to receive the packet that network traffic is sending while the VM is off.

I did read somewhere the that VM needs to be suspended.. but that wouldn't make any sense, WoL should work for OFF conditions, so this problem has many facets...

And now I could have used it to power on a VM by a user, because if they attempt to send it would "wake" the VM rather than waiting for a restart by an admin... so far nothing seems to work, like you said.

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RParker
Immortal
Immortal

VMware Support leaves a lot to be desired.

That's not news!

The sky is blue, grass is green, Gulf of Mexico is full of oil, and VM Ware support leaves a lot to be desired.. those are just bygone conclusions Smiley Happy

Having said that, I have been on a help desk. And I can tell you, that probably 7 or 8 bucks an hour isn't exactly a highly sought after job.. You can work at Staples or Walmart and get the same pay, so that should give you a clue as to the quality of people you can expect.

not saying Walmart or Staples employees are simpletons, just saying.. those types of jobs won't attract higher qualified people, until they raise the pay grade.

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

So why even pay these people then? If they aren't providing any value to the business, in the form of end-user software support, then what is their position's purpose of existence?

The few suggestions they gave me were completely useless, their responses were few and far between, and I still honestly don't believe that they even understand what the issue is. The last contact I had with them, I was traveling, and e-mailed them back asking them to call me on a Monday (this was several weeks ago). I still haven't heard back from them, so I am considering the issue as good as dead.

God help us if we ever have a more serious issue with VMware Workstation.

-Trevor

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RParker
Immortal
Immortal

in the form of end-user software support, then what is their position's purpose of existence?

In a word, grunt. UPS needs their dock workers to put packages on a truck. Airlines need people to put baggage on a plane. Buildings need janitors to clean the place up, and VM Ware needs people to field phone calls and refer people to the website, and take down information.

Believe it or not, VM Ware help desk helps more people than they seem helpless to help. I would say they fix at least 80% of the calls, because MOST people have simple stuff, like how do I do this, where can I install this, I don't know anything about Linux, how do I install ESX.. stuff like that.

Complex issues like WoL and VDR require experienced people, those people are hard to find.. plus the problem may simply be ESX. A bug fix may fix it, such that the help desk cannot fix something unless there is a patch for it.

The last contact I had with them, I was traveling, and e-mailed them back asking them to call me on a Monday

I have had more public contact in the last 4 weeks with different agencies, than you can imagine, then in my previous 20 years. And I can tell you THIS isn't an isolated event.

I will even say that NOBODY calls ANYONE back, it's a growing problem, because people don't seem to care. Poor management, lack of initiative, and no one to FORCE people to do their job, so why should they call you back? That would be taking responsibility for something. I don't know how many times someone has said this to me, and probably out of 50 different agencies (We are talking laywers, doctors, health department, apartment management, sales people even) no one answers a stupid email, responds to phone inquiries, logs into voice mail, or even returns a simple phone call.

I am talking NOBODY (yes I am using a generalization here, because out of those 50 agencies not a single soul followed up or did what I ASKED or was TOLD they would do.

NOT ONE. ZIP, NADA.

It's really destructively, hypo critic. No wonder nothing gets done in this country. NOT one person returned an email, answered a web site question, or called me back... WITHOUT me badgering them several times to get off their duff and do something. Even then half of them STILL haven't responded, I finally gave up and called someone else.

IF you manage to get someone to answer a call (which is the main purpose of a help desk anyway) consider yourself lucky...

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pcgeek101
Contributor
Contributor

@Rparker: Thanks for the insightful post, even though it didn't have anything to do with the topic at hand Smiley Happy I am in complete and total agreement with lack of initiative, self-motivation, and so-on, in this country (defined as the USA, in my case). People do not generally take pride in doing a good job, in improving themselves as an individual, and contributing to a successful society as a whole. It's incredibly sad, and pathetic, that companies such as VMware choose to ignore issues, and ultimately ignore customers. If people would take ownership of problems, and take them personally, then maybe, just maybe, they would say something like: "Wow, Wake on LAN doesn't work, but appears to be offered as a feature of VMware Workstation? I'd better push internally to get this sorted out, even if I don't know where to start! I'll start asking around and see if I can find some direction."

Regarding the call back, the guy I had been working over e-mail asked to call me. On 5/11/10, he finally responded via e-mail and said: "Unfortunately, I have been having difficulty reaching you on <PhoneNumber>" ... what, you're telling me you're a helpdesk, and you can't even get a working phone? I never had any missed calls, or any voicemails, during the period he was trying to reach me. Meanwhile, my phone was working perfectly fine for everyone else. How does it look to me, a customer, when you not are useless to me in my technical issue, but you can't even get a phone to call me on, when you asked to call me! Gosh, get with the times. The first working phone was developed well over a century ago, in 1876 (source: Wikipedia).

Ok, I'm done ranting.

Cheers

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