WOL doesn't work on my Ubuntu 8.04 system

xp_newbie · 11-04-2010, 08:11 PM

I followed the instructions at http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=360901 to be able to turn or my Ubuntu 8.04 workstation remotely. This is what I did on my workstation:

1. Enabled WOL in BIOS for ethernet adapter 0.
2. 'sudo ethtool eth' yielded "Supports Wake-on: pumbg" -- good!
3. ethtool -s eth0 wol g
4. 'sudo gedit /etc/rc.local' to add the following line before 'exit 0':
ethtool -s eth0 wol g
5. sudo shutdown -h -P now

I then tried (several times) to to turn the system on from a remote laptop (on the same subnet!) using the magic packet method.

Nothing happens (i.e. it doesn't turn on).

I tried a few more times to turn it on from the DD-WRT (on the same subnet).

Nothing happens (i.e. it doesn't turn on).

Any idea how to troubleshoot this and why it wouldn't work?

My workstation's ethernet, BTW, is controlled by an onboard Realtek RTL8110SC (part of the ABIT IP35 Pro motherboard).

Also, if this helps, here is the output of the command 'sudo ethtool eth0':

Code:

Settings for eth0:
        Supported ports: [ TP ]
        Supported link modes:   10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
                                1000baseT/Full 
        Supports auto-negotiation: Yes
        Advertised link modes:  10baseT/Half 10baseT/Full 
                                100baseT/Half 100baseT/Full 
                                1000baseT/Full 
        Advertised auto-negotiation: Yes
        Speed: 100Mb/s
        Duplex: Full
        Port: Twisted Pair
        PHYAD: 0
        Transceiver: internal
        Auto-negotiation: on
        Supports Wake-on: pumbg
        Wake-on: g
        Current message level: 0x00000033 (51)
        Link detected: yes

Any tip, insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Amdx2_x64 · 11-05-2010, 01:18 PM

Ubuntu 10.* (even 9.*) has much better support for remote access. Would you be able to upgrade?

xp_newbie · 11-05-2010, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amdx2_x64

Ubuntu 10.* (even 9.*) has much better support for remote access. Would you be able to upgrade?

Not really as this is my stable development system with expensive development tools that can run on Ubuntu 8 only.

Also, I had no problems using WOL on an older Ubuntu 6.06 system, so I don't think the OS version is the issue.

I just need to troubleshoot this. Any ideas?

Amdx2_x64 · 11-05-2010, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xp_newbie

Not really as this is my stable development system with expensive development tools that can run on Ubuntu 8 only.

Also, I had no problems using WOL on an older Ubuntu 6.06 system, so I don't think the OS version is the issue.

I just need to troubleshoot this. Any ideas?

Not sure, sorry.

eSelix · 11-05-2010, 06:34 PM

1) Check that led on net card is still light after powering computer off.
2) Check status (ethtool eth0) after bringing interface down (ifdown eth0) if it has still "Wake-on: g"

xp_newbie · 11-07-2010, 08:52 AM

eSelix, thanks so much for your expert guidance. Here are my answers:

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

1) Check that led on net card is still light after powering computer off.

The LED is OFF. It seems that this is where the problem lies. Any idea how to fix this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

2) Check status (ethtool eth0) after bringing interface down (ifdown eth0) if it has still "Wake-on: g"

Yes, after bringing the interface down, it still has "Wake-on: g".

xp_newbie · 11-07-2010, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xp_newbie

The LED is OFF. It seems that this is where the problem lies. Any idea how to fix this?

This is seems like a motherboard issue, not a Linux one. My mainboard's BIOS version is 14 where the latest BIOS update 17 addresses a WOL issue: "Fixed the Wake Up by WAKE# of PCIe function abnormality."

I learned about this through a similar post in another forum, all thanks to eSelix. Thank you eSelix.

After I update the BIOS and test this functionality again, I will report back whether this solved the problem.

xp_newbie · 11-07-2010, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xp_newbie

After I update the BIOS and test this functionality again, I will report back whether this solved the problem.

Update: Updating the BIOS from ver. 14 to ver. 17 didn't solve the problem.

That is, the green LED is still OFF when the PC is turned off.

It's unlikely that it's a Linux problem but if you know how to solve this problem or can recommend a forum that is most appropriate for such problems, that would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

eSelix · 11-08-2010, 03:27 AM

I also had problems with WoL in Ubuntu 8.10, but do not remember what I am did. This can be also kernel problem. What is your version? You can check in BIOS if you have enabled options to wakeup on events like PCI, PCIe... check all to enable for testing.

xp_newbie · 11-08-2010, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

This can be also kernel problem. What is your version?

Are you sure it's not a motherboard/BIOS only problem? My Linux version is:

Code:

Linux XP 2.6.24-22-generic #1 SMP Mon Nov 24 19:35:06 UTC 2008 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

You can check in BIOS if you have enabled options to wakeup on events like PCI, PCIe... check all to enable for testing.

I just checked all for testing as you said:

Code:

ACPI Suspend Type           S3 (Suspend-to-RAM)
- Resume by USB from S3     Enabled
Power Button Function       [Delay 4 Sec.]
Wake Up by WAKE# of PCIe    Enabled
Wake Up by PME# of PCI      Enabled
Wake Up by Onboard LAN1     Enabled
Wake Up by Onboard LAN2     Enabled
POWER ON Function           [Hot KEY]
- Hot Key Power ON          Ctrl-F1
Restore on AC Power Loss    Power Off

And the green LED would still turn OFF when a soft shutdown is performed. The Power ON via keyboard's hot key works perfectly, so I know that the motherboard's circuits are "listening" even when the computer is not in suspend/hibernate mode.

The only challenge now is to how to make the NIC's circuits listen...

eSelix · 11-08-2010, 04:05 PM

Which network driver are you using? I am using 'forcedeth', and 'modinfo' give me that:

Quote:

parm: phy_power_down:Power down phy and disable link when interface is down (1), or leave phy powered up (0). (int)

So this driver has a parameter, to control of powering network card. Maybe your driver also have such this parameter. I didn't changing that, I think this is set to '0' by default.

xp_newbie · 11-11-2010, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

Which network driver are you using?

How can I tell which network driver I am using?

I did 'lsmod', it lists 93 modules (!) but I couldn't find a network module that can I use as a parameter for 'modinfo'. This is weird.

eSelix · 11-11-2010, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xp_newbie

How can I tell which network driver I am using?

Try:

Code:

dmesg | grep -E 'eth|net'

xp_newbie · 11-11-2010, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eSelix

Try:
dmesg | grep -E 'eth|net'

OK, this generated many lines but I think that I was able to spot the network with this weird name (that's why I couldn't find it): r8169.

'modinfo r8169' yields:

Code:

filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.24-22-generic/kernel/drivers/net/r8169.ko
version:        2.2LK
license:        GPL
description:    RealTek RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet driver
author:         Realtek and the Linux r8169 crew <netdev@vger.kernel.org>
srcversion:     43B14ECBCCE4F7FF1A8D77E
alias:          pci:v00000001d00008168sv*sd00002410bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001737d00001032sv*sd00000024bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000016ECd00000116sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001259d0000C107sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v00001186d00004300sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008169sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008168sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008167sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008136sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000010ECd00008129sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends:        
vermagic:       2.6.24-22-generic SMP mod_unload 
parm:           rx_copybreak:Copy breakpoint for copy-only-tiny-frames (int)
parm:           use_dac:Enable PCI DAC. Unsafe on 32 bit PCI slot. (int)
parm:           debug:Debug verbosity level (0=none, ..., 16=all) (int)

Interesting.

eSelix · 11-12-2010, 05:40 AM

I have this driver on other PC, so I check WoL functionality on it tonight.