Mac host won’t Wake-on-LAN

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  • #45828
    ToddZ
    Participant

    I have the free version of NoMachine connecting two Mac Minis via VPN, prototyping a solution for several commercial users.
    NoMachine works as expected except when the host Mac sleeps. Wake-on-LAN is enabled everywhere I can enable it, but I need to kick the host Mac awake with an ordinary VNC client before NoMachine can reach it.

    • NoMachine version: free, 8.9.1 on both ends.
    • Host MAC has a physical display.
    • MAC OS: Sonoma 14.0 on both ends.

    Like @richardlock in a similar earlier thread , I have:

    • confirmed that option “Wake up the indicated server on the LAN if powered off” is checked
    • confirmed the nxs file contains  option key="Try to wake up server when it is powered off" value="true"
    • tried adding the host MAC address under option key="Server MAC address" value="[removed]"

    …without success.

    This recent KB article states that WOL works if “the connecting client… is on the same local network” — which I hoped the VPN would emulate sufficiently. But I don’t know much about packets, layers and frames. So perhaps this issue is expected.

    That earlier thread requesting the ability to “send the magic packet to the NoMachine Server IP address rather than the broadcast address” ends with @Britgirl saying “We’ll be investigating whether what you request is possible. If so, we will open a Feature Request.”

    Was this deemed impossible, or was a Feature Request opened..?

    #46082
    Britgirl
    Keymaster

    Wake On Lan works by sending so called “Magic Packets”, which are packets of the second layer (MAC). VPN emulates and works on the third layer IP. WOL on its own does not use the IP address of the destination host, it uses its MAC address. NoMachine translates the IP address to the MAC address based on the routing table. In the Magic Packet only the MAC address is used.
    Magic Packet is a broadcast packet, therefore it is not possible to route it through VPN without special configuration of the VPN itself  provided that the VPN supports it, so you should check this in the VPN you are using.

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