[mythtv] [mythtv-commits] mythtv commit: r20083 by cpinkham

[f-myth-users at media.mit.edu]

    > Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2009 05:33:37 -0500
    > From: Chris Pinkham <cpinkham at bc2va.org>

    > * On Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 02:16:49AM -0500, f-myth-users at media.mit.edu wrote:
    > >     > Add IsMACAddress(QString MAC) and WakeOnLAN(QString MAC) utility functions.
    > >     > These are used by the patch I'm running to allow automatic wakeup and shutdown
    > >     > of slave backends.
    > > 
    > > Chris, when you first said you were working on this, I mentioned that
    > > some (buggy) motherboard/distro combinations won't wake unless the
    > > packets were sent to the broadcast address (not just their to their
    > > MAC) -and- unless they were sent octet-for-otect reversed.  I just
    > > looked through your changesets and didn't see the latter; did you
    > > decide to punt, or did you forget?  (Sending to both the forward &

    > I decided to forget this.  I also did not do anything about sending
    > to ports other than 32767.  I figured once I started down that slippery
    > slope I'd never get back up. :)

Well, perhaps, but I know of no mobo that -doesn't- work for packets
to the broadcast, so two packets (one forward, one reversed) to the
broadcast should cover 'em all... :)

    > I'd say that the user should always test WOL from the command line
    > using a tool such as wakelan, and if that works without any options
    > and with a forward non-reversed MAC, then the internal WOL will work.

Right.

    > If the user determines that their card needs the MAC reversed, they
    > can easily put the MAC in backwards in the setting field.

Yup, but this may be the first time people try to get WOL working, and
I figured a little defensive coding might eliminate a bunch of confused
users.  It's sure not the most obvious failure mode -or- fix... :/

(I just wish there was a place to at least warn about it, but anywhere
I can think of is likely to be just extra chatter (in the UI) or will
be totally overlooked (in documentation, the wiki, whatever).

Oh well.  Maybe someone will at least notice this if they search
gossamer for "why won't my slave wake up?" :)

    > A user should make sure WOL is working outside of Myth before attempting
    > to use it in Myth.  They'll have much less heartache and lost
    > recordings by doing so rather than just setting up WOL in Myth and
    > hoping their slave can WOL correctly.

Of course.