powerdown Shutdown Script

[callum]

Hi, I'm currently using watchout for  a show (In the Sydney Opera House) and really like the system. My only question is about how the remote shutdown actually works under "Manage display computer". 

At the moment in my show I leave the stage window closed so at the end of the show I need to open the window and click each screen and shut down the computer (which sometimes is really fast or locks up the computer).

 

I would like to know what sort of command this is sending out over the LAN as I would be interested in automating this into one (very dangerous) script that shuts down all computers and projectors when you run it (after you confirm that you want to shut down of course)

 

Any input would be appreciated.

Cal

[Jonas Dannert]

Callum,

 

If you don't select a Display when "Manage Display Computer->Shut down", then ALL DisplayPC:s in the Show will power down.

 

/jonas

[jfk]

IP power down

 

Hi, I'm currently using watchout for a show (In the Sydney Opera House) and really like the system. My only question is about how the remote shutdown actually works under "Manage display computer".
At the moment in my show I leave the stage window closed so at the end of the show I need to open the window and click each screen and shut down the computer (which sometimes is really fast or locks up the computer).

I would like to know what sort of command this is sending out over the LAN as I would be interested in automating this into one (very dangerous) script that shuts down all computers and projectors when you run it (after you confirm that you want to shut down of course)

Any input would be appreciated.
Cal

watchmaker's power down is a two step process,
The MAC address is grabbed and held in the windows registry for the next power up (wake on lan).

The IP equivalent is not done with 'one to many' cluster commands (authenticate 1)
it is accomplished with 'one to one' administrative commands (authenticate 2).
You must establish a direct connection with each watchpoint computer
for administrative commands, these commands only affect the one connected computer.
 

authenticate 2

getMACAddr

powerDown

 

getMACAddr
Retrieves the MAC address of the WATCHPOINT network interface, if possible, as six values.
A General Runtime Error is returned instead if the MAC address is unknown.
Example:
 

getMACAddr
Reply 23 33 2 45 143 230

 

Note: the response is in decimal format,

while the Wake On LAN Magic Packet will require that data in hexadecimal format.

So you will need to convert that to hex for most uses.

For example, the sample above would convert to

17h  21h  02h  2Dh  8Fh E6h.  or $17$21$02$2D$8F$E6

 

powerDown
with no parameter. This will immediately disconnect you, as it causes
WATCHPOINT to quit, so this should be the last command you intend to
send until the watchpoint computer is powered on / restarted.

[dchristo]

Jim/Jonas, is there a "restart" command in the protocol to restart a display machine?

 

--D

[jfk]

Jim/Jonas, is there a "restart" command in the protocol to restart a display machine?

--D

 

No. Use industry standard Wake On LAN command (which uses the MAC address)

to power up the computer after a powerDown.

[callum]

Wow. I've learnt a lot in one post, I had no idea that you could shut all the computers down that way (which saves a lot of trouble) and I also didn't think about saving the show file to keep the MAC addresses (I had always wondered why I couldn't get WOL going).

 

Thanks for your help!

[Jonas Dannert]

For WOL and WATCHOUT:s own Power Up command to work, there are some small pre-requisites, too:

 

- WOL has to be setup correctly in the PC in question, normally in the network card settings, sometimes in BIOS, too.

  In some PC:s it's open from start, as a default, but normally one have to set it up.

 

- when it works, and you've tested it, DON'T break power to the Display PC:s, then the WOL setup is broken/will not work.

 

 

/jonas

[Mike Fahl]

Actually, you don't need to save the show to persist the MAC addresses for wakeup. Those are stored elsewhere on the production computer (typically in the registry), so you should be able to wake up the displays even if you didn't save the show after power down.

 

Mike

[callum]

Thanks, I had a play around with WOL earlier but couldn't get it going, as we are in the middle of the season I'm going to be leaving BIOS settings alone until the run has finished in a few days (as the WOL setting is most likely off on the BIOS) The WOL isn't as important to me as I need to locally turn on the UPS' and power distribution anyway.

 

Edit: Typing in a dark control room is tricky

[dchristo]

No. Use industry standard Wake On LAN command (which uses the MAC address)

to power up the computer after a powerDown.

It would be helpful in a future release to add the ability to restart... WoL has been hit-or-miss for us when the controller is on a different subnet.  Also, it would be helpful when in cluster mode to be able to power down and/or restart the entire cluster with a single command to the cluster master.

 

--D

[Luca]

when it works, and you've tested it, DON'T break power to the Display PC:s, then the WOL setup is broken/will not work.

I've noticed this problem: power up works until you switch the power off. why? is it a bug/can this behaviour be fixed?

with WOL functions i can switch remote PCs on even after a power break...

[Jonas Dannert]

What you describe is a Wake-On-LAN (WOL) and network card hardware issue, NOT a bug in WATCHOUT.

It might work on some motherboards/network cards, but not on others. Either way it's a bit out of our control.

 

/jonas

[jfk]

I've noticed this problem: power up works until you switch the power off. why? is it a bug/can this behaviour be fixed?

 

places to look are BIOS settings for behavior after power loss, motherboard battery, NIC driver

and other hardware related issues. A good place to look for solutions is the hardware vendor's support channel or forums.

 

with WOL functions i can switch remote PCs on even after a power break...

 

   Isn't that the definition of Wake On WAN? i.e. other parts of the network are at play as well.

Wake-on-LAN

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Wake-on-LAN (WOL) is an Ethernet computer networking standard that allows a computer to be turned on or awakened by a network message.

 

The message is usually sent by a program executed on another computer on the same local area network. It is also possible to initiate the message from another network by using subnet directed broadcasts or a WOL gateway service. Equivalent terms include wake on WAN, remote wake-up, power on by LAN, power up by LAN, resume by LAN, resume on LAN and wake up on LAN. In case the computer being awakened is communicating via Wi-Fi, a supplementary standard called Wake on Wireless LAN (WoWLAN) must be employed.[1]

The WOL and WoWLAN standards are often supplemented by vendors to provide protocol-transparent on-demand services, for example in the Apple Bonjour wake-on-demand (Sleep Proxy) feature.[2]

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dchristo, on 16 Dec 2013 - 12:31, said:

 

It would be helpful in a future release to add the ability to restart  ...

 

A clean power down makes sense from an energy conservation standpoint.

Restart sounds like a band-aid. Enabling workarounds masks correctable issues

that may manifest in other ways.

 

dchristo, on 16 Dec 2013 - 12:31, said:

 

... WoL has been hit-or-miss for us when the controller is on a different subnet. ...

 

An IT professional should be able to cure that network issue for you.

 

 

dchristo, on 16 Dec 2013 - 12:31, said:

 

Also, it would be helpful when in cluster mode to be able to power down and/or restart the entire cluster with a single command to the cluster master.

--D

 

 I am uneasy with being too helpful in taking down an entire cluster.

It would also ignore or complicate the MAC address collection process.

[dchristo]

A clean power down makes sense from an energy conservation standpoint.

Restart sounds like a band-aid. Enabling workarounds masks correctable issues

that may manifest in other ways.

 

 

 I am uneasy with being too helpful in taking down an entire cluster.

It would also ignore or complicate the MAC address collection process.

 

We typically run our machines 24/7, however, since Windows is involved we like to restart once a week or so.  I agree with being able to power down too easily; perhaps a two-step process to power down/restart a cluster?

 

From an architecture stand-point... since all other communication with the cluster is facilitated by the cluster master, why would power commands be different?  On the control-side, it breaks down the abstraction... my controller doesn't need to know (and shouldn't have to know) how many displays are in a cluster; it only cares about the master.  As for the MAC address collection process... why could that not be a part of the job of the cluster master (perhaps even adding a powerOn command... Use WOL to power up the master, and then the master sends WOL to the cluster)?

 

--D

[alexbright]

The IP equivalent is not done with 'one to many' cluster commands (authenticate 1)

it is accomplished with 'one to one' administrative commands (authenticate 2).

You must establish a direct connection with each watchpoint computer

for administrative commands, these commands only affect the one connected computer.

 

authenticate 2

getMACAddr

powerDown

 

getMACAddr

Retrieves the MAC address of the WATCHPOINT network interface, if possible, as six values.

A General Runtime Error is returned instead if the MAC address is unknown.

Example:

 

getMACAddr

Reply 23 33 2 45 143 230

 

powerDown

with no parameter. This will immediately disconnect you, as it causes

WATCHPOINT to quit, so this should be the last command you intend to

send until the watchpoint computer is powered on / restarted.

 

 

Thanks JFK, this is great to know.  Is there any equivalent command in the Production Computer Protocol for shutting down a computer running the Watchout Production software?

 

Our current method requires sudo privileges of the remote computer, so it involves computers having the same user names and pass words... Which can be a pain to implement.

 

Alex

[jfk]

... Is there any equivalent command in the Production Computer Protocol for shutting down a computer running the Watchout Production software?...

 

No.

But why? If there is no human to shut down production, why are you using production at all?

Short of a human being making edits, there is no function available with production

that is not available in display cluster operation, so why include production in an automated system?