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MarkC426

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Original poster
May 14, 2008
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I screen share my cMP on my Studio from time to time.
cMP stays in 'sleep mode'.
Normally I wake cMP with spacebar and connect.
Recently if I leave it about a week, it will not connect without a restart.

Any ideas?
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
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Australia
I screen share my cMP on my Studio from time to time.
cMP stays in 'sleep mode'.
Normally I wake cMP with spacebar and connect.
Recently if I leave it about a week, it will not connect without a restart.

Any ideas?

You might try Apple Remote Desktop - it's pretty cheap, and provides a more robust (and disciplined) setup for remoting into another Mac.
 
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tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
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You might try Apple Remote Desktop - it's pretty cheap, and provides a more robust (and disciplined) setup for remoting into another Mac.

Your definition of pretty cheap is very different from mine, Apple Remote Desktop currently costs US$ 79,99.

 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
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Have you tried sshing into the cMP? It might wake it up.

I suspect the problem isn't waking it up, more likely that the remote access daemon has stalled or failed (usually confirmable by just toggling screen sharing off and on on the target machine), or can't establish a known network path - as @Bigwaff suggested a fixed network address, or even permanently tagging the Mac's MAC address to a specific IP address in your router's DHCP tables, which ensures no clashes from other devices.

But that does prompt the question - does the mac pro have a screen connected, and is it actually waking up, rather than powering up to a darkwake situation, where there's no screen output?

Your definition of pretty cheap is very different from mine, Apple Remote Desktop currently costs US$ 79,99.


eh, I bought it years ago IIRC, and use it multiple times every day, so from that perspective, it's cheap. It is a considerably better version of screen sharing than the built in finder based system.
 
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startergo

macrumors 601
Sep 20, 2018
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It is a considerably better version of screen sharing
I agree with this statement and you can use it on old macOS’s but it is definitely not cheap. For the features it offers though there is no remote control software that can compare to it.
 
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MarkC426

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2008
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I suspect the problem isn't waking it up, more likely that the remote access daemon has stalled or failed (usually confirmable by just toggling screen sharing off and on on the target machine), or can't establish a known network path - as @Bigwaff suggested a fixed network address, or even permanently tagging the Mac's MAC address to a specific IP address in your router's DHCP tables, which ensures no clashes from other devices.

But that does prompt the question - does the mac pro have a screen connected, and is it actually waking up, rather than powering up to a darkwake situation, where there's no screen output?
Mac Pro IS connected to a screen (on a seperate input), which is connected to my Studio.
So I can change the source on the monitor and see MP desktop, which shows the login screen.

When I wake the MP with the attached keyboard, it shows in Studio finder, but when selecting it, doesn't connect.
It has worked fine for 6 months with maybe once every 1/2 weeks screen sharing.

All this stuff about ssh and dhcp....is above my pay grade sorry...🤯
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
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Australia
Mac Pro IS connected to a screen (on a seperate input), which is connected to my Studio.
So I can change the source on the monitor and see MP desktop, which shows the login screen.

When I wake the MP with the attached keyboard, it shows in Studio finder, but when selecting it, doesn't connect.
It has worked fine for 6 months with maybe once every 1/2 weeks screen sharing.

All this stuff about ssh and dhcp....is above my pay grade sorry...🤯

So when this next happens, log in to the Mac Pro from its keyboard, make sure it's still running in the same boot session (ie it hasn't crashed overnight and restarted itself), then toggle screen sharing off, and on, and then see if you can access via screen sharing.

If that doesn't change things, it's possible the Mac Pro's DCHP lease has expired in your router, so your studio can't actually connect to it (a doublecheck for this could be to have filesharing running n the mac Pro as well, and see if that connects), and what it's showing in the finder sidebar is basd on its cached address. In that case, fixing the Mac Pro with a permanent address may solve the problem, which is not a difficult thing to do, and usually just involves typing a few numbers into the admin page of your router.
 

MarkC426

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Original poster
May 14, 2008
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UK
If that doesn't change things, it's possible the Mac Pro's DCHP lease has expired in your router
This seems to be the issue, I think.
I looked on the mp and it wasn't connected to Ethernet, so I renewed the DHCP and (touch wood) seems to be back to normal....😁

Thanks dude....👍

 
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mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
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This seems to be the issue, I think.
I looked on the mp and it wasn't connected to Ethernet, so I renewed the DHCP and (touch wood) seems to be back to normal....😁

Thanks dude....👍


No worries. Honestly the easiest way to set things up, is to leave your devices set to get their addresses via DHCP, but then fix their MAC hardware addresses to specific IP addresses in the router, so you take leasing out of the equation. Your Mac Pro will have Ethernet 1, Ethernet 2, and Wifi - 3 potential addresses to assign based on their MAC, so (depending on your Router's numbering scheme) 192.168.20.1, 192.168.20.2, 192.168.20.3, respectively.

The advantage this has over just setting up fixed IP addresses on your devices, is you don't then have to go to your DHCP range, and shift its endpoints to exclude an address you've manually assigned - you can leave DHCP as the full .255 address range, and get all the advantages of fixed IP addresses, without worrying about devices clashing over address etc.
 
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MarkC426

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2008
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UK
Had the same issue today, so changed to a static IP on my Mac Pro (thanks @Bigwaff).
This doesn't make things less secure?
My Mac Pro doesn't connect to internet anymore, only available on local network.
 
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flat4

Contributor
Jul 14, 2009
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Had the same issue today, so changed to a static IP on my Mac Pro (thanks @Bigwaff).
This doesn't make things less secure?
My Mac Pro doesn't connect to internet anymore, only available on local network.

Why do you think it will make it less secure if you set it to static?
 

MarkC426

macrumors 68040
Original poster
May 14, 2008
3,557
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UK
Did you try assigning a fixed IP via DHCP, based on MAC addressing in the router? It's literally the best of all worlds.
Your baffling me with tech....sorry....😆

I selected manual ip on my Mac and entered a ###.###.###.### number.
Then in my router settings it shows as 'static ip' and always use this ip.

All other devices use DHCP assigned.

I didn't want to try messing with other settings on the router in case it broke all my other devices.
 

mattspace

macrumors 68040
Jun 5, 2013
3,161
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Australia
Your baffling me with tech....sorry....😆

What model router are you using?

I selected manual ip on my Mac and entered a ###.###.###.### number.

OK

Then in my router settings it shows as 'static ip' and always use this ip.

Is that in the Router's (presuming) browser interface?

What you're looking for in your Router's setup system is something like DHCP Static IP Lease List.

In that, you'll have a table where you can enter:
  • the unique MAC Address of your networking port (##:##:##:##:##:##), which you get from System Settings, Network, (eg) Ethernet 1, Details, Hardware, MAC address.
  • the IP address you want that network port to use (do that for each ethernet port, and for the wifi, different IP addresses for each).

All other devices use DHCP assigned.

I didn't want to try messing with other settings on the router in case it broke all my other devices.

The problem with setting your Mac to be static IP only from the Mac is that your DHCP server in the router can give that address to another device while your Mac is asleep, and then your screen sharing can fall over, because it's usually bound / sticky to an address it expects you to connect from.

Binding your Mac's MAC hardware address to a fixed IP address in the Router means that never happens. It's actually the safest way to protect network stability with your other devices, because everything is using DHCP.
 
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