Wake on LAN
This function allows you a send a Wake-on-LAN signal (or “magic packet”) to wired network devices to wake them or power them on. Wake on LAN is generally not supported by wireless devices.
The list of devices on this menu includes:
- Devices already active in the ARP table.
- Devices defined in a static DHCP assignment.
- Devices defined manually in the Dnsmaq Custom configuration field in the DHCP/DNS/TFTP menu.
For example:dhcp-host=70:EE:50:37:E8:46,myhostnamein
Some devices might appear on this menu without their hostname defined/displayed. You can work around this by defining them manually in the Dnsmasq Custom configuration field, as described above.
There are two ways to send a magic packet to a device on your network:
- Click anywhere in the list on the device you want to wake. The Wake Up button briefly will grey out, then return.
This indicates a magic packet was just sent to that device's MAC address.
- Type the desired MAC addresses of the devices to wake into the MAC Address List box, and then click Wake Up.
Note that the Wake Up button also serves to save the contents of the MAC Address List box to be remembered for future use.
Wake on LAN Notes and Troubleshooting
Your client device must be configured to respond to magic packets, both in firmware and in software, for WoL to wake it. Enabling the firmware option causes the device's Ethernet chip to remain powered on (usually at a low state) even when the device is sleeping/off. This allows it to listen for magic packets. Enabling the software option allows the device to wake up or power on when that packet is received.
Most PCs have a Wake-on-LAN option that must be enabled in the UEFI or BIOS, named something like:
- Power on by PCI-E or PCI (Asus UEFI)
- PME Event Wakeup (AWARD BIOS)
- Power on by PCI devices (AMI BIOS)
In terms of software, you must also enable the Wake on LAN settings in your PC operating system.
For details, see:
https://www.howtogeek.com/70374/how-to-geek-explains-what-is-wake-on-lan-and-how-do-i-enable-it/
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-client/deployment/wake-on-lan-feature