Wake on LAN

This article describes how to get a Linux Mint/Ubuntu system to awaken another system (in this case a FreeBSD box) using Wake on LAN.

Wake on LAN (WoL) is a way of powering up a computer remotely. The system to be 'awoken' needs to have a motherboard and network interface card/chip (NIC) which supports WoL, which most modern systems do. The WoL function can be enabled in the system BIOS.

Although the target computer may appear to be completely powered off, its waiting NIC sits and listens for a specific data stream - known as a 'magic packet' - which will trigger it to awaken the system. WoL is used in many network environnments for automated remote maintenance.

To install WoL under Ubuntu/Mint, type the following command..

apt-get install wakeonlan

Wakeonlan uses the default port 7 and is pointed at the MAC Address of the target system (use ifconfig on the machine to be awoken). The command runs thus:

wakeonlan -p 7 00:00:55:00:55:64

I use WoL on my Unix-based Media Server, saving power by not keeping it turned on all the time whilst also being able to access files from any part of the house at any time, using both Windows and Linux-based systems.

See also..

For more details of WoL and its application in a Microsoft Windows environment, see WoL GUI and WoL Command Line.

For remotely booting and shutting down FreeBSD, see Remotely power on-off a Unix box.