Wake-on-LAN

A physical Wake-on-LAN connector (white object in foreground) featured on the IBM PCI Token-Ring Adapter 2

Wake-on-LAN(WoLorWOL) is anEthernetorToken Ringcomputer networkingstandard that allows a computer to be turned on or awakened fromsleep modeby a network message. It is based uponAMD'sMagic Packet Technology,which was co-developed by AMD and Hewlett-Packard, following its proposal as a standard in 1995 – The standard saw quick adoption thereafter throughIBM,Inteland others.

Equivalent terms includewake on WAN,remote wake-up,power on by LAN,power up by LAN,resume by LAN,resume on LANandwake up on LAN.If the computer being awakened is communicating viaWi-Fi,a supplementary standard calledWake on Wireless LAN(WoWLAN) must be employed.

The message is usually sent to the target computer by a program executed on a device connected to the samelocal area network.It is also possible to initiate the message from another network by usingsubnet directed broadcastsor a WoL gateway service.

The WoL and WoWLAN standards are often supplemented by vendors to provide protocol-transparent on-demand services, for example in theApple Bonjourwake-on-demand (Sleep Proxy) feature.

History

The basis for theWake-on-LAN-industry standard mechanism today, was created around 1994 byAMDin cooperation withHewlett-Packard,who co-developed AMD'sMagic Packet Technologyand brought forth their following proposal for it in November 1995 in a AMD-Whitepaper– It enabled a remote network-device to be waken up through the underlying “power management circuitry”, by sending it a standard Ethernet-frame, which “contains a specific data pattern detected by the Ethernet-controller on the receiving end”.

AMD implemented the WoL-mechanism in theirAMD PCnet II-Family of Ethernet-controllers before. The term“Magic Packet”is a AMD-trademark.

Wake-on-LAN saw wide adoption starting in October 1996, whenIBMformed theAdvanced Manageability Alliance(AMA) withIntel.In April 1997, this alliance adopted the Wake-on-LAN technology.

Principle of operation

Ethernetconnections, including home and work networks, wireless data networks, and theInternetitself, are based on frames sent between computers. WoL is implemented using a specially designed frame called amagic packet,which is commonly sent to all computers in a network, among them the computer to be awakened. The magic packet contains theMAC addressof the destination computer. This is an identifying number, built into eachnetwork interface controller(NIC), that enables the NIC to be uniquely recognized and addressed on a network. In computers capable of Wake-on-LAN, the NIC(s)listento incoming packets, even when the rest of the system is powered down. If a magic packet arrives and is addressed to the device's MAC address, the NIC signals the computer'spower supplyormotherboardto awaken. This has the same effect as pressing the power button.

The magic packet isbroadcaston thedata link layerto all attached devices on a given network, using the networkbroadcast address;theIP address(which relates to theinternet layer) is not used. Because Wake-on-LAN is built upon broadcast messaging, it can generally only be used within asubnet.Wake-on-LAN can, however, operate across any network in practice, given appropriate configuration and hardware, including remote wake-up across the Internet.

In order for Wake-on-LAN to work, parts of the network interface need to stay on. This consumes a small amount ofstandby power.To further reduce power consumption, the link speed is usually reduced to the lowest possible speed (e.g. a Gigabit Ethernet NIC maintains only a 10 Mbit/s link). Disabling Wake-on-LAN, when not needed, can slightly reduce power consumption on computers that are switched off but still plugged into a power socket.The power drain becomes a consideration on battery-powered devices such as laptops as this can deplete the battery even when the device is completely shut down.

Magic packet

Themagic packetis aframethat is most often sent as abroadcastand that contains anywhere within its payload 6bytesof all 255 (FF FF FF FF FF FF inhexadecimal), followed by sixteen repetitions of the target computer's 48-bit MAC address, for a total of 102 bytes.

Since the magic packet is only scanned for the string above, and not actually parsed by a full protocol stack, it could be sent as payload of any network- and transport-layer protocol, although it is typically sent as aUDPdatagramtoport0 (reserved port number),7 (Echo Protocol) or 9 (Discard Protocol),or directly over Ethernet usingEtherType0x0842.Aconnection-orientedtransport-layer protocol likeTCPis less suited for this task as it requires establishing an active connection before sending user data.

A standard magic packet has the following basic limitations:

• Requires destination computer MAC address (also may require aSecureOnpassword)
• Does not provide a delivery confirmation
• May not work outside of thelocal network
• Requires hardware support for Wake-on-LAN in the destination computer
• Most 802.11 wireless interfaces do not maintain a link in low-power states and cannot receive a magic packet

The Wake-on-LAN implementation is designed to be simple and to be quickly processed by the circuitry present on the network interface controller using minimal power. Because Wake-on-LAN operates below the IP protocol layer, IP addresses and DNS names are meaningless and so the MAC address is required.

Subnet directed broadcasts

A principal limitation of standard broadcast Wake-on-LAN is that broadcast packets are generally not routed. This prevents the technique being used in larger networks or over the Internet.Subnet-directed broadcasts(SDBs)may be used to overcome this limitation. SDB may require changes to the intermediate router configuration. SDBs are treated like unicast network packets until processed by the final (local) router. This router then broadcasts the packet using a layer-2 broadcast. This technique allows a broadcast to be initiated on a remote network but requires all intervening routers to forward the SDB.When preparing a network to forward SDB packets, care must be taken to filter packets so that only desired (e.g. WoL) SDB packets are permitted – otherwise the network may become a participant inDDoSattacks such as theSmurf attack.

Troubleshooting magic packets

Wake-on-LAN can be a difficult technology to implement because it requires appropriate BIOS/UEFI,network interface hardware and, sometimes, operating system and router support to function reliably. In some cases, hardware may wake from one low-power state but not from others. This means that due to hardware issues the computer may be wakeable from itssoft off state (S5)but doesn't wake from sleep or hibernation or vice versa.

Starting with Windows Vista, the operating system logs all wake sources in theSystemevent log. TheEvent Viewerand thepowercfg.exe /lastwakecommand can retrieve them.

Security considerations

Unauthorized access

Magic packets are sent via thedata link or OSI-2 layer,which can be used or abused by anyone on the same LAN, unless the L2 LAN equipment is capable of and configured for filtering such traffic to match site-wide security requirements.

Firewalls may be used to preventclientsamong the publicWANfrom accessing the broadcast addresses of inside LAN segments, or routers may be configured to ignore subnet-directed broadcasts.

Certain NICs support a security feature called "SecureOn". It allows users to store within the NIC a hexadecimal password of 6 bytes. Clients append this password to the magic packet. The NIC wakes the system only if the MAC address and password are correct.This security measure significantly decreases the risk of successfulbrute force attacks,by increasing the search space by 48 bits (6 bytes), up to 2⁹⁶combinations if the MAC address is entirely unknown. However any network eavesdropping will expose the cleartext password.

Abuse of the Wake-on-LAN feature only allows computers to be switched on; it does not in itself bypass password and other forms of security, and is unable to power off the machine once on. However, many client computers attempt booting from aPXEserver when powered up by WoL. Therefore, a combination ofDHCPand PXE servers on the network can sometimes be used to start a computer with an attacker's boot image, bypassing any security of the installed operating system and granting access to unprotected, local disks over the network.

Interactions with network access control

The use of Wake-on-LAN technology on enterprise networks can sometimes conflict with network access control solutions such as802.1XMAC-based authentication, which may prevent magic packet delivery if a machine's WoL hardware has not been designed to maintain a live authentication session while in a sleep state.

Security

Some PCs include technology built into thechipsetto improve security for Wake-on-LAN. For example,Intel AMT(a component ofIntel vProtechnology). AMT uses TLS encryption to secure anout-of-bandcommunication tunnel to an AMT-based PC for remote management commands such as Wake-on-LAN.

AMT secures the communication tunnel withAdvanced Encryption Standard(AES) 128-bit encryption andRSAkeyswith modulus lengths of 2,048 bits.Because the encrypted communication is out-of-band, the PC's hardware and firmware receive the magic packet before network traffic reaches the software stack for the operating system (OS). Since the encrypted communication occursbelowthe OS level, it is less vulnerable to attacks by viruses, worms, and other threats that typically target the OS level.

IT shops using Wake-on-LAN through the Intel AMT implementation can wake an AMT PC over network environments that require TLS-based security, such asIEEE 802.1X,CiscoSelf Defending Network(SDN), andMicrosoftNetwork Access Protection(NAP) environments.The Intel implementation also works forwirelessnetworks.

Hardware requirements

Wake-on-LAN support is implemented on themotherboardof a computer and in thenetwork interface controller.It is consequently not dependent on theoperating systemrunning on the computer. In order to get Wake-on-LAN to work, enabling this feature on the network interface card or on-board silicon is sometimes required. Details of how to do this depend upon theoperating systemand the device driver.

Wake-on-LAN usually needs to be enabled in the Power Management section of a PC motherboard's BIOS/UEFI setup utility, although on some systems, such as Apple computers, it is enabled by default. On older systems the BIOS/UEFI setting may be referred to as WoL; on newer systems supporting PCI version 2.2, it may be referred to as PME (Power Management Events, which include WoL). It may also be necessary to configure the computer to reserve standby power for the network card when the system is shut down.

With older motherboards, if the network interface is a plug-in card rather than being integrated into the motherboard there may be a header onboard connected to the network card via a special three-pin cable the card. Systems supporting thePCI2.2 standard and with a PCI 2.2 compliant network adapter card do not usually require a cable as the required standby power is relayed through the PCI bus.The power supply must meetATX2.01 specifications.

Laptops powered by the Intel Centrino processor technology or newer(with explicit BIOS/UEFI support) allow waking up the machine using Wake on Wireless LAN (WoWLAN).

In most modern PCs,ACPIis notified of thewaking upand takes control of the power-up. In ACPI, OSPM must record thewake sourceor the device that is causing the power-up – the device being thesoftpower switch, the NIC (via Wake-on-LAN), the cover being opened, a temperature change, etc.

The three-pin WoL interface on the motherboard consists of: pin 1, +5V DC (red); pin 2,ground(black); pin 3, wake signal (green or yellow).By supplying the pin-3 wake signal with +5V DC the computer will be triggered to power up provided WoL is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI configuration.

Software requirements

Software that sends a WoL magic packet is referred to in different circles asclientorserver,which can be a source of confusion. While WoL hardware or firmware is arguably performing the role of aserver,Web-based interfaces that act as a gateway through which users can issue WoL packets without downloading a local client often become known as "The Wake On LAN Server" to users. Additionally, software that administers WoL capabilities from the host OS side may be carelessly referred to as aclienton occasion; Machines running WoL generally tend to be end-user desktops, and as such, areclientsin IT parlance.

Creating and sending the magic packet

Sending a magic packet requires knowledge of the target computer's MAC address. Software to send WoL magic packets is available for all modern platforms, including Windows, Macintosh and Linux, plus manysmartphones.Examples include: Wake On LAN GUI, LAN Helper, Magic Packet Utility, NetWaker for Windows, Nirsoft WakeMeOnLAN, WakeOnLANx, EMCO WOL, Aquila Tech Wake on LAN, ManageEngine WOL utility, FusionFenix and SolarWinds WOL Tool.There are also web sites that allow aMagic Packetto be sent online without charge. Examplesource codefor a developer to add Wake-on-LAN to a program is readily available in manycomputer languages. The following example is inPython:

importsocket


defwol(luna_mac_address:bytes)->None:
"""Send a Wake-on-LAN magic packet to the specified MAC address." ""
s=socket.socket(socket.AF_INET,socket.SOCK_DGRAM)
s.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET,socket.SO_BROADCAST,1)
magic=b"\xff"*6+luna_mac_address*16
s.sendto(magic,("<broadcast>",7))


if__name__=="__main__":
# Pass to wol the MAC address of the Ethernet port of the appliance to wake up
wol(b"\x00\x15\xB2\xAA\x5B\x00")

Ensuring the magic packet travels from source to destination

If the sender is on the same subnet (local network, aka LAN) as the computer to be awakened there are generally no issues. When sending over the Internet, and in particular where aNAT(Network Address Translator) router, as typically deployed in most homes, is involved, special settings often need to be set. For example, in the router, the computer to be controlled needs to have a dedicated IP address assigned (aka aDHCPreservation). Also, since the controlled computer will be "sleeping" except for some electricity on to part of its network interface, typically it will not be registered at the router as having an active IP lease.

Further, the WoL protocol operates on a "deeper level" in the multi-layer networking architecture. To ensure the magic packet gets from source to destination while the destination is sleeping, theARPBinding (also known as IP & MAC binding) must typically be set in a NAT router. This allows the router to forward the magic packet to the sleeping computer's MAC adapter at a networking layer below typical IP usage. In the NAT router, ARP binding requires just a dedicated IP number and the MAC address of the destination computer. There are some security implications associated with ARP binding (seeARP spoofing); however, as long as none of the computers connected to the LAN are compromised, an attacker must use a computer that is connected directly to the target LAN (plugged into the LAN via cable, or by breaking through the Wi‑Fi connection security to gain access to the LAN).

Most home routers are able to send magic packets to LAN; for example, routers with theDD-WRT,TomatoorPfSensefirmware have a built-in Wake-on-LAN client.OpenWrtsupports both Linux implementations for WoL etherwake and WoLs.

Responding to the magic packet

Most WoL hardware functionally is typically blocked by default and needs to be enabled in using the system BIOS/UEFI. Further configuration from the OS is required in some cases, for example via the Device Manager network card properties on Windows operating systems.

Microsoft Windows

Newer versions of Microsoft Windows integrate WoL functionality into the Device Manager. This is available in the Power Management tab of each network device's driver properties. For full support of a device's WoL capabilities (such as the ability to wake from an ACPI S5 power off state), installation of the full driver suite from the network device manufacturer may be necessary, rather than the bare driver provided by Microsoft or the computer manufacturer. In most casescorrect BIOS/UEFI configuration is also required for WoL to function.

The ability to wake from a hybrid shutdown state (S4) (aka Fast Startup) or a soft powered-off state (S5) is unsupported in Windows 8 and above,and Windows Server 2012 and above.This is because of a change in the OS behavior which causes network adapters to be explicitly not armed for WoL when shutdown to these states occurs. WOL from a non-hybrid hibernation state (S4) (i.e. when a user explicitly requests hibernation) or a sleep state (S3) is supported. However, some hardware will enable WoL from states that are unsupported by Windows.

Mac hardware (macOS)

Modern Mac hardware supports WoL functionality when the computer is in a sleep state, but it is not possible to wake up a Mac computer from a powered-off state.

Mac OS X Snow Leopardand later support WoL, which is called Wake on Demand. On laptops, the feature is controlled via the macOS System Settings Battery panel, in the Options pop-up window. TheWake for network accessitem can be set to "Always", "Only on Power Adapter", or "Never"; "Always" enables Wake-on-LAN even when on battery power, but "Only on Power Adapter" enables it only when connected to a power supply. On desktops, the feature is controlled via the System Settings Energy Saver panel. Marking theWake for network accesscheckbox enables Wake-on-LAN.It can also be configured through the terminal using thepmset womp(wake on magic packet) command.

Apple'sApple Remote Desktopclient management system can be used to send Wake-on-LAN packets,but there are also freeware and shareware macOS applications available. A mechanism calledBonjour Sleep Proxy,provided by Apple AirPort access points and Apple TVs, allows other machines on a LAN to cause a WoL packet to be sent to a host when that machine accesses one of the host's shared resources.

Linux

Wake-on-LAN support may be changed using a subfunction of theethtoolcommand, for example:

ethtool-seth0wolg

Other machine states and LAN wakeup signals

In the early days of Wake-on-LAN the situation was relatively simple: a machine was connected to power but switched off, and it was arranged that a special packet be sent to switch the machine on.

Since then many options have been added and standards agreed upon. A machine can be in sevenpower statesfrom S0 (fully on) through S5 (powered down but plugged in) and disconnected from power (G3, Mechanical Off), with names such as "sleep", "standby", and "hibernate". In some reduced-power modes the system state is stored in RAM and the machine can wake up very quickly; in others the state is saved to disk and the motherboard powered down, taking at least several seconds to wake up. The machine can be awakened from a reduced-power state by a variety of signals.

The machine's BIOS/UEFI must be set to allow Wake-on-LAN. To allow wakeup from powered-down state S5, wakeup on PME (Power Management Event) is also required. The Intel adapter allows "Wake on Directed Packet", "Wake on Magic Packet", "Wake on Magic Packet from power off state", and "Wake on Link".Wake on Directed Packet is particularly useful as the machine will automatically come out of standby or hibernation when it is referenced, without the user or application needing to explicitly send a magic packet. Unfortunately in many networks waking on directed packet (any packet with the adapter's MAC address or IP address) or on link is likely to cause wakeup immediately after going to a low-power state. Details for any particular motherboard and network adapter are to be found in the relevant manuals; there is no general method. Knowledge of signals on the network may also be needed to prevent spurious wakening.

Unattended operation

For a machine which is normally unattended, precautions need to be taken to make the Wake-on-LAN function as reliable as possible. For a machine procured to work in this way, Wake-on-LAN functionality is an important part of the purchase procedure.

Some machines do not support Wake-on-LAN after they have been disconnected from power (e.g., when power is restored after a power failure). Use of anuninterruptible power supply(UPS) will give protection against a short period without power, although the battery will discharge during a prolonged power-cut.

Waking up without operator presence

If a machine that is not designed to support Wake-on-LAN is left powered down after power failure, it may be possible to set the BIOS/UEFI to start it up automatically on restoration of power, so that it is never left in an unresponsive state. A typical BIOS/UEFI setting isAC back functionwhich may beon,off,ormemory.Onis the correct setting in this case;memory,which restores the machine to the state it was in when power was lost, may leave a machine which was hibernating in an unwakeable state.

Other problems can affect the ability to start or control the machine remotely: hardware failure of the machine or network, failure of the BIOS/UEFI settings battery (the machine will halt when started before the network connection is made, displaying an error message and requiring a keypress), loss of control of the machine due to software problems (machine hang, termination of remote control or networking software, etc.), and virus infection or hard disk corruption. Therefore, the use of a reliable server-class machine withRAIDdrives, redundant power supplies, etc., will help to maximize availability. Additionally, a device which can switch the machine off and on again, controlled perhaps by a remote signal, can force a reboot which will clear problems due to misbehaving software.

For a machine not in constant use, energy can be conserved by putting the machine into low-power RAM standby after a short timeout period. If a connection delay of a minute or two is acceptable, the machine can timeout into hibernation, powered off with its state saved to disk.

Wake on Internet

See also:Bonjour Sleep Proxy

The originator of the wakeup signal (magic packet) does not have to be on the samelocal area network(LAN) as the computer being woken. It can be sent from anywhere using:

1. Avirtual private network(VPN) – which makes the originator appear to be a member of the LAN.
2. The Internet with local broadcasting – some routers permit a packet received from the Internet to be broadcast to the entire LAN;the default TCP or UDP ports preconfigured to relay WoL requests are usually ports 7 (Echo Protocol), 9 (Discard Protocol), or both. This proxy setting must be enabled in the router, and port forwarding rules may need to be configured in its embeddedfirewallin order to accept magic packets coming from the internet side to these restricted port numbers, and to allow rebroadcasting them on the local network (normally to the same ports and the same TCP or UDP protocol). Such routers may also be configurable to use different port numbers for this proxying service.
3. The Internet without local broadcasting – if (as often) the firewall or router at the destination does not permit packets received from the Internet to be broadcast to the local network, Wake-on-Internet may still be achieved by sending the magic packet to any specified port of the destination's Internet address, having previously set the firewall or router to forward packets arriving at that port to the local IP address of the computer being woken. The router may require reservation of the local IP address of the computer being woken in order to forward packets to it when it is not live.

See also

• Alert on LAN
• Alert Standard Format
• Desktop and mobile Architecture for System Hardware
• RTC Alarm
• Wake-on-Ring– Telephone line ring event
• Conventional PCI pinout– Power Management Event (PME#) signal
• Wired for Management