Wake-On-LAN service. Wake-on-Lan

Few Windows users have heard of Wake-On-Lan (or WOL for short) technology, much less ever used it. Most readers of our site will already yawn at this phrase and rush to switch their attention to something else, more understandable and interesting to read. But don’t rush to do this, because... WOL technology, in fact, is quite understandable, simple and in demand at the present time.

Let's consider step by step what Wake-On-Lan technology is, what requirements this technology has for computer components, what are the features of its settings in Windows 10, and also in what cases it may be needed, when and how it can be used in everyday life.

What is Wake-ON-LAN?

WOL, invented and introduced into the functionality of network devices quite a long time ago, but not very initially in demand (only in narrow circles - network business solutions) Wake-On-LAN allows you to turn on a PC remotely, by issuing a special command via a local network, or even via the Internet . It immediately becomes clear that this is a convenient function - to “wake up” your “machine” remotely in order to gain access to your files, operating system and software installed in the OS.

Thus, using the Wake-On-Lan + combination (TeamViewer, Radmin, and others) - anyone can control their PC, work on it, configure its components from anywhere in the world, accessing the PC via the Internet. In this case, no assistance or the presence of anyone else directly near the computer is required.

Also, briefly, it is worth noting that on the basis of WOL it is possible to implement Wake-on-Wireless LAN - this is a technology for wirelessly turning on a computer, based on the operation of WiFi routers and other similar devices. Of course, such wireless data transmission devices must include support for remote activation in their hardware and software functionality.

WOL technology requirements

To implement such a PC operation scheme, the following technical conditions must be met:

1. The PC motherboard (which, as a rule, has an integrated network card) must have a built-in Wake-On-Lan support function. Let us reassure you right away - in modern motherboards this function is always present, i.e. is there almost by default.
2. The PC power supply must support the well-known ATX standard. This technology is more than 1.5 decades old, it is popular and in use, and the ATX standard is supported by almost all power supplies available on the computer components market.
3. The computer itself must be constantly connected to a power source - be it an electrical outlet, a battery (if it is a laptop or other type of portable PC), or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS).

Due to the fact that the WOL technology is implemented at the computer hardware level, this technology works in most types of operating systems, be it Windows, Mac or Linux.

The convenience of Wake-On-Lan technology lies in the fact that when the computer is not in use by you (and you are remote from the computer), the PC can be in any of the operating states that save energy. Be it hibernation mode, sleep mode, whatever - the PC can even be turned off (but, of course, not physically disconnected from the power supply)! Well, if you need any files on this PC, or you need to run a certain program on it, you can easily “wake up” your computer, turn it on remotely and start working with it. And this, you see, is very convenient, very effective.

So, if the technical conditions are met, the standards and the WOL format are supported, let’s move on to the Wake-On-Lan settings section to implement this functionality.

Setting up and enabling Wake-On-Lan in Windows 10

Being directly in Windows 10, press the combination of keyboard buttons “WIN” + “I”, the “Settings” window will open, in it select the “Network and Internet” section:

In the window that appears, click on the “Ehernet” (network adapter) section on the right side of the window, and then on the left side of the window click on the “Configure adapter settings” item:

The “Network Connections” window will open. Find the shortcut called “Ethernet”, right-click on it, and select “Properties” from the pop-up menu:

The PC network card settings will open. At the top right, immediately below the name of the network card, click on the “Configure” button.

In the window that opens, select the “Advanced” tab. Next, in the network card properties settings window that appears, scroll through the list of parameters to the “Wake on Magic Packet” item, select it with a mouse click, and on the right side of the window, switch the parameter from “Enabled” to “enabled” if the state is “Disabled” - "turned off":

Next, without clicking the “Ok” button and without closing the current window, select the “Power Management” tab. In this window, check the checkboxes (enable them):

After completing all these steps, click the “Ok” button, the settings window will close, the new parameters will take effect from now on. Close all other windows that are open to make these WOL settings.

“Magic” Wake-On-Lan package

As you noticed, in the previous section the term “magic” package was mentioned; it is also called a “magic” package. What are we talking about in this case, what kind of magic, if the essence of the topic is purely technical - setting up a PC?

The fact is that the “magic” packet was the name given to the same command transmitted over the network that forces the computer to “wake up” and turn on according to the “order” of the owner.

What does the “magic” package look like? Everything is quite simple - it’s a simple combination of numbers, a kind of block of numbers that is sent over the network from the user’s device to his remote computer, which is in sleep mode. This block consists of the following parts:

• hexadecimal code “0xFF” repeated 6 times in a row;
• MAC address of the computer's network card, repeated 16 times.

Due to the fact that the MAC address of any network device in the world is unique and does not repeat itself, a “magic” packet containing this MAC address can be intended for a very specific, one network device. This allows you to access your device remotely, from anywhere on the planet, and with access to the Internet. All other PCs, routers and other network devices, accordingly, will not react in any way to the appearance of such a data packet, because they already have their own, also absolutely unique, MAC addresses.

The network adapter, thanks to the enabled Wake-On-Lan technology, constantly scans the network for the appearance of just this command in order to immediately initiate the process of turning on the personal computer - power will be supplied, the PC will turn on, and the launch of the Windows operating system will be initiated.

To do all this, you need to put the network card into PC power management mode, that is, allowing it to turn on the computer when a signal appears - a “magic” packet, which is what we did in the previous section.

Setting up the computer's remote wake-up mode in the BIOS

For successful operation of the computer in Wake-On-Lan mode, in addition to complying with the technical requirements of the supported standards and setting up the network card accordingly, you must also enable the appropriate operating mode in the computer’s BIOS.

Restart (turn on) the computer, and from the first seconds of booting, continuously press the “F2” or “DEL” key, depending on the BIOS version. Next we need to find the appropriate BIOS setting that allows you to enable Wake-On-Lan mode. Typically, this option is located in the BIOS section “Configuration” or “Power management”. But due to the fact that there are quite a large number of BIOS versions on the personal computer market, and they differ greatly from each other in terms of interface design, it is a difficult task to clearly write where the WOL enabled option is located.

Even the name of the remote turn-on technology itself can be called differently, depending on the model and BIOS version, PC platform (MAC, Windows, Linux). In addition to the original name “Wake-On-Lan”, see examples of possible alternative names from the list:

After the option is found, select its operating mode option as “Enabled” or “Enabled” if the BIOS is in English. That's it, the BIOS settings are completed. To save the changes, press the “F10” key, or in the BIOS menu item, find the “Save and Exit” item, confirm in the window that opens that you have chosen the correct exit option (with saving) by clicking OK. The computer will reboot with the new BIOS parameter already set.

Security and Wake-ON-LAN

The essence of the WOL technology is that each user of the local (global) network in which the computer itself is located with WOL enabled can start this computer knowing the MAC address of the PC’s network card. Accordingly, the issue of data security remains open.

The problem is relevant only for computers with wake-up technology enabled that are connected to any public network. For home network computers, the security level is high.

On the other hand, even by turning on a remote PC by sending it a “magic” packet, an attacker will not be able to bypass the PC’s security settings. The account login password, the BIOS startup password (if this option is installed), personal firewall security settings inside Windows and other security-related issues - an attacker will have to somehow bypass, because Wake-ON-Lan technology only allows turn on the computer remotely, but does not give direct access to information on the computer.

There have been cases when hackers, using a combination of server technologies such as PXE and DHCP, still gained access to the Windows operating system on a remote PC, using a Windows installation image specially customized for their own selfish purposes to bypass security. . But this is the lot of a narrow circle of IT specialists with a high level of knowledge, who are unlikely to covet an ordinary home PC for an ordinary user.

To summarize. Practical use of Wake-ON-LAN

So, we learned what a technology for remotely turning on a computer called Wake-ON-Lan is. The technology itself is not new. But despite this, it has more and more application options - not only in any business solutions using extensive local networks, managed servers running on various network technologies, etc., but WOL can already be applied in everyday, home life, or within the tasks of a small office.

As an example, you can use WOL to create a technologically advanced eco-space “smart home”. Indeed, a very concise, competent, and convenient solution. You don’t need to purchase any additional equipment or software to set up a local server at home with remote access, which can already be used to manage home devices, obtain statistics on their operation, etc.

Do you use this PC function in your life and work? Share your experience and impressions about using Wake-ON-Lan technology in the comments under this article!

The forum often receives various questions. Whenever possible, they are answered promptly. And sometimes, the number of questions with the same content begins to go off scale. And this phenomenon did not bypass the Wake-On-Lan technology, which was implemented on a lot of motherboards manufactured by GIGABYTE.

Today's example with pictures will be an attempt to bring some clarity to the specifics of setting up and working with WOL. What Wake-On-Lan is and why it is needed can be found on the all-knowing Wikipedia website:

I'll start with the configuration. The following equipment was used:

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H motherboard

Processor Intel Core i5 -2300

Intel BOX Cooler

RAM Kingston KHX11000D3LL/2G connected to DDR3_1 slot

Drive wd1002faex

Power supply CFT-1000G-DF

Operating system Windows 7 Professional x64

So, it is considered that the system is assembled, tested, works properly and is included in the local network. However, to guarantee correct settings in the UEFI environment, it is still necessary to bring it to uniformity and harmony. To do this, you need to perform a CMOS clearing procedure. This is done by shorting the two CLR_CMOS pins using a metal jumper WITH AN ABSOLUTELY DE-ENERGED SYSTEM. But we used the proven, old-fashioned method and closed the contacts with a screwdriver☺

Refer to the official motherboard manual for details on the CMOS reset procedure.

Afterwards, the system turns on, and subsequently a message indicating that the BIOS reboot has been completed is displayed on the screen, and you are prompted to select the desired action option. The third one is selected - entering the BIOS settings menu.

After resetting the CMOS, all parameters are returned to the factory settings and, therefore, the possibility that some settings affected the WOL functions necessary for correct operation is excluded.

In a UEFI environment, you need to switch to Advanced mode (where there are no beautiful views of the board). This is done by pressing the F1 key. Next, you need to go to the Power Management menu, and make sure that the ErP parameter (it is responsible for the WOL functionality) is set to Disabled. If not installed, you need to install it.

So, in the operating system environment, it is necessary to prepare the Ethernet adapter to “listen” to the airwaves in order to receive the “magic packet”. This package is specifically designed to transfer a computer from S5 mode to S0 mode at the right time, without physical user intervention. To do this, you need to perform the following adapter settings. Let’s go to the computer’s management menu by right-clicking on the “Computer” icon on the desktop and selecting “manage”:

Go to the “advanced” tab. There we select the “WOL Magic Package” option. It must be turned on. If it is turned off, turn it on.

In fact, after this the computer is ready to wake up at the “Magic packet” command. And all that remains to be done is to find out how to “wake it up”. But before that, you need to find out what physical and IP address the computer currently has. You can do this as follows:

Go to the Network and Sharing Center (either using Device Manager or using the tray icon), select the current local network connection and click the “details” button there. Afterwards, you can see extensive information regarding the network connection. We are interested in the columns “Physical Address” (aka MAC) and IPv4 Address. We write them down on paper. In our case, these are 50E549EDFCA3 and 192.168.100.55, respectively.

Afterwards, we turn off the computer in the only correct way, through “shutdown”. This is necessary so that the network adapter continues to function correctly and receive “magic packets” after the computer is turned off.

After the computer quiets down, you can make sure that the network adapter continues to work by blinking the LED:

Please note that further loss of power is strictly unacceptable. If you unplug the power cable or turn off the pilot surge protector, the computer will not be able to turn on remotely.

So, now you can proceed directly to the procedure for remotely turning on the computer. This is done using special software capable of generating and sending a “Magic packet” to the desired address. There is a huge amount of such software available, and everyone can find something personally to their liking. We settled on the free utility WOL 2.0.3. It is installed on a third-party computer, from which, in fact, the computer waiting for the “Magic Packet” will be remotely turned on.

The installation is carried out in the most basic way:

After that, the program starts, and in it you need to make settings to add a computer that will be turned on remotely. To do this, in the main window, click the “add new item” icon, in the window that appears, enter the IP and MAC addresses previously written down on a piece of paper. Next, click OK.

Afterwards, in the list rows of the main window, an entry about the computer with the previously entered parameters should appear. Select the entry below the “Host” column, the interaction icons become active, and click on the one called “Wake-up”. After this action, the treasured “Magic packet” will be sent to the remote computer, and the computer will react as if the Power button had been pressed, or, more simply put, it will turn on.

This is, in brief, the procedure for remotely turning on a computer based on a GIGABYTE motherboard using Wake-On-Lan technology. But what to do next with the computer, how to connect, how to work and how to turn it off - it’s up to you to decide, because this is a completely different story☺

Did you know that a computer can be turned on remotely via a LAN network or even via the Internet. Wake-On-LAN technology has been around for quite some time, and now we'll look at how it works.

Wake-On-LAN (sometimes abbreviated WoL) is a standard protocol for waking up computers remotely. Naturally, the computer must be physically connected to both electricity and the router using a wired or even Wi-Fi connection. The Wake-on-Wireless-LAN protocol allows you to turn on your computer without a wired network connection.

Enabling Wake-On-LAN depends on two things: the motherboard and the network card. Your motherboard must be connected to an ATX-compatible power supply, i.e. to almost any power supply that has been in production for 17 years. The network card or wireless card must also support this feature. Since enabling the WoL protocol is set either through the BIOS or through the firmware of your network card. In the latter case, you will need special software to turn on the computer.

Wake-On-LAN support is a fairly common feature built into motherboards and network cards by default. Moreover, among the listed characteristics in stores you will no longer find mention of support for Wake-On-LAN.

Magic Packet: How Wake-on-LAN works

Wake-On-LAN turns on the computer by sending "magic packets" to its network card, which include the network broadcast address, the broadcast address, the MAC address of the network card, and a special sequence of bytes - the data packet. These magic packages are absolutely identical for any platform, be it Intel or AMD or Apple. Typical ports used for WoL and magic packets are UDP 7 and 9. Since each computer is actively listening to the data channel, such a magic packet, which has a unique computer identifier (MAC address of the network card), will be easily caught and processed.

The picture above shows the results of the packet sniffer. Here a reasonable question arises: is the transmission of a magic packet safe? After all, intercepting unprotected traffic will not be difficult. How secure is Wake-On-LAN transmission when used on insecure networks and over the Internet? On a secure network or in home use there should be no cause for concern. And in an open network, it is better not to use Wake-On-LAN or at least take care of the connection profile of your network card, choosing at least options with minimal openness of resources to the outside.

How to enable Wake-On-LAN

In order to start using Wake-On-LAN, there are several options for enabling it. The easiest way is through the motherboard BIOS. Another option is through a special utility from the manufacturer of your motherboard or network card.

In BIOS

Most older computers and many modern ones have their own Wake-On-LAN settings built into the BIOS. In order to enter the BIOS, you need to click on the button DEL or F1 or F2 When you boot your computer, After entering the BIOS, go to Power or Advanced Options.

Award BIOS

In UEFI BIOS, the setting to enable Wake-On-LAN is usually found in additional options, sometimes in the PCIE / PCI Power On section.

Also, motherboard manufacturers call the technology differently: Aggresslive Link from ASRock, ErP from Gigabyte, PME from ASUS.

UEFI BIOS

On Windows operating system

You can also enable Wake-On-LAN in the operating system. How to do this on Windows. Open menu START and enter device Manager. After opening Device Manager, expand the section Network adapters. Right click on the network card and select Properties, then go to the tab Additionally.

Scroll the list and find Wake on Magic Packet, Wake on LAN- each manufacturer calls this setting in its own way. Change the value to Enabled, if it is turned off.

Now go to the tab Power management, and make sure the option Allow the device to wake up the computer included. Additionally, you can check the box next to Allow only the magic package to wake up the computer.

On macOS

Open system settings and select Energy saving. Check the option Wake for Network Access or something similar. This will enable Wake-on-LAN.

On Linux

Ubuntu has a great tool that can check if your network card supports Wake-on-LAN and can enable it. Open a terminal and install ethtool using the following command:

Sudo apt-get install ethtool

And you can support Wake-on-LAN by running:

If your network interface is different eth1, eth2, eth3 and so on, replace it.

Find an item Wake-on. To enable this option, use the following command:

Sudo ethtool -s eth0 wol g

Run the command again to make sure it is enabled. Must be Wake-on:g.

How to turn on your computer using Wake-on-LAN

To send Wake-on-LAN requests, there are several options available:

Depicus for Windows, Apple and Android

Depicus has an excellent series of lightweight tools to get the job done, including a GUI for Windows and a command line for Windows and MacOS. In addition, a separate application is available on Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile.

Wake-on-LAN (WoL) is an underrated and underutilized part of the Windows 10 operating system. If you are not an avid Windows user, then the phrase Wake-on-LAN will probably not be of interest to you. This function is associated with a local network connection, which in turn will be of interest to gamers and technical support. In the past, this setting was weak, but today, setting up the Wake-on-LAN feature in Windows 10 does more than it used to. So what is Wake-on-LAN? How can this be useful for ordinary users? And most importantly, how to set it up?

What is Wake-On-LAN?

Wake-on-LAN is a network standard that allows a computer to wake up remotely. It has an additional standard called Wake-on-Wireless-LAN (WoWLAN).

For WoL to work, you need three things:

• Your computer must be connected to a power source.
• The computer's motherboard must be ATX compatible. Don't worry, most modern motherboards meet the requirements.
• The computer's network card (Ethernet or wireless) must be enabled in WoL. WoL support is almost universal.

Wake-on-LAN is widespread in the computer world. Since support is required at the hardware level, WoL runs on Windows, Mac and Linux computers without any problems. From a Windows perspective, your computer can turn on from any of the default power states, such as hibernation and sleep, as well as from a complete power outage.

How does Wake-On-LAN work?

Wake-on-LAN uses "magic packets"; when the network card detects a packet, it tells the computer to wake itself up. This is why your computer must be connected to a power source, even if it is turned off. WoL-enabled NICs will continue to receive a small charge 24/7 while they scan for "magic packets".

But what is happening?

The "magic packet" is sent from the server. There can be many things on the server, for example, specialized software, routers, websites, computers, mobile devices, smart TVs. The server sends the packet throughout your network. The package itself contains important information, including subnet information, network address, and most importantly, the MAC address of the computer you want to enable. All this information combined into one packet is called a wakeup frame. Your network card is constantly scanning for them.

Why is Wake-On-LAN useful?

Now you know what Wake-on-LAN is and how it works. But why is this useful? Why should the average user care about this technology?

Turn on your computer from anywhere

It's hard to imagine being on a business trip without forgotten files at home that you can't access remotely. To use your desktop remotely, you will need a remote desktop application that supports Wake-On-LAN. The popular Google Chrome Remote Desktop does not work, but it provides this opportunity.

Note: The BIOS must support Wakeup-on-PME (power management event). And then you can wake up the computer from the off state.

How to enable Wake-On-LAN

Enabling WoL is a two-step process. You need to configure Windows and your computer's BIOS.

Enabling Wake-On-LAN in Windows

• To enable Wake-on-LAN in Windows, you need to open the Device Manager application. Click Win+R and write devmgmt.msc.

• Scroll through the list of devices until you find network adapters. Click " > ", to expand the menu. Now you need to find your network card.

• If you don't know which one is your network card, search for windows " System Information".

• Go to " Components" > "Net" > "Adapter" and on the right, find the product name or type. Remember these values ​​and go back to the device manager.

• In Device Manager, right-click on your network adapter and select properties. Next, in the new window that appears, go to the tab " Additionally", scroll down the list and find Wake-On-LAN, select value Enabled(included). The name may vary between devices and some will have Wake on magic packet.

• Next, go to the "tab" Power management" and you should have two items checked there: Allow this device to wake the computer from standby mode And Allow the computer to wake up from standby mode only using a "magic packet". Click OK.

Enabling Wake-On-LAN in BIOS

Unfortunately, the BIOS menu differs between computers and laptops, making it impossible to provide precise instructions. Basically, you need to press a specific key while your computer is booting up. Typically, the buttons are Escape, Delete or F1. See detailed guide.

• In the BIOS menu you need to find the " "Power" and find the entry Wake-on-LAN and enable (Enabled). Don't forget to save the BIOS settings.
• The tab may also be named Power Management or you can find this function even in Advanced Settings.

Security implications of Wake on LAN

Magic packets are sent using the OSI-2 layer. In practice, this means that anyone on the same network as WoL can use your computer to download. In a home environment this is not a significant problem. In a public network this is more problematic. In theory, WoL only allows you to turn on computers. It will not bypass security checks, password screens, or other forms of security. This will also prevent you from turning off your computer again.

However, there have been cases where attackers used a combination of DHCP and PXE servers to boot a machine with their own boot image. This gives them access to any unprotected drives on the local network.

Wake on LAN technology must be supported by the BIOS and network card. Also, we will need a special application whose functions allow you to send a WOL packet to a remote PC.

Thanks to modern advances, you can turn on a remote PC not only from another computer, but also from your phone. It is also necessary to remember that turning on the computer remotely requires the activity of the network card - it must receive power in standby mode.

Preparatory actions

First of all, you need to configure the BIOS and network adapter to wake up. It doesn’t matter what kind of network it is - built-in or external. Having opened the main I/O program, we will find the section responsible for power management - Power Management, for example.

In this section you need to find the wake-up parameters.

These parameters can go by different names, including Wake on LAN, PowerOn By PCI Card, WOL from Soft-Off, and so on. This option must be enabled.

It is quite possible that you will need to enable the option in the picture below.

To be more confident, it's best to familiarize yourself with all the wake-up options in your BIOS. After all, the computer can wake up from the TV tuner if the option to turn on via PCI-Express is enabled, and after pressing any key on the keyboard if the options related to the PS/2 port are enabled. In our case, we need a parameter associated with the PCI bus on which the built-in network controller is located.

After setting up the BIOS, be sure to check whether the technology being discussed is supported by your Ethernet controller. We will need to enable the reception of the “magic” WOL packet so that the Ethernet controller is configured to wait for it. A WOL packet is a special Ethernet frame consisting of a sequence of bytes containing the MAC address of the network card. Having received such a frame, the Ethernet card generates a signal to wake up the PC.

So, let's open the network control center.

Let's open the properties of the network adapter.

Let's move on to its settings.

Let's enable WOL Magic Package and, if necessary, enable Energy Efficiant Ethernet, Termination Wakeup.

Let's go to the power management tab, where this configuration should be.

WakeMeOnLan

Let's use a small program called Wakmeonlan for our purposes. This application does not require installation. After it starts, you need to scan the local network so that Wakemeonlan finds all network devices.

It must work on a PC from which a WOL frame will be generated to turn on the remote PC. This is how Wakemeonlan scans:

If during the scan the application did not detect a currently disabled computer, then it is possible to add it yourself.

Let's add another device manually.

You just need to enter the IP address of this device and its MAC into the form.

Let's determine the addresses we need, for which we'll launch the command line.

Let's run ipconfig with the /all key.

The second way is to look at the “Adapter Status”.

Open the Details window.

Let's find the addresses that interest us.

Having added the desired device, we will update the list.

As you can see, we already have three devices.

After adding, you can easily turn it on remotely by clicking the “Wake up Selected Computer” button.

Let's use TeamViewer

The preliminary setup will allow you to launch the Wake on LAN function of an application such as TeamViewer. To remotely wake up your PC, you must ensure the following:

Cable Internet connection.

The computer is set to one of the modes: hibernation, sleep, or soft shutdown (Start and Shutdown).

Installed TeamViewer.

It is very important to disable Fast Startup in operating systems such as Windows 8 and 10. Your instances of TeamViewer must be associated with a program account. In this case, all devices must belong to the same LAN.

In the application options tab, you need to activate the Wake-on-LAN function and configure the configuration by clicking the button of the same name. By selecting the “Other applications on the same local network” option, add the TeamViewer ID of those devices that are allowed to wake up this computer. To create inclusion conditions using a public IP address, you will have to connect to dynamic DNS, which will also have to be configured on the network router. Let's consider all the steps in order.

First of all, let's connect all computers to an existing account.

Warning window about the need to connect to your account.

Linking using the “Link” button.

The established connection is displayed at the bottom.

We will need to configure the Wake on Lan function.

Check the box for other TeamViewer applications.

Add the TeamViewer ID whose computer will send the WOL packet.

You can wake up a remote PC from your TeamViewer account, where all devices linked to it are displayed. You just need to press a button in the form of a power button, which will send a WOL frame to the Ethernet card of the selected electronic device.

Brief summary

To turn on your PC remotely from another device, you need to configure the BIOS and Ethernet card. In the BIOS you will need to configure a policy for waking up the PC by a network signal, which is in an active state, provided by standby power. Also, you need to configure the Ethernet controller to receive WOL packets. You will also need a special program to generate a WOL package. Such a program could be, for example, Wakemeonlan or TeamViewer.