# Wake on LAN: Boot machines remotely Wake on Local Area Network (LAN), commonly referenced as **Wake on LAN**, is a computer networking standard that aids in the remote booting of wired and wireless networks. Also known as remote wake up, wake up on LAN, wake on wireless LAN, or simply WOL, the Wake on LAN technology helps network admins optimize energy usage, and ensure that network resources are readily available. Since remote Wake on LAN standards are met by most device manufactures, network admins widely used Wake On LAN Application to provide uninterrupted IT resource availability. In this page, we'll look into, ![Wake on LAN - ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/images/aCQTEDm3R7w.jpg) - [Threats and difficulties in Wake on LAN implementation](#threats) - [Effortlessly booting your remote network devices with OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool](#OPU-WOL) - [Highlights of OpUtils' Wake on LAN capability](#Wol-features) - [Prerequisites to use Wake on LAN](#wol-prerequisites) - [More on Wake on LAN tool](#more-on-wol) - [Getting started with OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool](#wol-start) ## Threats and difficulties in Wake-on-LAN implementation Several factors, such as not using an appropriate BIOS or network card, the internal architecture of the target machine, and sometimes the reliability of the OS and router functionality, can hinder the functionality of a Wake on LAN tool. Some of the common hurdles faced by network admins when implementing Wake on LAN include: - **Hardware issues:** By default, on triggering wake on LAN, machines are expected to wake up from a low-powered state, that is, machines that are powered off but are still connected to a power source. Hardware issues, such as scenarios like those mentioned above, might wake up computers from sleep instead of from a fully off state, when a Wake on LAN message is transmitted to it. This impedes the efficiency of the Wake on LAN tool, causing network booting issues. - **Security threats:** The wake on LAN Magic packets are transmitted to the target device by the Wake on LAN tool, through the data link layer. Without required security measures in place, the Wake-on-LAN trigger packets can be manipulated by any attacker or rogue device in the same network. If the target computer launches from a Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) server on receiving the Wake on LAN tool's message, it could allow the computer to start up from an attacker’s boot image, bypassing any security and providing unauthorized access to local disks over the network. This makes deploying wake-on-LAN in an organizational network prone to security threats. To avoid these network mishaps, an effective software tool like OpUtils Wake-on-LAN should be used. ## Wake on LAN (WOL) tool by OpUtils: Effortlessly boot your remote network devices OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool enables network admins to wake up machines remotely on demand. The WOL tool solution can be used to boot either a single Wake On Lan device or multiple devices simultaneously. Network admins have the option to send the Wake on LAN (WoL) packets to a specific system, or broadcast the WoL packets to whole subnets using the WoL tool. The status and the last wake-up time are automatically updated in the database. ## Highlights of OpUtils' Wake-on-LAN tool OpUtils' Wake on LAN solution eases the use of WoL technology with its auto discovery and rediscovery of network devices. Equipped with real-time network scanning tools, the Wake on LAN utility discovers and displays the MAC addresses in your network to help network admins wake up a specific target machine. Also, OpUtils’ tree-based hierarchy of subnets helps network admins efficiently broadcast WoL messages to the subnets in which the target machine(s) are present. Wake-on-LAN features: - [Remote booting of devices in enterprise networks](#remote-wol) - [Centralized monitoring of device status](#central-wol) - [Automated WoL schedules and on-demand manual wake-up](#auto-wol) - [Device grouping and group-specific WoL schedules](#group-wol) - [Simplifying Wake on LAN by correlating with OpUtils' IP Address Manager](#simple-tool) ### Remote booting of devices in enterprise networks In a large network with hundreds of devices to be managed, it is impractical to manually boot up or shut down devices. To overcome this hurdle, most network admins rely on Wake on LAN. Enabling network admins to remotely boot up their enterprise network devices, OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool saves the footwork of manual booting. Monitoring the device's up or down statuses from OpUtils' web console, network admins can easily boot up or shut down devices with a click. ![Wake on LAN Tool - ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/images/WoL-general-settings.png) ### Centralized monitoring of device status Booting network devices becomes more difficult if the devices are physically distributed across different floors, or blocks within the organization. OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool enables network admins to gain a centralized view of their network devices. It provides a summarized view of various tasks, along with the status of execution. ![WOL Software - ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/images/WoL-device-view.png) ### Automated WoL schedules and on-demand wake-up Booting network devices becomes more difficult if the devices are physically distributed across different floors or blocks within the organization. OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool enables network admins to gain a centralized view of their network devices. It provides a summarized view of various tasks, along with the status of execution. To simplify this process, OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool comes with a Scheduler that enables you to create different schedules for devices that require periodic booting and powering down. Once created, OpUtils' Wake on LAN tool automatically triggers these wake-up schedules, thereby booting up and powering down the target devices. Network admins can also choose to wake-up a device on demand, by simply clicking the button next to the managed device in the OpUtils' web console. ![Wake-On-LAN Solutions - ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/images/WoL-schedular-settings.png) ### Device grouping and group-specific WoL schedules OpUtils’ Wake on LAN tool enables network admins to create multiple groups containing different computers, and these groups can be scheduled to run at different times. There is no restriction on the number of groups that can be created. The status of individual tasks will be provided as a summary under Groups in Networking Tools by the Wake on LAN tool. The status of individual computers will also be available in the Status column under Devices in Networking Tools. ![Wake-On-LAN Tool - ManageEngine OpUtils](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/images/WoL-group-view.png) ### Simplifying Wake on LAN by correlating with OpUtils' IP Address Manager OpUtils’ IP Address Manager automates network discovery with flexible discovery and rediscovery options, including discovery from spreadsheets, router, and servers. The IP address manager extracts the real-time status of your network address space. OpUtils’ Wake on LAN tool provides you with a view of all the MAC addresses in the network. You can use this list to trigger wake-up calls to network devices. This helps you avoid maintaining separate records of MAC addresses, which is required of other standalone WoL tools. This also enables you to boot multiple devices remotely, providing significant savings in time and effort. ## Prerequisites to use Wake-on-LAN software in your network Prerequisites to use Wake on LAN in your network - An ATX motherboard with 3-pin Wake on LAN connector. - An ATX power supply meeting the ATX 2.01 specifications. - A network card (NIC) that supports Wake on LAN. - Wake on LAN should be enabled in the BIOS power Management. ## More on Wake on Local Area Network (LAN) ### What is Wake-on-LAN? **Wake-on-LAN** (WoL) is a tool that remotely wakes up, or boots up, a wake on LAN devices present in the network that is powered off. Using a specially designed frame called a magic packet, which contains the target computer's MAC address, Wake on LAN (WoL) has the capability to communicate with computers that are powered off or in a low-power mode. Wake on LAN Magic Packet is also called the WOL Packet that acts as the transmitter of the Wake up on LAN message. A device connected to the network can transmit the magic packet Wake on LAN message to wake up a target computer, eliminating the need to physically boot up a machine. ### How does Wake-on-LAN tool work? A network admin can perform a remote wake on local area network (LAN) using the **Wake on LAN software** by transmitting the magic packets to the target device. To do this, a Wake on LAN message is broadcast to all the machines in the network or subnet, including the target machine to be awakened. The Wake on LAN Packet is transmitted through the data-link layer by the WOL Software. The machines in low power mode that are enabled with Wake-on-LAN infrastructure will “listen” to the broadcast message. The machine boots up if the received WoL magic packet contains its MAC address. ### Why use Wake-on-LAN software? Wake on LAN simplifies the task of network management by automating remote booting by deploying networking concepts, such as magic packets. This enable network admins to, - Reduce the footwork of manual booting with remote wake on LAN capabilities. - Trigger wake up of a target device or group of devices with just a click. - Get a real-time view of how your device status from a centralized console. - Automate monotonous wake-up routine schedules with schedulers. - Integrate with an IP address management solution to get a holistic view and control over your network resources. ### How to monitor Wake-on-LAN (WOL)? Network admins can monitor the device status and trigger wake-up calls to network devices, right from their OpUtils' wake on LAN web console. They can monitor their wake on LAN processes with visibility into the status of the scheduled wake ups, individual devices, and device groups. ## Getting started with OpUtils' Wake on LAN (WOL) monitor OpUtils offers features like [port scanner](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/port-scanner.html), [advanced IP scanner](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/advanced-ip-scanner.html), [IP address tracker](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/ip-address-tracker.html), [network scanner](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/network-scanner.html), and 30+ [network tools](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/free-network-tools.html) such as [IP tools](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/ip-tools.html), along with Wake on LAN tool. These features give you full-fledged network resource monitoring along with complete visibility into your IPs and switch ports. If you are new to OpUtils, schedule a live demo with a product expert. Want to try-out OpUtils hands-on? OpUtils seamlessly integrates in to your existing network environment without you having to make many changes to your network infrastructure.