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Wake-on-LAN

If your computer supports Wake-on-LAN (WOL), you can send a “magic packet” to wake it from a powered-down state. This is primarily supported on Ethernet connections.

  1. Identify network interface

    Section titled “Identify network interface”

    Find the name of your Ethernet adapter. Look for names starting with e (e.g., eth0 or enp3s0).

    Terminal window
    ip link show

  2. Install ethtool

    Section titled “Install ethtool”

    Install the utility required to manage network hardware settings.

    Terminal window
    sudo apt update && sudo apt install ethtool -y

  3. Check support

    Section titled “Check support”

    Verify if your hardware supports the magic packet. Look for g in the “Supports Wake-on” line.

    Terminal window
    sudo ethtool $INTERFACE_NAME

  4. Enable WOL (temporary)

    Section titled “Enable WOL (temporary)”

    Enable WOL manually to test the configuration. This setting will reset after a reboot.

    Terminal window
    sudo ethtool -s $INTERFACE_NAME wol g

  5. Persist with systemd

    Section titled “Persist with systemd”

    Create a service to ensure WOL is re-enabled automatically on every boot.

    /etc/systemd/system/wol.service
    [Unit]
    Description=Enable Wake On Lan
    

    [Service]
    Type=oneshot
    ExecStart=/usr/sbin/ethtool -s $INTERFACE_NAME wol g
    

    [Install]
    WantedBy=basic.target

  6. Enable the service

    Section titled “Enable the service”

    Reload systemd and enable the new service.

    Terminal window
    sudo systemctl daemon-reload && sudo systemctl enable wol.service

  7. Send Wake-up packet

    Section titled “Send Wake-up packet”

    From another device on the network, trigger the boot sequence using the target’s MAC address.

    Terminal window
    wakeonlan $MAC_ADDRESS