Wake on LAN

The Wake on LAN Tool of Endpoint Central MSP helps to schedule booting of systems in the Windows Network remotely. It allows you to create different task to group the computers and specify a time to boot the machines in that task.

Waking Up Computers Manually

Endpoint Central MSP has the ability to wake up computers within the same subnet and different subnets. When a task is initiated to wake up a computer, the target computer's broadcast address is sent to the Endpoint Central MSP agents which are live in that subnet. Endpoint Central MSP agent version should be 8.2.93.W or above to perform the wake up task. If you are trying to wake up a computer which belongs to a different subnet, then at least one of the computer in the specified subnet should have a live Endpoint Central MSP agent to perform the wake up task.

If you try to wake a computer which belongs to a remote  office, then one of the following criteria should be met:

1. IP redirected broadcast should be enabled on the router
2. One of the computer with Endpoint Central agent should be live in the same subnet, to perform the task.

You can Wake computers on LAN manually using Endpoint Central by following the steps mentioned below:

1. From Tools tab, click Wake On LAN.
2. This lists all the managed computers in the network. From this list, select the computers that need to be booted and click Wake Up Now.

You can see that the wake up process has been initiated and the status will be updated.

When computers running on Windows 8 operating system are shutdown, we will not be able to wake up those computers. To know more details on the work around for waking up those computers, refer this article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2776718 .

Creating and Scheduling Wake on LAN Tasks

To create a Wake on LAN task, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Define Task

1. Navigate to Wake on LAN from Tools tab.

2. Click the Schedule Wake Up button to create a new task and specify the following:

   1. Provide a name of the task

   2. Waiting time after wake up: Endpoint Central, after broadcasting the Wake On LAN packets, will wait for the period specified here to check the status of the computer.

   3. Resolve IP Address on each schedule: Select this option to resolve the IP Addresses of the machines during every schedule.

Step 2: Select Computers

1. 1. Define the targets that comprise of the list of computers to be booted.

   2. Broadcasting of the WOL packets is based on the subnet address of the computers. If the subnet address is blank or if it is incorrect, the task may fail. You can modify the details such as MAC address, IP address and Subnet mask of the computer by choosing to Modify from under Actions column against the corresponding computer.

Step 3: Define Scheduler

1. Once: To run the task only once. You need to specify the date and time.

2. Daily: To run the task daily. Specify the time and duration to run the task.

3. Weekly: To run the task on specific day(s) in a week. Specify the time, start date, and days on which the task has to be run.

4. Monthly: To run the task specific day every month(s). You need to specify starting time, select a day and select a month/months.

Step 4: Deploy Task

Click the Submit button to deploy this task. The tasks will be run at the scheduled time and interval. The status of the tasks and its execution history can be verified from the Task Details page.

Viewing and Modifying Wake on LAN Tasks

To view the Wake on LAN tasks that have been created, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to Wake on LAN from Tools tab. This lists all the tasks that are already created/scheduled.

2. To modify a task, choose to Modify from Actions column against the corresponding task.

3. To delete a task, choose to Delete from the Actions column against the corresponding task.

Viewing Wake on LAN Task Status

To View the status of the Wake on LAN tasks that have ben created, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to Wake on LAN from Tools tab. This lists all the tasks that are already created/scheduled.

2. Click on the task name to view the status of the computers in that task.

3. You can filter to view the details of the computers by filtering status such as Scheduled, Processing, Success, and Failed.

Configuring Wake on LAN

BIOS Settings

The Wake-On-LAN functionality is generally disabled by default. The option to enable Wake-On-LAN varies with the manufacturer of each computer. The most common method adopted across different PC's are as follows:

1. During the computer’s power-on self-test enter the BIOS setting screen by pressing the F1, INS, or DEL keys.

2. Select Power Management.

3. Choose Wake on LAN/WLAN

4. Under Wake on LAN/WLAN, choose LAN or WLAN.
   Note: If you could see a mode called "Deep Sleep Mode", ensure that it is disabled. This mode can not be found on all the computers.

5. Save and Exit the BIOS settings.

Operating System (OS) Settings

In some Windows OS, the drivers can enable the Wake ON LAN features of network adapters. Follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Right click My Computer icon, and select Properties
2. Click Device Manager
3. Under Network Adapters, choose "Ethernet Adapter & Wireless Adapter".
   Note: The below mentioned operation needs to be performed on both "the Ethernet and Wireless Adapters"
4. Right Click on Ethernet & Wireless Adapter and select properties
5. Click Power Management tab
6. Enable the check box against all the below mentioned options:
   1. Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power
   2. Allow this device to wake the computer
   3. Only allow a magic packet to wake this computer

7. Click OK to save the settings.

You will now be able to wake the computers using Endpoint Central's Wake On LAN.