Wake-on-LAN

Wake-on-LAN lets you turn on an endpoint that is asleep or shut down, from the console, so you can work on it without someone at the desk. You can wake one endpoint, a selection, or every offline endpoint in a site or device group, and you can have Outpost wake endpoints on their own shortly before a patch window or a scheduled script.

How a wake works

Outpost never sends anything onto your network itself. It asks another online Outpost agent on the same network as the sleeping endpoint to send the Wake-on-LAN packet. So a wake needs:

• A wired network adapter on the endpoint that can receive a wake packet
• A network the endpoint was seen on in the last 30 days
• Another Outpost agent online on that network

The console reads what the endpoint last reported about its own network adapters, not what a profile says. An adapter armed in the firmware or by hand counts. When the endpoint connects within 10 minutes of the wake, the wake is recorded as Woke. Otherwise it is recorded as No response.

The endpoint’s Overview tab shows the most recent wake in Last wake, for example Woke followed by how long ago.

Before you begin

• You need endpoint:action. Among the built-in roles, the Owner, Support Manager, and Field Technician hold it.
• Turn on Wake-on-LAN in the endpoints’ firmware (BIOS or UEFI). Outpost does not change firmware settings.
• To have Outpost arm the endpoints’ network adapters, turn on power.wake_on_lan_enabled in a profile. See Wake-on-LAN profile settings.

Wake one endpoint

1. Open the endpoint, and select Actions > Wake.
2. Select Wake in the confirmation.

The console shows Wake packet sent to and the endpoint’s name. The endpoint connects within a few minutes if it can wake.

When an endpoint has a path for the packet but has not reported its adapter as armed, the item reads Wake anyway, with the note Wake-on-LAN is not confirmed on this device. Select Wake anyway in the confirmation. The packet is sent, but the endpoint may not wake.

When Wake is unavailable, point at it to see why:

Reason shown	What to do
This endpoint is already online.	Nothing.
This endpoint is retired.	Nothing. A retired endpoint cannot be woken.
A wake was sent in the last 10 minutes. Waiting for the endpoint to connect.	Wait for the first wake to finish.
This endpoint has no wired network adapter that can receive a wake packet.	Connect the endpoint by cable.
Outpost has not seen this endpoint’s network in the last 30 days.	The endpoint has been away too long for Outpost to know where to send the packet.
No other online Outpost agent is on this endpoint’s network to send the wake packet.	Make sure another endpoint on that network is online.

Note

On Windows, when Fast Startup is on, the confirmation adds Fast Startup is on. If this PC was shut down rather than put to sleep, it may not wake. Turn off Fast Startup with power.fast_startup_enabled for endpoints you need to wake from shut down.

Wake several endpoints

1. Go to Endpoints > All endpoints.
2. Select the endpoints to wake. See Select several endpoints.
3. In the selection bar, select Wake followed by the count.
4. Select Wake in the confirmation.

A selection wakes only endpoints that are offline and have Wake-on-LAN armed. It can hold up to 500 endpoints.

Wake a site or a device group

1. Open the site from Endpoints > Sites, or the group from Endpoints > Device groups.
2. Select Wake offline endpoints.
3. Select Wake in the confirmation.

Waking a site also wakes the offline endpoints in its child sites. Only endpoints with Wake-on-LAN armed and another online agent on their network are woken.

What the result shows

After a bulk wake, the Wake sent dialog reports Wake sent to a number of a total, and lists the endpoints it skipped, grouped by reason:

Group	Meaning
Already online	The endpoint is connected.
Retired	The endpoint is retired.
Wake already in progress	A wake was sent in the last 10 minutes.
No wired network adapter	The endpoint has no adapter that can receive a wake packet.
Network not seen in 30 days	Outpost does not know where to send the packet.
No online agent on its network	No agent is online to send the packet.
Wake-on-LAN not confirmed	The adapter is not reported as armed. Use Wake anyway on the endpoint itself.
Could not be processed	Something went wrong for that endpoint.

Wake before maintenance

With power.wake_for_maintenance on, Outpost wakes a sleeping or shut-down endpoint shortly before its patch window opens or a scheduled script is due, so the maintenance runs on time. It wakes only endpoints whose wired adapter reports Wake-on-LAN armed. A patch window wakes the endpoint only when patch installation is turned on for it. A script that runs at sign-in never wakes an endpoint.

With power.return_to_sleep_after_maintenance also on, the endpoint goes back to sleep after the maintenance, or shuts down again if it was woken from shut down. The endpoint decides, and stays awake when:

• Someone signs in after the wake
• An Outpost remote session or console is open
• A restart is still owed
• The maintenance is still running 2 hours after it was due

The Last wake line on the Overview tab then reads Went back to sleep, Shut down again, or Stayed awake with the reason.

Wake-on-LAN profile settings

These settings are in the Power category of a profile. See Profiles. For each one, the most specific profile wins.

Setting	Default	Effect
power.wake_on_lan_enabled	Off	Arms the endpoint’s wired network adapters to wake on a Wake-on-LAN packet. Off leaves the adapters as they are: Outpost never disarms an adapter, and turning this off restores what the adapter had before Outpost armed it.
power.fast_startup_enabled	On	Windows Fast Startup. On leaves each computer’s own setting alone. Off turns Fast Startup off, which helps computers wake from shut down. Turning it back on restores the computer’s previous setting.
power.wake_for_maintenance	Off	Wakes the endpoint before its patch window or a scheduled script.
power.wake_lead_minutes	10	How many minutes before the maintenance to wake the endpoint, from 2 to 60. A value outside that range is clamped.
power.return_to_sleep_after_maintenance	Off	Puts the endpoint back to sleep, or shuts it down again, after a maintenance wake.

Support by operating system

	Windows	Linux	macOS (Preview)	FreeBSD and OpenBSD
Arming the adapter (power.wake_on_lan_enabled)	Yes, wired physical adapters	Yes, wired adapters whose driver supports magic packets	Yes, with the Wake for network access setting	No, reported as unsupported
Fast Startup (power.fast_startup_enabled)	Yes	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Return to sleep after maintenance	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

A Linux adapter whose driver has no magic packet support, such as a Hyper-V virtual adapter, reports Wake-on-LAN as unsupported. A Mac whose hardware has no Wake for network access setting reports the same.

Verify

Put an endpoint to sleep and wake it from the console. Within a few minutes its status returns to Connected, and its Overview tab shows Last wake as Woke.

If something goes wrong

Symptom	Cause	Fix
No response after a wake	The adapter or the firmware is not armed, or the computer was shut down with Fast Startup on.	Turn on Wake-on-LAN in the firmware, turn on power.wake_on_lan_enabled, and turn off power.fast_startup_enabled.
Every wake on a network is refused for No other online Outpost agent	Nothing else on that network runs the agent.	Keep one always-on endpoint, such as a server, on each network.
A bulk wake skips endpoints as Wake-on-LAN not confirmed	Their adapters do not report as armed.	Arm them with power.wake_on_lan_enabled, or wake each one with Wake anyway.

Next steps

• Patching
• Scripts
• Network discovery