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Running your
Raspberry Pi as a
Wake-on-LAN Server
by Emmet

 Published Aug 08, 2023

 Beginner  Network  Servers

   

In this tutorial, we will show you how to use

your Raspberry Pi to send a Wake-on-LAN
(WoL) packet to any connected device.

Wake-On-LAN is a functionality that allows you

to wake a device by sending a particular packet
over the network.

While the Raspberry Pi does not support

receiving Wake-on-LAN packets, it is more
than capable of sending them.

There are various ways you can utilize this

functionality. In our network, we have a
Raspberry Pi set up to power back on a NAS
after a power outage has occurred. While both
are plugged into a UPS, it allows the more
power-hungry NAS to safely shut down and be
powered back on when everything is safe.

To send Wake-on-LAN packets from your

Raspberry Pi, we will be using a piece of
software called etherwake.

Etherwake allows your Raspberry Pi to act as a

Wake- on-LAN server and send packets to
other devices.

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Equipment

Below is a list of equipment we used when

setting up our Raspberry Pi as a Wake-on-LAN
server.

Recommended

 Raspberry Pi

 Micro SD Card

 Power Supply

 Ethernet Cable or Wi-Fi

Optional
 Raspberry Pi Case

 USB Mouse

 USB Keyboard

 HDMI Cable

 Monitor

This tutorial was last tested on a Raspberry Pi

400 running the latest version of Raspberry Pi
OS Bullseye.

Preparing your Devices to

Accept Wake-on-LAN

Before you begin, you will want to set up your

other devices so they can wake when sent a
Wake-on-LAN packet from your Raspberry Pi.

These steps will significantly differ from device

to device, so we will not cover this in this guide.
The best way to set up Wake-on-LAN is
through your device’s BIOS. This will allow you
to boot the device even if it has been powered
off.

Once you have Wake-on-LAN enabled on your

target device, you must also know its MAC
address so that you can send the message to
it.

Most routers will reveal these MAC addresses if

you browse their device list.

Setting your Raspberry Pi

up as a Wake-on-LAN
Server

The following steps will walk you through

setting up your Raspberry Pi to work as a
Wake-on-LAN Server. We will achieve this by
installing a free piece of software called
Etherwake.

Installing Etherwake to the

Raspberry Pi

To run your Raspberry Pi as a Wake-on-LAN

server, we will be relying on the etherwake
software. The next few steps will be incredibly
straightforward as this software is available
through the package repository.

1. Before installing Etherwake to our Raspberry

Pi, we must update the package list and the
packages themselves.

Update your Raspberry Pi’s operating system

by using the following two commands.

Terminal $  Copy

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Once the update completes, we can install

the Etherwake software using the following
command.

Terminal $  Copy

sudo apt install etherwake

Using Etherwake on your

Raspberry Pi to Wake-on-LAN

3. Once you have etherwake installed on your

Raspberry Pi you can put it to use and send
Wake-on-LAN packets.

For this to work however, you will need to know

the MAC address of the device you want to
wake. A MAC address is used to identify
network adapters, so your Wi-Fi and Ethernet
for example will have different MAC addresses.

You may continue to the next step once you

have a MAC address ready.

4. To send a Wake-on-LAN packet from your

Raspberry Pi, you only need to use “ etherwake
” followed by the “ -b ” option, and finally, the
MAC address.

The “ -b ” option tells etherwake to broadcast

the Wake-on-LAN packet to the specified
address.

Replace With >  Copy

sudo etherwake MACADDRESS

5. Now that you know how to etherwake, you

can SSH into your Raspberry Pi to wake up
various devices on your network.

Just ensure that any device you want to wake

has its “ Wake-on-LAN ” functionality enabled.
Not all devices will support this.

Keeping a Device Awake

Using Your Raspberry Pi
Wake-on-LAN Server

It is possible to use your Raspberry Pi’s Wake-

on-LAN server to keep a device awake.

We achieve this by writing a short script that

pings a specified IP Address and, once it drops
off, sends a Wake-on-LAN packet using the
etherwake software we installed to our
Raspberry Pi.

Preparing your Raspberry Pi

1. Since we will be writing our script in Python,

we must start by ensuring the interpreter is
installed on the system.

Install Python by using the following command

on your Raspberry Pi.

Terminal $  Copy

sudo apt install python

Writing a Wake-on-LAN Script

on your Raspberry Pi

2. Once installed, let us write a Python script

called “ wake_on_lan_server.py ” by using the
following command.

By using the tilde ( ~ ) symbol in front of the

filename, we will save this into your users home
directory.

Terminal $  Copy

nano ~/wake_on_lan_server.py

3. Now, within this file, enter the following

lines of code. We will explain each section as
we go so you can understand how it works.

Add >  Copy

import subprocess, time

With this first line we import two packages that

we will be utilizing within the script.

subprocess – This package will allow us

to run programs outside of Python. Using
this package, we can use the Etherwake
software on our Raspberry Pi to send
Wake-On-LAN packets to your devices.

time – The time package will allow us to

pause the script between loops to prevent
it from flooding the device.

Add >  Copy

def main():

We now define our “ main() ” function. When

the script is run, this function will be called and
will contain our main loop.

Add >  Copy

while True:

Next, let us define an infinite loop by using “

while ” followed by “ True “.

Add >  Copy

is_alive = subprocess.call([

Next, on every loop, we want to call the “ ping ”

command and store the result in the “ is_alive
” variable. Ensure that you replace “
<IPADDRESS> ” with the machine’s IP you want
to awake.

Add >  Copy

if not is_alive:

We now create a new conditional block where

we check whether the “ is_alive ” variable is
not true. After this point you could extend the
script further by checking additional things
such as the status of a UPS before you send
the wake command.

Add >  Copy

print("Sending Wake Comm

subprocess.Popen('/usr/s

If the system is not responding to a ping, we

start by printing the text “
Sending Wake Command ” to the command line.