I know how to send WOL command using Linux or FreeBSD wake command. But, how do I send Wake on LAN (WOL) frames to hosts on a local Ethernet network using Apple OS X Unix operating systems to wake up my servers or nas devices?

 

You need to use the wakeonlan Perl script that generates and transmits a Wake-On-LAN (WOL) “Magic Packet”, used for restarting machines that have been soft powered-down (ACPI D3-warm state).

Method #1: Install wakeonlan using Homebrew

Open the Terminal app and type the following command:

brew install wakeonlan

Sample outputs:

Fig.01: OS X brew install wakeonlan client

Method #2: Download and install wakeonlan Perl script

Open a terminal and type the following curl command:

$ mkdir -p $HOME/bin

$ curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/jpoliv/wakeonlan/master/wakeonlan -o ~/bin/wakeonlan

$ chmod +x ~/bin/wakeonlan

How do I send WOL on a OS X?

The syntax is:

$ ~/bin/wakeonlan server-mac-address-here

 

For example, if nas01 server has 00:08:9b:c4:30:30 mac address, enter:

$ ~/bin/wakeonlan 00:08:9b:c4:30:30

 

Sample outputs:

Sending magic packet to 255.255.255.255:9 with 00:08:9b:c4:30:30

Other options

-i ip_address

set the destination IP address

default: 255.255.255.255 (the limited broadcast address)

-p port

set the destination port

default: 9 (the discard port)

-f file

uses file as a source of hardware addresses

Apple computer wake for network access (WOL) setting

If you want other users to be able to access your Apple OS X based computer’s shared resources, such as shared printers/files/folders or iTunes playlists, even when your computer is in sleep mode. Open System Preferences > choose “Energy Saver preferences“. This set options that control your computer’s energy use including WOL for all Mac Based server and client systems:

Fig.01: OS X setting WOL

Make sure you select the option “Wake for network access” so that other users can wake up your computer using WOL magic packet.

References

wakeonlan(1) for more information.

Download Wakeonlan: Perl script for waking up computers via Wake-On-LAN magic packets

HowTo: Wake Up Computers Using Linux Command [ Wake-on-LAN ( WOL ) ]