Remote wake-up for sleeping computers

The School of Informatics has a remote computer wake-up service. You can use it to wake a computer which is sleeping, as long as that computer is connected to the Informatics network by a network cable, and has a fixed IP address.

Appleton Tower problem, 2024: The wake-up service is currently not working in Appleton Tower, because of recent changes in network equipment. Sorry about this; we're searching for a solution.

Use a VPN

If the device you're using is not on the Edinburgh University network, it will need a VPN client. Either the University VPN or the School VPN will do.

How to use the wake-up service

On the web

Go to this web page:

wake.inf.ed.ac.uk

You will see a list of computers which you can wake.
To wake a computer, choose it from the list, then click "Wake the computer".

A computer will only appear on the page if the computer inventory knows that you should have permission to wake it. If your computer is missing, ask computing support for permission to wake your machine(s) with wake.inf.

On the command line

You can also use the command line.
Login to one of the ssh servers then type the command:

wakeweb name

where name is the name of a computer to be woken.

If it doesn't work

If your personal or self-managed machine cannot be woken this way, even when it is listed correctly in wake.inf.ed.ac.uk, try updating its BIOS and software, and enabling "Remote wake-up" or "Wake on LAN" settings.

Further information

The University also has a central Wake On LAN service, but network compatibility and data issues mean that we can't use it with Informatics computers. This is why we have our own service. If you want to know more about the University's service anyway, it is provided by Information Services and there is a helpful PDF document Activating Wake on LAN/Remote Access for Your Office Computer on its Off-site working pages.

For background reading see Connecting from outside the University - an overview.