2025 - Update to How to setup an automated WakeOnLan with Cisco Meraki using MAC allow list

Back a while a go I did a post about setting up an automated WOL system using linux and cron.  With the new updates in the Linux Kernel, and other security updates things break so this is an update to my post in 2020,  as some utilities are now required to keep WOL working.

So the uplink switch that has the WOL clients is set to MAC ALLOW LIST.  with the specified VLANS.  You need to add the server sending the WOL packet, in my case is a virtual machine, and it should be set to a STATIC MAC.

The only required packages required for WOL on Linux, was SAMBA, Net-Tools and wakeonlan.  After some security updates WOL stopped working even though on the linux server it shows that it is running the magic packet but it is not getting though.  It also shows that the WOL, SAMBA and net-tools packages are up to date.

So after troubleshooting using the firewall and the Cisco Meraki Switch, testing the WOL from the firewall and the switch, with it successfully running.

I found an update where I was missing a package called etherwake.  While the windows clients on Windows 10 and 11 still require the driver settings form my post in 2020, the linux server needs to be updated with the etherwake package.  

sudo apt install etherwake

For the startup script I used this format for running cron.

####################

##Put IN ARP CACHE##

####################

sudo arp -i ethx -s $ipaddress $macaddress #Computer Label

####################

##Send WOL Packets##

####################

sudo -i -u $user -p $password wakeonlan -i $ipaddress $macaddress #Computer Label

or

wakeonlan $macaddress #Computer Label