As part of an update to its Surface Tools for IT, Microsoft has now included Wake-on-LAN support for a selection of its Surfaces when used in conjunction with a Surface Ethernet adapter or dock.
For nearly two decades, Wake-on-LAN (or WoL for short) has been a feature included in many wired network adapters since its introduction by the Advanced Manageability Alliance. As the name implies, the feature allows specific computers to be woken up by sending a “magic packet” containing the target computer’s MAC address. Needless to say, WoL has been of great value to administrators needing to access machines remotely by removing the need to be physically present to switch on computers that are asleep or shut down.
