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WOL Methods in NDIS 6.20

  • Article

The power management capabilities that are supported in NDIS 6.20 and later versions of NDIS consist of the following wake-on-LAN (WOL) methods:

  • Wake on magic packet

  • Wake on pattern match

  • Wake device on media connect

For more information about the power management capabilities in previous versions of Windows, see Power Management (NDIS 6.0 and Later).

The wake on magic packet method wakes the computer when the network adapter receives a magic packet. A magic packet contains 16 contiguous copies of the receiving network adapter's Ethernet address.

The wake on magic packet method is separate from the wake on pattern match method. WOL patterns include other packet types or a bitmap. For more information about WOL patterns, see WOL Patterns for NDIS Power Management.

Although some network adapters report support for the wake device on media connect method, previous versions of Windows did not. Windows 7 fully supports the wake device on media connect method if an NDIS 6.20 miniport driver reports support. NDIS sets the network adapter to a low power state if the media is disconnected.

For more information about the wake device on media connect method, see Low Power on Media Disconnect.