WOL Patterns for NDIS Power Management

Starting with NDIS 6.20, Wake-on-LAN (WOL) patterns are supported for the wake on pattern match method. This WOL method minimizes spurious wake-up events and ensures that the computer is brought back to running state when expected. The interface for WOL patterns identifies specific patterns that are based on the packet type (for example, TCP SYN packets on IPv4). Specific patterns provide reliable pattern matches.

There are two types of WOL patterns:

WOL packet
A packet in which the wake-up pattern defines a specific packet type (such as TCP SYN on IPv4).

WOL bitmap
A WOL pattern that is specified with an offset and bitmap.

Note  NDIS 6.20 and later versions of NDIS also support the wake on magic packet method. This method is separate from the wake on pattern match method.

Starting with NDIS 6.20, multiple protocol drivers can set WOL patterns on a network adapter. To ensure that the correct set of WOL patterns is set when the number of requested WOL patterns is higher than the number that the network adapter can support, protocol drivers assign a priority to each WOL pattern. When NDIS cannot add a new high-priority WOL pattern because the network adapter is out of resources, NDIS can delete the lower priority patterns.

For more information about managing WOL patterns, see Adding and Deleting Wake on LAN Patterns.

For more information about WOL methods supported in NDIS 6.20 and later versions, see WOL Methods in NDIS 6.20.