I have a very strange problem with WOL. When my ReadyNAS is "warm", I am able to start it with WOL. However, when it is "cold", e.g. when I didn't use my ReadyNAS for one day, then WOL is not working. I performed a factory default one year ago and since then the problem is existing. Maybe something was "deleted" on the network card when I performed the factory default. Before I could start the ReadyNAS in my Fritz!Box, but when the ReadyNAS is "cold" this is not working in Fritz!Box any longer. However, when the ReadyNAS is "warm" (meaning it has been running before) it works on Fritz!Box.
I restarted my Fritz!Box, assuming the the problem was when the router is restarted, but as long as the ReadyNAS is "cold" I can start the ReadyNAS with WOL. Only when it's "cold" is doesn't start.
Would be great if anyone could help me, because with my Fritz!Box I was able to start the ReadyNAS from anywhere as long as I had internet-connection.
When it is cold and won't start up, is the activity LED on the Ethernet port lit? It should be.
WOL relies on 5V standby power. I don't have schematics, but I expect that the NAS has a separate regulator for that. Either it's not getting the proper voltage from the power brick (faulty power brick, possibly not regulating well at low load) or the NAS is not converting to the right voltage (motherboard issue, quite possibly triggered when a capacitor fully discharges).
The power brick is a pretty standard 12V, 5A one. You may already have a compatible one lying around. Or, you can get one cheap. Probably worth trying a new one. If nothing else, you'll end up with a spare.
Thank you, JennC. No, it doesn't work when it's cold and I do it locally.
I have a solution, however, for the moment: After the restart of my router during the night I start the ReadyNAS 102 for one hour with the timetable and then it works. I could start the ReadyNAS 102 over the internet and it also worked fine.
Thank you. I will check tomorrow morning if the activity LED on the Ethernet port is lit when it is cold. Today I checked it when it was warm and it was lit. I will write here again what the result was.
Further info to Sandshark: I checked the activity LED on the Ethernet port when it was cold. It was not lit. As I mentioned in my post the problem started when I performed the factory default. Could it be that some option in the properties which is important for WOL was deleted with the factory default? I have trouble to believe it's the power brick or the motherboard, since before the factory default it worked properly. So I will continue with the solution which works right now: After the router is rebooted in the night I reboot the ReadyNAS in the night and then it works fine during the day. However, further suggestions are welcome.
Hard to say, it's an odd set of conditions. Is the router/switch a "green" one? If rebootoing the router causes it to then work, it sounds like the router/switch has disabled the port, thinking that nothing was connected. That would also account for the lack of the LED. Next time, instead of rebooting the router, try unplugging and re-plugging in the NAS ethernet cable, boith to the same and a different port. I don't think anything associated with the firmware could cause the router to abandon the connection, but maybe there is something that's instigated by the NAS to cause it.
Thank you, Sandshark, what do you mean by "green" router. I have unplugged an re-plugged the cable, both to the same and a different port. No difference, WOL not working.
To repeat more precisely what the problem is:
Not working: At 0:15 h the router is rebooted, because I remove the electricity. After that the activity LED on the Ethernet port is not lit. During the day I try the WOL function and it's not working.
Working: At 0:15 h the router is rebooted, because I remove the electricity. At 2.00 AM the ReadyNAS is stared with the power timer function and shut down at 3.00 AM with the power timer fuction. The activity LED on the Ethernet port is lit. During the day I try the WOL function and it's working.
Ultimately we need to sort out if the WoL packet isn't being forwarded by the router to the NAS, or if the NAS isn't responding to a WoL packet it is receiving.
If you leave the router running all the time, does the WoL ever misbehave?
Thank you, StephenB. My router is Fritz!Box 7340, so I assume it is not a "green" one.
I absolutely agree with you, we need to sort out where the problem is. I will not reboot the router for some days and then I will let you know what happend.
If the connection LEDs on the NAS and Router are not lit, I think it is safe to assume the WOL packet isn't reaching the NAS because the router doesn't think the NAS is there. Since switching ports didn't help, it sounds like the NAS is the problem. But then I don't understand why rebooting the router and doing nothing with the NAS has any effect. Both should have the effect of re-negotiating the connection.
I suppose one possibility is that the router starts up in full-power mode, which awakens the NAS, then goes into "green" power-saving mode where the signal isn't strong enough to maintain the connection.
Maybe plugging the NAS directly into a computer's Ethernet port and seeing if the LEDs go out will help solve the issue. You shouldn't need to actually configure the ports so they can communicate, but you could if you like.
If the connection LEDs on the NAS and Router are not lit, I think it is safe to assume the WOL packet isn't reaching the NAS because the router doesn't think the NAS is there.
Thank you Sandshark and StephenB. I plugged the NAS directly into a computer's Ethernet port, but that was rather confusing, because suddenly the NAS started by itself when I awakend the computer from the sleeping mode.......
Last night I did not reboot my router. And I believe this morning the activity LED on the Ethernet port was not lit (I am not sure however....). Anyway, I started the NAS from the computer and it worked perfectly. I will continue as follows: I will not reboot the router during the night. Then I will make sure (the NAS is now on the table, so it is in a better position to be observed!) whether the activity LED on the Ethernet port of the NAS will be lit and whether or not it will be started from the computer. Then I will let you know again. Because it the activity LED on the Ethernet port of the NAS would not be lit and the NAS could be started from the computer then probably the NAS would not the problem.
My router has the "green" option, but the option was never set, see print screen below.
Interesting - I hadn't seen the "green" mode coupled with link speed before. My Netgear switches have green modes, but they maintain full speed.
Normally the "green" mode estimates the cable length, and reduces the power for shorter cable lengths. This can also improve reliability, since it reduces crosstalk in the cable. It can also put inactive ports in a "sleep" mode. Power savings per port aren't much (you save much more by turning off the unused devices), but of course there are a lot of ethernet ports deployed on the planet.
Back on topic - as I suggested earlier, I think that powering up the router when the NAS is powered off is creating this problem. So you may need to make a choice (maximal power savings or living with somewhat flakely WoL). But we'll know more after you leave the router running for a bit.
Thank you for your excursion on the ethernet cables.
I agree with you what the problem is:
I think that powering up the router when the NAS is powered off is creating this problem. So you may need to make a choice (maximal power savings or living with somewhat flakely WoL). But we'll know more after you leave the router running for a bit.
Yes, we will know more after I leave the router running for a bit. A possible solution might be to reboot the router once a week only. This way I could save electrictiy instead of starting the NAS every night for one hour. Thank you anyway for all the hints.
So the router wasn't rebooted during the past days and WOL functions perfectly. My solution: I reboot the router once a week only and after I reboot the NAS (also once a week). This should solve the problem.
So the router wasn't rebooted during the past days and WOL functions perfectly. My solution: I reboot the router once a week only and after I reboot the NAS (also once a week). This should solve the problem.
I had a 24 port Netgear router that was so called GREEN. I remember having WOL issues with it. It's been a few years though. I would rule it out by using a normal switch in it's place. It can be a small one. Have the NAS connected to the small swtich and the computer connected to the small switch and then you can plug the current siwtch into this small switch, that way your computer is not going though the current switch at all, just through the small switch and see if you have the same results. What you're trying to do is rule things out.
I had another switch that seemed to be working, was it was flaky and doing strange things. I was having a number of issues and I wasn't sure what the hell was going on. It was a bad 24 port switch. All my issues went away when I replaced it. Which was a 24 port Gigabit switch I got from Monoprice. I still have it, it still works, but I replaced it with a 24 port MANAGED switch where I could link my connections togeather on my NAS to the Switch. You can't do that on a Unmanaged switch.
Thank you anyway.
) whether the activity LED on the Ethernet port of the NAS will be lit and whether or not it will be started from the computer. Then I will let you know again. Because it the activity LED on the Ethernet port of the NAS would not be lit and the NAS could be started from the computer then probably the NAS would not the problem. 
