Linux home server sleep on idle and wake on demand – the simple way

8 days ago

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The article explains how to configure a Linux home server to sleep when idle and wake on demand.
Key requirements include an always-on Linux device (like a Raspberry Pi) and a network interface supporting wake-on-LAN with unicast packets.
Steps on the server include enabling wake-on-LAN, setting up a cron job for auto-sleep, and disabling IPv6.
Optional configurations involve stopping network services before sleep to prevent unwanted wake-ups.
On the always-on device, installing an ARP Stand-in script and optionally configuring Avahi for mDNS responses is detailed.
The solution addresses challenges like unwanted wake-ups and ensuring Time Machine backups can trigger wake-ups.
The author shares their journey through various dead ends and breakthroughs, including hardware considerations and protocol specifics.
Final setup involves ARP Stand-in for IPv4 and disabling IPv6, with optional Avahi configuration for mDNS.

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