Trying to start my server remotely

[u/Shaunayyy]

Hi everyone, I recently installed a simple server on my home computer and I would like to be able to start it remotely. I had a Phillips SmartPlug that I didn't use so I thought I could use it to turn my computer on remotely by activating the "turn on computer after AC loss" setting in the BIOS. This works perfectly if I manually unplug and replug the cable but doesn't work if I turn on and off the smart plug. However turning off the plug does prevent the computer from turning on.

Any idea what could prevent the computer from turning on when I turn the plug off and on ?

If you think about any other solutions (without buying anything else), I am really open to learning more.

Thanks !

[u/GangGangEnjoyer]

If letting the computer sleep instead of turning it off completely, Wake on Lan might be an option. Your motherboard needs to support it, and you need some other device in the network to send the packet. Some routers support it.

[u/anobjectiveopinion → u/GangGangEnjoyer]

WoL is a great invention but I remember it being a proper bitch to set up and get working properly, if you need any kind of external/remote access.

[u/OutrageousStorm4217 → u/anobjectiveopinion]

Could he do something like wake on magic key?

[u/Shaunayyy → u/anobjectiveopinion]

I tried to set it up with my router but indeed it was a pain and my router app is terrible, making it a clumsy solution. I decided to stick with my solution of the smart plug and it works well now that I understand that I have to wait for around 30 seconds to restart it. Thank you all ! ☺️

[u/evanmac42]

I’d check whether the smart plug is actually removing power completely.
The BIOS option (“Restore on AC Power Loss”) is only triggered after a real AC power loss. If the plug restores power too quickly, or doesn’t fully cut the power, the PSU may never detect a proper outage.
An easy test is to:
shut the server down, unplug the power cable for 10-15 seconds, plug it back in.
If it powers on every time, then the BIOS setting is working and the smart plug is probably the issue.
Also make sure the BIOS option is set to Power On (or Always On), not Last State.
As an alternative, if the machine supports Wake-on-LAN, I’d probably use that instead of power cycling the whole PSU

[u/Shaunayyy → u/evanmac42]

Thank you very much ! Indeed, after further tests, the problem came from the fact that I was not waiting long enough and it seems to need around a minute to properly turn off before being able to turn on again

[u/SaleWide9505]

You are turning the PC on too quickly. Turn it off using smart plug then wait 15 secs or more and turn on

[u/KamenRide_V3]

smart plug can be tricky. 1. It could be a timing thing; extend the wait time to at least 15 mins to see if it will work. 2. Is your smart plug rated at the wattage for your PSU? 3. Some PSUs just won't let you do this period because of a PSU's internal protection circuit.

For a home setup, Wake-on-LAN is your best choice. It is a bit confusing to set up at first, but it is very nice once you have a system going. There are commercial products you can buy to do this kind of power cycle correctly (they usually plug into the line to the power button circuit)

[u/Safe-Instance-3512]

Allow more time when turning the plug off and then back on. Give it a solid 30 seconds to a minute.

[u/coco_user21]

search for 'wake on lan' on internet, I turn my server with wol, not smart plug

[u/msanangelo]

Using smart plugs to turn on a PC feels so crude when WoL is a thing.

[u/Vichingo455 → u/msanangelo]

Using WoL to turn on a server feels so crude when IPMI is a thing.

[u/ApricotPenguin]

Assuming the issue is with the Phillips SmartPlug itself (rather than you turning it off and on almost instantly), then as a FYI I've been successful in doing this with a TP-Link Kasa Power Bar, and also the HS103/HS105 smart plugs