COMMON HIBERNATION WAKE-ON-LAN (WoL) PACKET FOR WAKING FOR MULTI-PORT AND STACKED DEVICES

A network device, comprising:

• a first plurality of ports configured to communicatively couple to an additional network device comprising a second plurality of ports via at least one of the first plurality of ports and at least one of the second plurality of ports;
• and
• at least one processing resource configured to:
• detect that the network device is entering a hibernation mode;
• temporarily program the first plurality of ports and the second plurality of ports to be associated with a first MAC address in response to detecting that the additional network device is entering the hibernation mode;
• receive a packet configured to wake the network device, the additional network device, or both, wherein the packet comprises a second MAC address;
• determine whether the second MAC address is the same as the first MAC address;
• and
• initiate a wake-up protocol of the network device in response to determining that the second MAC address is the same as the first MAC address.

A method, comprising:

• temporarily programming, via at least one processing resource of a network device, a plurality of ports of the network device to be associated a first Media Access Control (MAC) address prior to the network device entering a hibernation mode;
• receiving, via the at least one processing resource, a packet configured to initiate a wake-up protocol, wherein the packet comprises a second MAC address;
• determining, via the at least one processing resource, whether the second MAC address is the same as the first MAC address;
• and
• initiating, via the at least one processing resource, the wake-up protocol of the network device in response to determining that the second MAC address is the same as the first MAC address.