Powering up a Crowd Mics ATOM via Wake on Lan (WOL)
Manual and WOL power-ups
Crowd Mics™ is a powerful audience engagement tool that allows event participants to use their mobile devices as microphones. This enables seamless audience participation by eliminating the need to pass a microphone around the room. The heart of the Crowd Mics solution is a form-factor computer, the Crowd Mics ATOM. This device must remain powered and connected to the local network for moderators and participants to use the Crowd Mics Apps.
Initial Manual power up
As described in its hardware specifications, the ATOM does not power up automatically after being connected to its PSU or the PSU to mains respectively. Manually pushing the ATOM's POWER button is required to boot up the device. However, during day-to-day operation or system maintenance, a power outage could shut down the AV system including the ATOM, if it is powered from the same circuit.
Wake on LAN Auto Power Up
Because AV equipment racks are not always easily accessible, an automation alternative to manually re-powering up the ATOM can be useful. The following instructions explain how to switch on the ATOM by sending a Wake on Lan "Magic Packet".
Prerequisites
Wake on Lan is supported by Crowd Mics firmware versions 2.3.14 and higher.
Access the Admin web page via https://atom-XXXXXXXXXXXX.local (Xs represents the serial number of the ATOM and can be found on a label on the underside of the ATOM). A login screen will require the following case-sensitive default credentials:
- Username: admin
- Password: first four and last four digits of the device serial number
Once logged in, select the network settings from the left-hand menu bar. Now a "Wake on Lan" button can be found at the bottom of each network interface preference section. WoL is disabled by default; to change, click the "Edit" button top right of the network interface settings, activate Wake on Lan, then hit "Save"
Using 3rd party applications
An ATOM can be powered up remotely via WoL using Aquila Technology's "Wake on LAN". This is a freeware software tool available under the terms of the GNU General Public License.