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I am wondering on what improvements to make to our server room, as to we won't be in the office for quite a while because of COVID.

I want something like an auto clicker (physical device) that I can remotely access so that I can click the power button of a mac mini, a router, a switch if possible.

Any recommendations?

Joshua Dela Cruz
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    People usually attach devices, that don’t come with an out-of-band management module to control them, to a managed power switch/pdu . You then remotely control the electrical socket their power cable is attached to. That only requires that the devices attached either have physical switch that stays in a “power on” setting , or bios support to automatically power on after a “power failure” – Bob Dec 19 '20 at 09:07
  • Do you have any brand or specific power manager? Is it like smart outlet or something? – Joshua Dela Cruz Dec 20 '20 at 14:45
  • APC managed (rack mount) PDU's are one brand I'm familiar with – Bob Dec 20 '20 at 14:48
  • Wake on LAN (WoL) is a thing. – Zac67 Dec 20 '20 at 21:40

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First of all, routers, switches, etc, should simply be turned on. If power gets cut and then restored for some reason, they'll automatically power up and proceed to work as usual after their regular boot sequence.

On the Mac, under System Preferences/Energy Saver, find the option Start up automatically after a power failure which will do exactly what it says on the tin.

Screenshot of the Preferences pane

Of course if you expect power to be unreliable in your office, it's good for your equipment to purchase one or more Uninterruptible Power Supplies and connect them in front of switches and servers. A good one will level out power surges and let the equipment handle short power interruptions. I don't know how it works in macOS, but it's usually possible to configure connected servers to shut down in a controlled manner once the battery level in the UPS reaches a certain point, and then turn back on once power has been back for a number of seconds (basically using the aforementioned Start up automatically after a power failure setting in the server's firmware or operating system).

Mikael H
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  • Yes, I have that already figured out. The problem is the cheap modem/router that comes with the ISPs service. Do you think smart outlets or sockets will do? – Joshua Dela Cruz Dec 20 '20 at 14:46
  • I really wouldn’t let my income be dependent on janky gear that’s clearly not intended for business use - or on “smart” outlets at the state of reliability they are in 2020. How will you send commands to them if they have no Internet connection? Do yourself and your business a favor and weigh the cost of downtime against the cost of appropriate equipment. – Mikael H Dec 20 '20 at 22:07