INTERFACES
NAME DESCRIPTION IFACE OPTIONS INET ADDRESS FAMILY IPX ADDRESS FAMILY INET6 ADDRESS FAMILY AUTHOR SEE ALSO
/etc/network/interfaces - network interface configuration for ifup and ifdown
/etc/network/interfaces contains network interface configuration information for the ifup(8) and ifdown(8) commands. This is where you configure how your system is connected to the network, by setting IP addresses, and other related information.
The file can contain comments; all lines starting with `#' are ignored. A line may be extended across multiple lines by making the last character a \ in the usual manner.
The file consists of zero or more
auto lo eth0
iface lo inet loopback
mapping eth0 script /usr/local/sbin/map-scheme map HOME eth0-home map WORK eth0-work
iface eth0-home inet static address 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0
iface eth0-work inet dhcp
Stanzas beginning with the word
Stanzas beginning with the word
Stanzas defining interfaces start with the word ifconfig__(8)? or route(8) commands (ie, things like __
The interface name is followed by address family the interface uses -- generally this will be
Following that is the method used to configure the interface. In the example above, this is
Further options may follow the
There are currently three standard options available for all interfaces, regardless of address family or method. These are:
up command
Run command after bringing the interface up. This option can be given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands will be executed in order. If one of the commands fails, none of the others will be executed, but the interface will remain configured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing ''
pre-up command
Run command before bringing the interface up. This option can be given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands will be executed in order. If one of the commands fails, none of the others will be executed, and the interface will not be configured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing ''
down command
Run command before taking the interface down. This option can be given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands will be executed in order. If one of the commands fails, none of the others will be executed, and the interface will not be deconfigured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing ''
post-down command
Run command after taking the interface down. This option can be given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands will be executed in order. If one of the commands fails, none of the others will be executed, but the interface will remain deconfigured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing ''
Most methods require additional information, such as address, and netmask; details about the available methods and the information they require follows.
This section documents the methods available in the inet address family.
The loopback Method
This method may be used to define the IPv4 loopback interface.
Options
(No options)
The static Method
This method may be used to define ethernet interfaces with statically allocated IPv4 addresses.
Options
address address
Address (dotted quad) required
netmask netmask
Netmask (dotted quad) required
broadcast broadcast_address
Broadcast address (dotted quad)
network network_address
Network address (dotted quad) required for 2.0.x kernels
gateway address
Default gateway (dotted quad)
pointopoint address
Address of other end point (dotted quad). Note the spelling of
The dhcp Method
This method may be used to obtain an address via DHCP with any of the tools: dhclient, pump (2.2.x kernels only), or dhcpcd. If you have a complicated DHCP setup you should note that some of these clients use their own configuration files, rather than obtaining their configuration via ifup.
Options
hostname hostname
Hostname to be requested (pump, dhcpcd)
leasehours leastime
Preferred lease time in hours (pump)
leasetime leasetime
Preferred lease time in seconds (dhcpcd)
vendor vendor
Vendor class identifier (dhcpcd)
client client_id
Client identifier (dhcpcd)
The bootp Method
This method may be used to obtain an address via bootp.
Options
bootfile file
Tell the server to use file as the bootfile.
server address
Use the IP address address to communicate with the server.
hwaddr addr
Use addr as the hardware address instead of whatever it really is.
The ppp Method
This method uses pon/poff to configure a PPP interface. See those commands for details.
Options
provider name
Use name as the provider (from /etc/ppp/peers).
The wvdial Method
This method uses wvdial to configure a PPP interface. See that command for ore details.
Options
provider name
Use name as the provider (from /etc/ppp/peers).
This section documents the methods available in the ipx address family.
The static Method
This method may be used to setup an IPX interface.
Options
frame
netnum
The dynamic Method
This method may be used to setup an IPX interface dynamically.
Options
frame
This section documents the methods available in the inet6 address family.
The loopback Method
This method may be used to define the IPv6 loopback interface.
Options
(No options)
The static Method
This method may be used to define interfaces with statically assigned IPv6 addresses.
Options
address address
Address (colon delimited) required
netmask mask
Netmask (number of bits, eg 64) required
gateway address
Default gateway (colon delimited)
The v4tunnel Method
This method may be used to setup an IPv6-over-IPv4 tunnel. It requires the ip command from the iproute package.
Options
address address
Address (colon delimited) required
netmask mask
Netmask (number of bits, eg 64) required
endpoint address
Address of other tunnel endpoint (IPv4 dotted quad) required
gateway address
Default gateway (colon delimited)
The ifupdown suite was written by Anthony Towns
3 pages link to interfaces(5):
