Switch network configuration from ifupdown to netplan

Last update: May 05 2026

In cloud servers created from off-the-shelf images running Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, and 22.04 operating systems, the ifupdown utility is used by default to configure the network.

You can switch network configuration from ifupdown to netplan - the procedure depends on whether the cloud-init agent is installed in the image.

Cloud-init is installed

1. Connect to the server.

2. Remove ifupdown:

   sudo apt purge ifupdown

3. Perform a programmatic reboot of the server:

   sudo reboot now

   The cloud-init agent will independently configure the network for netplan.

Cloud-init is not installed

1. Connect to the server.

2. Create a configuration file for netplan:

   nano /etc/netplan/config.yaml

3. Optional: Make the necessary network settings in the file. For examples, see the Modify Cloud Server Network Configuration File instructions.

4. Check the syntax of the file:

   sudo netplan try

5. Apply the settings:

   sudo netplan apply