Configure a network interface on a server

Last update: June 04 2026

To connect a server to a private and public network, configure the network interfaces on the server.

A network interface for a private network will be configured automatically only during OS auto-installation for Linux. For Windows, you can only configure a private network interface manually.

You can view the parameters for configuration in the control panel: in the top menu, click Products → Dedicated Servers → Servers → server page → tab Network.

Configure the public network interface

Ubuntu

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

1. Connect to the server via SSH or using the KVM console.

2. Open the netplan utility configuration file with the vi text editor:

   vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

3. Add or change the values for the public network interface settings:

   network:
     ethernets:
       <eth_name>:
         addresses:
           - <ip_address>/<mask>
         gateway4: <gateway>
         nameservers:
           addresses: [<dns_servers>]
       renderer: networkd
       version: 2

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — name of the public network interface;
   • <ip_address> — public IP address of the server with a subnet mask, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • <mask> — subnet mask, for example 24;
   • <dns_servers> — DNS servers. We recommend using Selectel recursive DNS servers, but you can specify any available DNS servers;
   • <gateway> — gateway.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor saving your changes:

   :wq

6. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

7. Optional: reboot the server.

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS

1. Connect to the server via SSH or using the KVM console.

2. Open the netplan utility configuration file with the vi text editor:

   vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

3. Add or change the values for the public network interface settings:

   network:
     version: 2
     renderer: networkd
     ethernets:
       <eth_name>:
         addresses:
           - <ip_address>/<mask>
         nameservers:
           addresses: [<dns_servers>]
         routes:
           - to: default
             via: <gateway>
           - to: <destination_subnet>
             via: <next_hop_ip_address>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — name of the public network interface;
   • <ip_address> — public IP address of the server with a subnet mask, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • <mask> — subnet mask, for example 24;
   • <dns_servers> — DNS servers. We recommend using Selectel recursive DNS servers, but you can specify any available DNS servers;
   • <gateway> — gateway;
   • <destination_subnet> — for static routes: CIDR of the destination subnet to which traffic will be directed;
   • <next_hop_ip_address> — for static routes: gateway (next-hop) — the IP address through which devices in the source subnet will direct traffic to the destination subnet. You can enter any address from the source subnet.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor saving your changes:

   :wq

6. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

7. Optional: reboot the server.

Debian

1. Connect to the server via SSH or using the KVM console.

2. Open the network interfaces configuration file with the vi text editor:

   vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/50-cloud-init

3. Add or change the values for the public network interface settings:

   auto <eth_name>
   iface <eth_name> inet static
     address <ip_address>/<mask>
     dns-nameservers <dns_servers>
     gateway <gateway>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — name of the public network interface;
   • <ip_address> — public IP address of the server, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • <mask> — subnet mask, for example 24;
   • <dns_servers> — DNS servers. We recommend using Selectel recursive DNS servers, but you can specify any available DNS servers;
   • <gateway> — gateway.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor saving your changes:

   :wq

6. Restart the network:

   service networking restart

7. Optional: reboot the server.

CentOS

An example of changing network settings in CentOS is in the blog article Configuring Networking in CentOS 7.

1. Connect to the server via SSH or using the KVM console.

2. Output information about the network interfaces:

   ip address

3. Create or open a public network interface configuration file with the vi text editor:

   vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<eth_name>

   Specify <eth_name> — the name of the network interface you obtained in step 2.

4. Add or change the values of the network interface settings:

   NAME="<eth_name>"
   ONBOOT=yes
   NETBOOT=yes
   BOOTPROTO=static
   HWADDR="<mac_address>"
   IPADDR="<ip_address>"
   NETMASK="<mask>"
   GATEWAY="<gateway>"
   TYPE=Ethernet

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — name of the public network interface;
   • <mac_address> — MAC address of the network device;
   • <ip_address> — IP address, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • <mask> — subnet mask, for example 255.255.255.0;
   • <gateway> — gateway.

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor saving your changes:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   systemctl restart network

8. Optional: reboot the server.

Windows

1. Connect to the server via RDP or using the KVM console.

2. Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. Open the public network interface.

4. Click Properties.

5. From the list, select IPv4.

6. Click Properties.

7. Specify the network interface parameters:

   • IP-address — public IP address of the server, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • Subnet mask — subnet mask, for example 255.255.255.0.

8. Click OK.

Configure a private network interface

Ubuntu

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Open the netplan utility configuration file with the vi:

   vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

3. Add or change the values of the private network interface settings:

       <eth_name>:
               addresses: [<ip_address>]

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — the name of the private network interface;
   • <ip_address> — the private IP address of the server with a subnet mask, for example 192.168.0.2/24.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor with your changes saved:

   :wq

6. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

7. Optional: reboot the server.

8. Optional: assign a private IP address to the server in the control panel.

Debian

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Open the network interfaces configuration file with the vi:

   vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/50-cloud-init

3. Add or change the values of the private network interface settings:

   auto <eth_name>
   iface <eth_name> inet static
       address <ip_address>/<mask>

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — the name of the private network interface;
   • <ip_address> — the private IP address of the server, for example 192.168.0.2;
   • <mask> — the subnet mask, for example /24.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor with your changes saved:

   :wq

6. Restart the network:

   service networking restart

7. Optional: reboot the server.

8. Optional: assign a private IP address to the server in the control panel.

CentOS

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via KVM console.

2. Output information about the network interfaces:

   ip address

3. Create or open the private network interface configuration file with the vi:

   vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-<eth_name>

   Specify <eth_name> — the name of the private network interface.

4. Add or change the values of the network interface settings:

   NAME="<eth_name>"
   ONBOOT=yes
   BOOTPROTO=none
   IPADDR="<ip_address>"

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — the name of the private network interface;
   • <ip_address> — the private IP address of the server with a subnet mask, for example 192.168.0.2/24;

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor with your changes saved:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   systemctl restart network

8. Optional: reboot the server.

9. Optional: assign a private IP address to the server in the control panel.

An example of changing network settings in CentOS is in the blog article Configuring Networking in CentOS 7.

Windows

1. Connect to the server via RDP or via KVM console.

2. Open the Network and Sharing Center.

3. Open the private network interface.

4. Click Properties.

5. From the list, select IPv4.

6. Click Properties.

7. Specify the network interface parameters:

   • IP-address — the private IP address of the server with a subnet mask, for example 192.168.0.2;
   • Subnet mask — the subnet mask.

8. Click OK.

9. Optional: assign a private IP address to the server in the control panel.