Configure a network interface on a server

Last update: October 30 2026Open in Markdown

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

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

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

Configure the public network interface

Ubuntu

Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

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

2. View the name of the configuration file for the netplan utility:

   ls /etc/netplan/

   The response will show the name of the configuration file. For example:

   01-netcfg.yaml

   Copy the name of the configuration file.

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

   vi /etc/netplan/<file_name>

   Specify <file_name> — the name of the configuration file that you copied in step 2.

4. Add or change the parameter values of the public network interface:

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

   Specify:

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

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor, saving changes:

   :wq

7. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

8. Optional: reboot the server.

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS

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

2. View the name of the configuration file for the netplan utility:

   ls /etc/netplan/

   The response will show the name of the configuration file. For example:

   01-netcfg.yaml

   Copy the name of the configuration file.

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

   vi /etc/netplan/<file_name>

   Specify <file_name> — the name of the configuration file that you copied in step 2.

4. Add or change the parameter values of the public network interface:

   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> — public network interface name;
   • <ip_address> — public IP address of the server, for example 203.0.113.2;
   • <mask> — subnet mask, for example, for a public shared subnet the mask is 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 where traffic will be routed;
   • <next_hop_ip_address> — for static routes: gateway (next-hop) — 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.

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor, saving changes:

   :wq

7. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

8. Optional: reboot the server.

Debian

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

2. View the name of the configuration file for the ifupdown utility:

   ls /etc/network/interfaces.d/

   The response will show the name of the configuration file. For example:

   50-cloud-init

   Copy the name of the configuration file.

3. Open the ifupdown utility configuration file with the vi text editor:

   vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/<file_name>

   Specify <file_name> — the name of the configuration file that you copied in step 2.

4. Add or change the parameter values of the public network interface:

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

   Specify:

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

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor, saving changes:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   service networking restart

8. Optional: reboot the server.

CentOS

An example of changing network settings in CentOS is in the blog post Network setup in CentOS 7.

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

2. Display information about network interfaces:

   ip address

3. Create or open the 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 that you obtained in step 2.

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

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

   Specify:

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

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor, saving changes:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   systemctl restart network

8. Optional: reboot the server.

Windows

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

2. Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. Open the public network interface.

4. Click Properties.

5. In 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, for a public shared subnet the mask is 255.255.255.0.

8. Click OK.

Configure the private network interface

Ubuntu

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

2. View the name of the configuration file for the netplan utility:

   ls /etc/netplan/

   The response will show the name of the configuration file. For example:

   01-netcfg.yaml

   Copy the configuration file name.

3. Open the configuration file of the netplan utility using the text editor vi:

   vi /etc/netplan/<file_name>

   Specify <file_name> — the configuration file name that you copied in step 2.

4. Add or change the parameter values of the private network interface:

       <eth_name>:
               addresses: [<ip_address>]

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — name of the private network interface;
   • <ip_address> — 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 and save changes:

   :wq

7. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

8. Optional: reboot the server.

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

Debian

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

2. View the name of the configuration file for the ifupdown utility:

   ls /etc/network/interfaces.d/

   The response will show the name of the configuration file. For example:

   50-cloud-init

   Copy the configuration file name.

3. Open the configuration file of the ifupdown utility using the text editor vi:

   vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/<file_name>

   Specify <file_name> — the configuration file name that you copied in step 2.

4. Add or change the parameter values of the private network interface:

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

   Specify:

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

5. Press ESC.

6. Exit the vi text editor and save changes:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   service networking restart

8. Optional: reboot the server.

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

CentOS

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

2. Display information about network interfaces:

   ip address

3. Create or open the private network interface configuration file using the vi text editor:

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

   Specify <eth_name> — the private network interface name.

4. Add or change the network interface parameter values:

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

   Specify:

   • <eth_name> — private network interface name;
   • <ip_address> — 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 and save changes:

   :wq

7. Restart the network:

   systemctl restart network

8. Optional: reboot the server.

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

For an example of changing network settings in CentOS, see the blog post Network configuration in CentOS 7.

Windows

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

2. Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. Open the private network interface.

4. Click Properties.

5. In the list, select IPv4.

6. Click Properties.

7. Specify the network interface parameters:

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

8. Click OK.

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