Configure a network interface on a server

Last update: October 05 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. 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 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 via 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 routed;
   • <next_hop_ip_address> — for static routes: gateway (next-hop) — the IP address through which devices of the source subnet will route traffic to the destination subnet. You can enter any address from the source subnet.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor, saving changes:

   :wq

6. Apply the configuration:

   netplan apply

7. Optional: reboot the server.

Debian

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via 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 changes:

   :wq

6. Restart the network:

   service networking restart

7. Optional: reboot the server.

CentOS

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

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

2. Output information about the network interfaces:

   ip address

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

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

   Specify <eth_name> — the network interface name that 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 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, 255.255.255.0.

8. Click OK.

Configure a private network interface

Ubuntu

1. Connect to the server via SSH or via 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 of the private network interface settings:

       <eth_name>:
               addresses: [<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.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor, saving the changes:

   :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 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 of the private network interface settings:

   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.

4. Press ESC.

5. Exit the vi text editor, saving the changes:

   :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 the KVM console.

2. Output information about the network interfaces:

   ip address

3. Create or open the private network interface configuration file with 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 values of the network interface settings:

   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, saving the changes:

   :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 described in the blog post Configuring the Network 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. Select IPv4 in the list.

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 a private IP address to the server in the Control Panel.