Network Helper and interfaces.d
Hello,
Is it possible to use Network Helper and still be able to add more interfaces (like tun / gre for example) in
/etc/network/interfaces.d?
Right now this doesn't seem possible or maybe I'm missing something - because the standard system (this is Debian) "interfaces" file contains this
source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*
But the Network Helper generated interfaces file does not, and so does not "see" anything in interfaces.d.
I considered systemd-networkd, but it's set to disabled and I'm not sure if enabling it might break anything.
I could also make my own systemd target and run a script post-network.online but this is getting further and further away from the standard solution which is interfaces.d.
Any ideas?
2 Replies
brianmont
Linode Staff
Hi there,
By default, the Network Helper is a host-side service that sets a static IPv4 address and a gateway for your Linode. This automatically takes place when you reboot after:
Read more on the Network Helper.
For many distros, when you make advanced configuration changes, you will likely want the Network Helper turned off to prevent it from automatically overwriting your changes.
Also, with Network Helper enabled, you won't be able to add additional network interfaces.
In the Cloud Manager, you can turn off the Network Helper by navigating to your Advanced Configuration tab, selecting edit, and turning off auto-configure networking towards the bottom.
Please take a look at Linux Static IP Configuration for more information on manually configuring static addressing in your Linode's operating system.
The Network Helper only supports the images that are provided by our platform, but you can install and use any other image that will run in a KVM hypervisor. These installations are outside of our support, but you can ask any further questions about these here in the Community Site. Our employees and the community of users always do their best to set you in the right direction!
For many distros, when you make advanced configuration changes, you will likely want the Network Helper turned off to prevent it from automatically overwriting your changes.
Also, with Network Helper enabled, you won't be able to add additional network interfaces.
Supporting interfaces.d (on Debian) would resolve both above issues.
And it's a one line change (addition, actually) just adding this to the bottom of the automatically generated interfaces file:
source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*
But - fine really, no problem. I already worked things out by creating a small systemd service, which let me keep using network helper overall, and has all my additions separate.