Chapter 2. Configuring an Ethernet connection
NetworkManager creates a connection profile for each Ethernet adapter that is installed in a host. By default, this profile uses DHCP for both IPv4 and IPv6 connections. Modify this automatically-created profile or add a new one in the following cases:
- The network requires custom settings, such as a static IP address configuration.
- You require multiple profiles because the host roams among different networks.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides administrators different options to configure Ethernet connections. For example:
-
Use
nmcli
to configure connections on the command line. -
Use
nmtui
to configure connections in a text-based user interface. - Use the GNOME Settings menu to configure connections in a graphical interface.
-
Use
nmstatectl
to configure connections through the Nmstate API. - Use RHEL system roles to automate the configuration of connections on one or multiple hosts.
If you want to manually configure Ethernet connections on hosts running in the Microsoft Azure cloud, disable the cloud-init
service or configure it to ignore the network settings retrieved from the cloud environment. Otherwise, cloud-init
will override on the next reboot the network settings that you have manually configured.
2.1. Configuring an Ethernet connection by using nmcli
If you connect a host to the network over Ethernet, you can manage the connection’s settings on the command line by using the nmcli
utility.
Prerequisites
- A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s configuration.
Procedure
List the NetworkManager connection profiles:
# nmcli connection show NAME UUID TYPE DEVICE Wired connection 1 a5eb6490-cc20-3668-81f8-0314a27f3f75 ethernet enp1s0
By default, NetworkManager creates a profile for each NIC in the host. If you plan to connect this NIC only to a specific network, adapt the automatically-created profile. If you plan to connect this NIC to networks with different settings, create individual profiles for each network.
If you want to create an additional connection profile, enter:
# nmcli connection add con-name <connection-name> ifname <device-name> type ethernet
Skip this step to modify an existing profile.
Optional: Rename the connection profile:
# nmcli connection modify "Wired connection 1" connection.id "Internal-LAN"
On hosts with multiple profiles, a meaningful name makes it easier to identify the purpose of a profile.
Display the current settings of the connection profile:
# nmcli connection show Internal-LAN ... connection.interface-name: enp1s0 connection.autoconnect: yes ipv4.method: auto ipv6.method: auto ...
Configure the IPv4 settings:
To use DHCP, enter:
# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv4.method auto
Skip this step if
ipv4.method
is already set toauto
(default).To set a static IPv4 address, network mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and search domain, enter:
# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv4.method manual ipv4.addresses 192.0.2.1/24 ipv4.gateway 192.0.2.254 ipv4.dns 192.0.2.200 ipv4.dns-search example.com
Configure the IPv6 settings:
To use stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC), enter:
# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv6.method auto
Skip this step if
ipv6.method
is already set toauto
(default).To set a static IPv6 address, network mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and search domain, enter:
# nmcli connection modify Internal-LAN ipv6.method manual ipv6.addresses 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 ipv6.gateway 2001:db8:1::fffe ipv6.dns 2001:db8:1::ffbb ipv6.dns-search example.com
To customize other settings in the profile, use the following command:
# nmcli connection modify <connection-name> <setting> <value>
Enclose values with spaces or semicolons in quotes.
Activate the profile:
# nmcli connection up Internal-LAN
Verification
Display the IP settings of the NIC:
# ip address show enp1s0 2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
Display the IPv4 default gateway:
# ip route show default default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102
Display the IPv6 default gateway:
# ip -6 route show default default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium
Display the DNS settings:
# cat /etc/resolv.conf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.200 nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb
If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of
nameserver
entries depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.Use the
ping
utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>
Troubleshooting
- Verify that the network cable is plugged-in to the host and a switch.
- Check whether the link failure exists only on this host or also on other hosts connected to the same switch.
- Verify that the network cable and the network interface are working as expected. Perform hardware diagnosis steps and replace defect cables and network interface cards.
- If the configuration on the disk does not match the configuration on the device, starting or restarting NetworkManager creates an in-memory connection that reflects the configuration of the device. For further details and how to avoid this problem, see the Red Hat Knowledgebase solution NetworkManager duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service.
Additional resources
-
nm-settings(5)
man page on your system
2.2. Configuring an Ethernet connection by using nmtui
If you connect a host to the network over Ethernet, you can manage the connection’s settings in a text-based user interface by using the nmtui
application. Use nmtui
to create new profiles and to update existing ones on a host without a graphical interface.
In nmtui
:
- Navigate by using the cursor keys.
- Press a button by selecting it and hitting Enter.
- Select and clear checkboxes by using Space.
Prerequisites
- A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s configuration.
Procedure
If you do not know the network device name you want to use in the connection, display the available devices:
# nmcli device status DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION enp1s0 ethernet unavailable -- ...
Start
nmtui
:# nmtui
- Select Edit a connection, and press Enter.
Choose whether to add a new connection profile or to modify an existing one:
To create a new profile:
- Press Add.
- Select Ethernet from the list of network types, and press Enter.
- To modify an existing profile, select the profile from the list, and press Enter.
Optional: Update the name of the connection profile.
On hosts with multiple profiles, a meaningful name makes it easier to identify the purpose of a profile.
- If you create a new connection profile, enter the network device name into the Device field.
Depending on your environment, configure the IP address settings in the
IPv4 configuration
andIPv6 configuration
areas accordingly. For this, press the button next to these areas, and select:- Disabled, if this connection does not require an IP address.
- Automatic, if a DHCP server dynamically assigns an IP address to this NIC.
Manual, if the network requires static IP address settings. In this case, you must fill further fields:
- Press Show next to the protocol you want to configure to display additional fields.
Press Add next to Addresses, and enter the IP address and the subnet mask in Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) format.
If you do not specify a subnet mask, NetworkManager sets a
/32
subnet mask for IPv4 addresses and/64
for IPv6 addresses.- Enter the address of the default gateway.
- Press Add next to DNS servers, and enter the DNS server address.
- Press Add next to Search domains, and enter the DNS search domain.
Figure 2.1. Example of an Ethernet connection with static IP address settings
- Press OK to create and automatically activate the new connection.
- Press Back to return to the main menu.
-
Select Quit, and press Enter to close the
nmtui
application.
Verification
Display the IP settings of the NIC:
# ip address show enp1s0 2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
Display the IPv4 default gateway:
# ip route show default default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102
Display the IPv6 default gateway:
# ip -6 route show default default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium
Display the DNS settings:
# cat /etc/resolv.conf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.200 nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb
If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of
nameserver
entries depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.Use the
ping
utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>
Troubleshooting
- Verify that the network cable is plugged-in to the host and a switch.
- Check whether the link failure exists only on this host or also on other hosts connected to the same switch.
- Verify that the network cable and the network interface are working as expected. Perform hardware diagnosis steps and replace defect cables and network interface cards.
- If the configuration on the disk does not match the configuration on the device, starting or restarting NetworkManager creates an in-memory connection that reflects the configuration of the device. For further details and how to avoid this problem, see the Red Hat Knowledgebase solution NetworkManager duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service.
2.3. Configuring an Ethernet connection by using control-center
If you connect a host to the network over Ethernet, you can manage the connection’s settings with a graphical interface by using the GNOME Settings menu.
Note that control-center
does not support as many configuration options as the nmcli
utility.
Prerequisites
- A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s configuration.
- GNOME is installed.
Procedure
-
Press the Super key, enter
Settings
, and press Enter. - Select Network in the navigation on the left.
Choose whether to add a new connection profile or to modify an existing one:
- To create a new profile, click the Ethernet entry. button next to the
- To modify an existing profile, click the gear icon next to the profile entry.
Optional: On the Identity tab, update the name of the connection profile.
On hosts with multiple profiles, a meaningful name makes it easier to identify the purpose of a profile.
Depending on your environment, configure the IP address settings on the IPv4 and IPv6 tabs accordingly:
-
To use DHCP or IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC), select
Automatic (DHCP)
as method (default). To set a static IP address, network mask, default gateway, DNS servers, and search domain, select
Manual
as method, and fill the fields on the tabs:
-
To use DHCP or IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC), select
Depending on whether you add or modify a connection profile, click the
or button to save the connection.The GNOME
control-center
automatically activates the connection.
Verification
Display the IP settings of the NIC:
# ip address show enp1s0 2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
Display the IPv4 default gateway:
# ip route show default default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102
Display the IPv6 default gateway:
# ip -6 route show default default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium
Display the DNS settings:
# cat /etc/resolv.conf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.200 nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb
If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of
nameserver
entries depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.Use the
ping
utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>
Troubleshooting steps
- Verify that the network cable is plugged-in to the host and a switch.
- Check whether the link failure exists only on this host or also on other hosts connected to the same switch.
- Verify that the network cable and the network interface are working as expected. Perform hardware diagnosis steps and replace defect cables and network interface cards.
- If the configuration on the disk does not match the configuration on the device, starting or restarting NetworkManager creates an in-memory connection that reflects the configuration of the device. For further details and how to avoid this problem, see the Red Hat Knowledgebase solution NetworkManager duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service.
2.4. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a static IP address by using nmstatectl
Use the nmstatectl
utility to configure an Ethernet connection through the Nmstate API. The Nmstate API ensures that, after setting the configuration, the result matches the configuration file. If anything fails, nmstatectl
automatically rolls back the changes to avoid leaving the system in an incorrect state.
Prerequisites
- A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s configuration.
-
The
nmstate
package is installed.
Procedure
Create a YAML file, for example
~/create-ethernet-profile.yml
, with the following content:--- interfaces: - name: enp1s0 type: ethernet state: up ipv4: enabled: true address: - ip: 192.0.2.1 prefix-length: 24 dhcp: false ipv6: enabled: true address: - ip: 2001:db8:1::1 prefix-length: 64 autoconf: false dhcp: false routes: config: - destination: 0.0.0.0/0 next-hop-address: 192.0.2.254 next-hop-interface: enp1s0 - destination: ::/0 next-hop-address: 2001:db8:1::fffe next-hop-interface: enp1s0 dns-resolver: config: search: - example.com server: - 192.0.2.200 - 2001:db8:1::ffbb
These settings define an Ethernet connection profile for the
enp1s0
device with the following settings:-
A static IPv4 address -
192.0.2.1
with the/24
subnet mask -
A static IPv6 address -
2001:db8:1::1
with the/64
subnet mask -
An IPv4 default gateway -
192.0.2.254
-
An IPv6 default gateway -
2001:db8:1::fffe
-
An IPv4 DNS server -
192.0.2.200
-
An IPv6 DNS server -
2001:db8:1::ffbb
-
A DNS search domain -
example.com
-
A static IPv4 address -
Optional: You can define the
identifier: mac-address
andmac-address: <mac_address>
properties in theinterfaces
property to identify the network interface card by its MAC address instead of its name, for example:--- interfaces: - name: <profile_name> type: ethernet identifier: mac-address mac-address: <mac_address> ...
Apply the settings to the system:
# nmstatectl apply ~/create-ethernet-profile.yml
Verification
Display the current state in YAML format:
# nmstatectl show enp1s0
Display the IP settings of the NIC:
# ip address show enp1s0 2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
Display the IPv4 default gateway:
# ip route show default default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102
Display the IPv6 default gateway:
# ip -6 route show default default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium
Display the DNS settings:
# cat /etc/resolv.conf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.200 nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb
If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of
nameserver
entries depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.Use the
ping
utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>
Additional resources
-
nmstatectl(8)
man page on your system -
/usr/share/doc/nmstate/examples/
directory
2.5. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a static IP address by using the network
RHEL system role with an interface name
To connect a Red Hat Enterprise Linux host to an Ethernet network, create a NetworkManager connection profile for the network device. By using Ansible and the network
RHEL system role, you can automate this process and remotely configure connection profiles on the hosts defined in a playbook.
You can use the network
RHEL system role to configure an Ethernet connection with static IP addresses, gateways, and DNS settings, and assign them to a specified interface name.
Typically, administrators want to reuse a playbook and not maintain individual playbooks for each host to which Ansible should assign static IP addresses. In this case, you can use variables in the playbook and maintain the settings in the inventory. As a result, you need only one playbook to dynamically assign individual settings to multiple hosts.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them. - A physical or virtual Ethernet device exists in the server configuration.
- The managed nodes use NetworkManager to configure the network.
Procedure
Edit the
~/inventory
file, and append the host-specific settings to the host entries:managed-node-01.example.com interface=enp1s0 ip_v4=192.0.2.1/24 ip_v6=2001:db8:1::1/64 gateway_v4=192.0.2.254 gateway_v6=2001:db8:1::fffe managed-node-02.example.com interface=enp1s0 ip_v4=192.0.2.2/24 ip_v6=2001:db8:1::2/64 gateway_v4=192.0.2.254 gateway_v6=2001:db8:1::fffe
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure the network hosts: managed-node-01.example.com,managed-node-02.example.com tasks: - name: Ethernet connection profile with static IP address settings ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.network vars: network_connections: - name: "{{ interface }}" interface_name: "{{ interface }}" type: ethernet autoconnect: yes ip: address: - "{{ ip_v4 }}" - "{{ ip_v6 }}" gateway4: "{{ gateway_v4 }}" gateway6: "{{ gateway_v6 }}" dns: - 192.0.2.200 - 2001:db8:1::ffbb dns_search: - example.com state: up
This playbook reads certain values dynamically for each host from the inventory file and uses static values in the playbook for settings which are the same for all hosts.
For details about all variables used in the playbook, see the
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file on the control node.Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
Query the Ansible facts of the managed node and verify the active network settings:
# ansible managed-node-01.example.com -m ansible.builtin.setup ... "ansible_default_ipv4": { "address": "192.0.2.1", "alias": "enp1s0", "broadcast": "192.0.2.255", "gateway": "192.0.2.254", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "netmask": "255.255.255.0", "network": "192.0.2.0", "prefix": "24", "type": "ether" }, "ansible_default_ipv6": { "address": "2001:db8:1::1", "gateway": "2001:db8:1::fffe", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "prefix": "64", "scope": "global", "type": "ether" }, ... "ansible_dns": { "nameservers": [ "192.0.2.1", "2001:db8:1::ffbb" ], "search": [ "example.com" ] }, ...
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/network/
directory
2.6. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a static IP address by using the network
RHEL system role with a device path
To connect a Red Hat Enterprise Linux host to an Ethernet network, create a NetworkManager connection profile for the network device. By using Ansible and the network
RHEL system role, you can automate this process and remotely configure connection profiles on the hosts defined in a playbook.
You can use the network
RHEL system role to configure an Ethernet connection with static IP addresses, gateways, and DNS settings, and assign them to a device based on its path instead of its name.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them. - A physical or virtual Ethernet device exists in the servers configuration.
- The managed nodes use NetworkManager to configure the network.
-
You know the path of the device. You can display the device path by using the
udevadm info /sys/class/net/<device_name> | grep ID_PATH=
command.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure the network hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Ethernet connection profile with static IP address settings ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.network vars: network_connections: - name: example match: path: - pci-0000:00:0[1-3].0 - &!pci-0000:00:02.0 type: ethernet autoconnect: yes ip: address: - 192.0.2.1/24 - 2001:db8:1::1/64 gateway4: 192.0.2.254 gateway6: 2001:db8:1::fffe dns: - 192.0.2.200 - 2001:db8:1::ffbb dns_search: - example.com state: up
The settings specified in the example playbook include the following:
match
-
Defines that a condition must be met in order to apply the settings. You can only use this variable with the
path
option. path
-
Defines the persistent path of a device. You can set it as a fixed path or an expression. Its value can contain modifiers and wildcards. The example applies the settings to devices that match PCI ID
0000:00:0[1-3].0
, but not0000:00:02.0
.
For details about all variables used in the playbook, see the
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file on the control node.Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
Query the Ansible facts of the managed node and verify the active network settings:
# ansible managed-node-01.example.com -m ansible.builtin.setup ... "ansible_default_ipv4": { "address": "192.0.2.1", "alias": "enp1s0", "broadcast": "192.0.2.255", "gateway": "192.0.2.254", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "netmask": "255.255.255.0", "network": "192.0.2.0", "prefix": "24", "type": "ether" }, "ansible_default_ipv6": { "address": "2001:db8:1::1", "gateway": "2001:db8:1::fffe", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "prefix": "64", "scope": "global", "type": "ether" }, ... "ansible_dns": { "nameservers": [ "192.0.2.1", "2001:db8:1::ffbb" ], "search": [ "example.com" ] }, ...
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/network/
directory
2.7. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a dynamic IP address by using nmstatectl
Use the nmstatectl
utility to configure an Ethernet connection through the Nmstate API. The Nmstate API ensures that, after setting the configuration, the result matches the configuration file. If anything fails, nmstatectl
automatically rolls back the changes to avoid leaving the system in an incorrect state.
Prerequisites
- A physical or virtual Ethernet Network Interface Controller (NIC) exists in the server’s configuration.
- A DHCP server is available in the network.
-
The
nmstate
package is installed.
Procedure
Create a YAML file, for example
~/create-ethernet-profile.yml
, with the following content:--- interfaces: - name: enp1s0 type: ethernet state: up ipv4: enabled: true auto-dns: true auto-gateway: true auto-routes: true dhcp: true ipv6: enabled: true auto-dns: true auto-gateway: true auto-routes: true autoconf: true dhcp: true
These settings define an Ethernet connection profile for the
enp1s0
device. The connection retrieves IPv4 addresses, IPv6 addresses, default gateway, routes, DNS servers, and search domains from a DHCP server and IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC).Optional: You can define the
identifier: mac-address
andmac-address: <mac_address>
properties in theinterfaces
property to identify the network interface card by its MAC address instead of its name, for example:--- interfaces: - name: <profile_name> type: ethernet identifier: mac-address mac-address: <mac_address> ...
Apply the settings to the system:
# nmstatectl apply ~/create-ethernet-profile.yml
Verification
Display the current state in YAML format:
# nmstatectl show enp1s0
Display the IP settings of the NIC:
# ip address show enp1s0 2: enp1s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000 link/ether 52:54:00:17:b8:b6 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 192.0.2.1/24 brd 192.0.2.255 scope global noprefixroute enp1s0 valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever inet6 2001:db8:1::fffe/64 scope global noprefixroute valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
Display the IPv4 default gateway:
# ip route show default default via 192.0.2.254 dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102
Display the IPv6 default gateway:
# ip -6 route show default default via 2001:db8:1::ffee dev enp1s0 proto static metric 102 pref medium
Display the DNS settings:
# cat /etc/resolv.conf search example.com nameserver 192.0.2.200 nameserver 2001:db8:1::ffbb
If multiple connection profiles are active at the same time, the order of
nameserver
entries depend on the DNS priority values in these profile and the connection types.Use the
ping
utility to verify that this host can send packets to other hosts:# ping <host-name-or-IP-address>
Additional resources
-
nmstatectl(8)
man page on your system -
/usr/share/doc/nmstate/examples/
directory
2.8. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a dynamic IP address by using the network
RHEL system role with an interface name
To connect a Red Hat Enterprise Linux host to an Ethernet network, create a NetworkManager connection profile for the network device. By using Ansible and the network
RHEL system role, you can automate this process and remotely configure connection profiles on the hosts defined in a playbook.
You can use the network
RHEL system role to configure an Ethernet connection that retrieves its IP addresses, gateways, and DNS settings from a DHCP server and IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC). With this role you can assign the connection profile to the specified interface name.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them. - A physical or virtual Ethernet device exists in the servers configuration.
- A DHCP server and SLAAC are available in the network.
- The managed nodes use the NetworkManager service to configure the network.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure the network hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Ethernet connection profile with dynamic IP address settings ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.network vars: network_connections: - name: enp1s0 interface_name: enp1s0 type: ethernet autoconnect: yes ip: dhcp4: yes auto6: yes state: up
The settings specified in the example playbook include the following:
dhcp4: yes
- Enables automatic IPv4 address assignment from DHCP, PPP, or similar services.
auto6: yes
-
Enables IPv6 auto-configuration. By default, NetworkManager uses Router Advertisements. If the router announces the
managed
flag, NetworkManager requests an IPv6 address and prefix from a DHCPv6 server.
For details about all variables used in the playbook, see the
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file on the control node.Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
Query the Ansible facts of the managed node and verify that the interface received IP addresses and DNS settings:
# ansible managed-node-01.example.com -m ansible.builtin.setup ... "ansible_default_ipv4": { "address": "192.0.2.1", "alias": "enp1s0", "broadcast": "192.0.2.255", "gateway": "192.0.2.254", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "netmask": "255.255.255.0", "network": "192.0.2.0", "prefix": "24", "type": "ether" }, "ansible_default_ipv6": { "address": "2001:db8:1::1", "gateway": "2001:db8:1::fffe", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "prefix": "64", "scope": "global", "type": "ether" }, ... "ansible_dns": { "nameservers": [ "192.0.2.1", "2001:db8:1::ffbb" ], "search": [ "example.com" ] }, ...
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/network/
directory
2.9. Configuring an Ethernet connection with a dynamic IP address by using the network
RHEL system role with a device path
To connect a Red Hat Enterprise Linux host to an Ethernet network, create a NetworkManager connection profile for the network device. By using Ansible and the network
RHEL system role, you can automate this process and remotely configure connection profiles on the hosts defined in a playbook.
You can use the network
RHEL system role to configure an Ethernet connection that retrieves its IP addresses, gateways, and DNS settings from a DHCP server and IPv6 stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC). The role can assign the connection profile to a device based on its path instead of an interface name.
Prerequisites
- You have prepared the control node and the managed nodes
- You are logged in to the control node as a user who can run playbooks on the managed nodes.
-
The account you use to connect to the managed nodes has
sudo
permissions on them. - A physical or virtual Ethernet device exists in the servers configuration.
- A DHCP server and SLAAC are available in the network.
- The managed hosts use NetworkManager to configure the network.
-
You know the path of the device. You can display the device path by using the
udevadm info /sys/class/net/<device_name> | grep ID_PATH=
command.
Procedure
Create a playbook file, for example
~/playbook.yml
, with the following content:--- - name: Configure the network hosts: managed-node-01.example.com tasks: - name: Ethernet connection profile with dynamic IP address settings ansible.builtin.include_role: name: rhel-system-roles.network vars: network_connections: - name: example match: path: - pci-0000:00:0[1-3].0 - &!pci-0000:00:02.0 type: ethernet autoconnect: yes ip: dhcp4: yes auto6: yes state: up
The settings specified in the example playbook include the following:
match: path
-
Defines that a condition must be met in order to apply the settings. You can only use this variable with the
path
option. path: <path_and_expressions>
-
Defines the persistent path of a device. You can set it as a fixed path or an expression. Its value can contain modifiers and wildcards. The example applies the settings to devices that match PCI ID
0000:00:0[1-3].0
, but not0000:00:02.0
. dhcp4: yes
- Enables automatic IPv4 address assignment from DHCP, PPP, or similar services.
auto6: yes
-
Enables IPv6 auto-configuration. By default, NetworkManager uses Router Advertisements. If the router announces the
managed
flag, NetworkManager requests an IPv6 address and prefix from a DHCPv6 server.
For details about all variables used in the playbook, see the
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file on the control node.Validate the playbook syntax:
$ ansible-playbook --syntax-check ~/playbook.yml
Note that this command only validates the syntax and does not protect against a wrong but valid configuration.
Run the playbook:
$ ansible-playbook ~/playbook.yml
Verification
Query the Ansible facts of the managed node and verify that the interface received IP addresses and DNS settings:
# ansible managed-node-01.example.com -m ansible.builtin.setup ... "ansible_default_ipv4": { "address": "192.0.2.1", "alias": "enp1s0", "broadcast": "192.0.2.255", "gateway": "192.0.2.254", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "netmask": "255.255.255.0", "network": "192.0.2.0", "prefix": "24", "type": "ether" }, "ansible_default_ipv6": { "address": "2001:db8:1::1", "gateway": "2001:db8:1::fffe", "interface": "enp1s0", "macaddress": "52:54:00:17:b8:b6", "mtu": 1500, "prefix": "64", "scope": "global", "type": "ether" }, ... "ansible_dns": { "nameservers": [ "192.0.2.1", "2001:db8:1::ffbb" ], "search": [ "example.com" ] }, ...
Additional resources
-
/usr/share/ansible/roles/rhel-system-roles.network/README.md
file -
/usr/share/doc/rhel-system-roles/network/
directory
2.10. Configuring multiple Ethernet interfaces by using a single connection profile by interface name
In most cases, one connection profile contains the settings of one network device. However, NetworkManager also supports wildcards when you set the interface name in connection profiles. If a host roams between Ethernet networks with dynamic IP address assignment, you can use this feature to create a single connection profile that you can use for multiple Ethernet interfaces.
Prerequisites
- Multiple physical or virtual Ethernet devices exist in the server’s configuration.
- A DHCP server is available in the network.
- No connection profile exists on the host.
Procedure
Add a connection profile that applies to all interface names starting with
enp
:# nmcli connection add con-name "Wired connection 1" connection.multi-connect multiple match.interface-name enp* type ethernet
Verification
Display all settings of the single connection profile:
# nmcli connection show "Wired connection 1" connection.id: Wired connection 1 ... connection.multi-connect: 3 (multiple) match.interface-name:
enp*
...3
indicates the number of interfaces active on the connection profile at the same time, and not the number of network interfaces in the connection profile. The connection profile uses all devices that match the pattern in thematch.interface-name
parameter and, therefore, the connection profiles have the same Universally Unique Identifier (UUID).Display the status of the connections:
# nmcli connection show NAME UUID TYPE DEVICE ... Wired connection 1 6f22402e-c0cc-49cf-b702-eaf0cd5ea7d1 ethernet enp7s0 Wired connection 1 6f22402e-c0cc-49cf-b702-eaf0cd5ea7d1 ethernet enp8s0 Wired connection 1 6f22402e-c0cc-49cf-b702-eaf0cd5ea7d1 ethernet enp9s0
Additional resources
-
nmcli(1)
andnm-settings(5)
man page on your system - NetworkManager duplicates a connection after restart of NetworkManager service (Red Hat Knowledgebase)
2.11. Configuring a single connection profile for multiple Ethernet interfaces using PCI IDs
The PCI ID is a unique identifier of the devices connected to the system. The connection profile adds multiple devices by matching interfaces based on a list of PCI IDs. You can use this procedure to connect multiple device PCI IDs to the single connection profile.
Prerequisites
- Multiple physical or virtual Ethernet devices exist in the server’s configuration.
- A DHCP server is available in the network.
- No connection profile exists on the host.
Procedure
Identify the device path. For example, to display the device paths of all interfaces starting with
enp
, enter :# udevadm info /sys/class/net/enp | grep ID_PATH=* ... E: ID_PATH=pci-0000:07:00.0 E: ID_PATH=pci-0000:08:00.0
Add a connection profile that applies to all PCI IDs matching the
0000:00:0[7-8].0
expression:# nmcli connection add type ethernet connection.multi-connect multiple match.path "pci-0000:07:00.0 pci-0000:08:00.0" con-name "Wired connection 1"
Verification
Display the status of the connection:
# nmcli connection show NAME UUID TYPE DEVICE Wired connection 1 9cee0958-512f-4203-9d3d-b57af1d88466 ethernet enp7s0 Wired connection 1 9cee0958-512f-4203-9d3d-b57af1d88466 ethernet enp8s0 ...
To display all settings of the connection profile:
# nmcli connection show "Wired connection 1" connection.id: Wired connection 1 ... connection.multi-connect: 3 (multiple) match.path: pci-0000:07:00.0,pci-0000:08:00.0 ...
This connection profile uses all devices with a PCI ID which match the pattern in the
match.path
parameter and, therefore, the connection profiles have the same Universally Unique Identifier (UUID).
Additional resources
-
nmcli(1)
andnm-settings(5)
man pages on your system