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INTERFACES(5)

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NAME    [Toc]    [Back]

       /etc/network/interfaces	- network interface configuration for ifup and
       ifdown

DESCRIPTION    [Toc]    [Back]

       /etc/network/interfaces contains network interface configuration information
  for  the ifup(8) and ifdown(8) commands. This is where you configure
 how your system is connected  to	the  network,  by  setting  IP
       addresses, and other related information.

       The file can contain comments; all lines starting with `#' are ignored.
       A line may be extended across multiple lines by making the last character
 a \ in the usual manner.

       The  file  consists of zero or more "iface", "mapping" and "auto" stanzas,
 each of which defines one network interface. Here are some	sample
       stanzas:

	auto lo eth0

	iface lo inet loopback

	mapping eth0
	    script /usr/local/sbin/map-scheme
	    map HOME eth0-home
	    map WORK eth0-work

	iface eth0-home inet static
	    address 192.168.1.1
	    netmask 255.255.255.0

	iface eth0-work inet dhcp

       Stanzas	beginning with the word "auto" are used to identify interfaces
       that should be brought up automatically on system boot. Interface names
       should follow the word "auto" on the same line. Multiple "auto" stanzas
       may be used, or they may be combined into a single line.

       Stanzas beginning with the word "mapping"  are  used  to  automatically
       translate  a physical interface name into a logical interface specified
       by an "iface" stanza. The first line of a mapping  stanza  begins  with
       the  word  "mapping"  followed  by the names of each physical interface
       this mapping should apply to. Shell globs (* and ?  wildcards)  may  be
       used  when  specifying  interfaces. Each mapping must specify a script,
       which will be run when the mapping is applied. In addition,  a  mapping
       may  specify  any number of "map" parameters that will be passed to the
       script.

       Stanzas defining interfaces start with the word "iface". The next  word
       is  the	name  of the interface, as used by the ifconfig(8) or route(8)
       commands (ie, things like "lo", "eth0", or "ppp0", and "eth1:0").

       The interface name is followed by address family the interface uses  --
       generally  this will be "inet" for TCP/IP networking, but there is also
       some support for IPX networking ("ipx"), and IPv6 networking ("inet6").

       Following  that	is  the method used to configure the interface. In the
       example above, this is "static", which means that eth0  is  a  staticly
       allocated IPv4 address.

       Further	options may follow the "iface" header line on additional lines
       in the stanza. These are usually indented for clarity (as in the  example)
 but are not required to be.

IFACE OPTIONS    [Toc]    [Back]

       There  are  currently  three  standard options available for all interfaces,
 regardless of address family or method. These are:

       up command
	      Run command after bringing the interface up. This option can  be
	      given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands
	      will be executed in order.  If one of the commands  fails,  none
	      of  the  others  will be executed, but the interface will remain
	      configured. (You can ensure a command never fails  by  suffixing
	      "|| true".)

       pre-up command
	      Run command before bringing the interface up. This option can be
	      given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands
	      will  be	executed in order.  If one of the commands fails, none
	      of the others will be executed, and the interface  will  not  be
	      configured.  (You  can ensure a command never fails by suffixing
	      "|| true".)

       down command
	      Run command before taking the interface down. This option can be
	      given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands
	      will be executed in order.  If one of the commands  fails,  none
	      of  the  others  will be executed, and the interface will not be
	      deconfigured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing
	      "|| true".)

       post-down command
	      Run  command after taking the interface down. This option can be
	      given multiple times for a single interface. If so, the commands
	      will  be	executed in order.  If one of the commands fails, none
	      of the others will be executed, but the  interface  will	remain
	      deconfigured. (You can ensure a command never fails by suffixing
	      "|| true".)

       Most methods require additional information, such as address, and  netmask;
  details  about  the  available  methods and the information they
       require follows.

INET ADDRESS FAMILY    [Toc]    [Back]

       This section documents the methods available in the inet  address  family.


   The loopback Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to define the IPv4 loopback interface.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      (No options)

   The static Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This  method  may be used to define ethernet interfaces with statically
       allocated IPv4 addresses.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      address address
		     Address (dotted quad) required


	      netmask netmask
		     Netmask (dotted quad) required


	      broadcast broadcast_address
		     Broadcast address (dotted quad)

	      network network_address
		     Network address (dotted quad) required for 2.0.x kernels


	      gateway address
		     Default gateway (dotted quad)

	      pointopoint address
		     Address of  other	end  point  (dotted  quad).  Note  the
		     spelling of "point-to".

   The dhcp Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This  method  may be used to obtain an address via DHCP with any of the
       tools: dhclient, pump (2.2.x kernels only), or dhcpcd. If  you  have  a
       complicated  DHCP  setup you should note that some of these clients use
       their own configuration files, rather than obtaining  their  configuration
 via *ifup*.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      hostname hostname
		     Hostname to be requested (pump, dhcpcd)

	      leasehours leastime
		     Preferred lease time in hours (pump)

	      leasetime leasetime
		     Preferred lease time in seconds (dhcpcd)

	      vendor vendor
		     Vendor class identifier (dhcpcd)

	      client client_id
		     Client identifier (dhcpcd)

   The bootp Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to obtain an address via bootp.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      bootfile file
		     Tell the server to use file as the bootfile.

	      server address
		     Use  the  IP  address  address  to  communicate  with the
		     server.

	      hwaddr addr
		     Use addr as the hardware address instead of  whatever  it
		     really is.

   The ppp Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This  method uses pon/poff to configure a PPP interface. See those commands
 for details.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      provider name
		     Use name as the provider (from /etc/ppp/peers).

   The wvdial Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method uses wvdial to configure a PPP interface. See that  command
       for ore details.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      provider name
		     Use name as the provider (from /etc/ppp/peers).

IPX ADDRESS FAMILY    [Toc]    [Back]

       This section documents the methods available in the ipx address family.

   The static Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to setup an IPX interface.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      frame

	      netnum

   The dynamic Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to setup an IPX interface dynamically.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      frame

INET6 ADDRESS FAMILY    [Toc]    [Back]

       This section documents the methods available in the inet6 address  family.


   The loopback Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to define the IPv6 loopback interface.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      (No options)

   The static Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This  method  may be used to define interfaces with statically assigned
       IPv6 addresses.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      address address
		     Address (colon delimited) required


	      netmask mask
		     Netmask (number of bits, eg 64) required


	      gateway address
		     Default gateway (colon delimited)

   The v4tunnel Method    [Toc]    [Back]
       This method may be used to setup an IPv6-over-IPv4 tunnel. It  requires
       the ip command from the iproute package.

       Options    [Toc]    [Back]

	      address address
		     Address (colon delimited) required


	      netmask mask
		     Netmask (number of bits, eg 64) required


	      endpoint address
		     Address  of  other  tunnel  endpoint  (IPv4  dotted quad)
		     required


	      gateway address
		     Default gateway (colon delimited)

AUTHOR    [Toc]    [Back]

       The  ifupdown  suite  was  written  by  Anthony	Towns	<aj@azure.hum-
       bug.org.au>.	This	manpage   was	contributed   by   Joey   Hess
       <joey@kitenet.net>

SEE ALSO    [Toc]    [Back]

      
      
       ifup(8), ifdown(8)



ifupdown			August 10 2000			 INTERFACES(5)
[ Back ]
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