How to configure a failover IP on FreeBSD

Reviewed on April 22, 2025

This page shows you how to configure a failover IP on Dedibox servers running on FreeBSD.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Dedibox account logged into the console
• Created a Dedibox dedicated server

Failover IP configuration on FreeBSD

1. Connect to your server using SSH.

2. Open the network configuration file in a text editor, for example nano:

   nano /etc/rc.conf

3. Add the following line to the file, replace FAILOVER_IP with your failover IP address:

   ifconfig_em0_alias0="inet FAILOVER_IP netmask 255.255.255.255"

   Your modified configuration file should look like the following example:

   ifconfig_em0="inet IP_ADDRESS netmask 255.255.255.0"
   defaultrouter="IP_ADDRESS"
   sshd_enable="YES"
   ntpd_enable="YES"
   ntpd_sync_on_start="YES"
   syslogd_flags="-ss"
   fsck_y_enable="YES"
   ifconfig_em0_alias0="inet FAILOVER_IP netmask 255.255.255.255"

4. Save the file and exit the text editor.

5. Restart the network to activate the new IP address:

   /etc/rc.d/netif restart && /etc/rc.d/routing restart