How to configure the network of a virtual machine on a Dedibox host

When you install your server with a virtualization solution like Proxmox, you can create multiple virtual machines on the physical server. This setup allows you to have separate environments for different services (e.g., mail and web services) or to optimize the server’s performance by running several virtual machines.

To communicate on the internet, each of your virtual machines needs an IP address. You can use failover IPs to have additional IP addresses available for your server.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

• A Dedibox account logged into the console
• Created a Dedibox dedicated server and installed a hypervisor on it
• Ordered a failover IP
• Generated a virtual MAC address

Find below examples of network interface configurations on different distributions inside a virtual machine:

Ubuntu

Since the release of version 18.04 (Bionic Beaver), Ubuntu has used Netplan for configuring network interfaces. For older releases, refer to the Debian configuration.

1. Log into your virtual machine and open the network configuration file /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml in a text editor of your choice, for example nano:

   sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml
   

2. Create a network configuration as follows. Replace fail.over.ip.address with your failover IP address:

   network:
   ethernets:
       ens18:
           addresses:
           - [ "fail.over.ip.address/32" ]
           nameservers:
             addresses: [ "51.159.47.28", "51.159.47.26" ] # Replace the IP of the DNS cache server with the one located in the same physical location as your machine for optimal performances (https://www.scaleway.com/en/docs/console/account/reference-content/scaleway-network-information/#dns-cache-servers)
           routes:
           -   to: default
               via: 62.210.0.1
           -   to: 62.210.0.1/32
               via: fail.over.ip.address
               scope: link
   version: 2
   

3. Save the file and exit the text editor.
4. Apply the new configuration:

   sudo netplan apply
   

Debian

1. Log into the virtual machine and edit the file /etc/network/interfaces with a text editor of your choice, for example, nano:

   sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
   

2. Configure the network interface as follows. Replace fail.over.ip.address with your failover IP address:

   auto eth0
       iface eth0 inet static
       address fail.over.ip.address
       netmask 255.255.255.255
       pointopoint 62.210.0.1
       gateway 62.210.0.1
   

3. Save the file and exit the text editor.
4. Set the DNS server information by editing the file /etc/resolv.conf:

   sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf
   

5. Set the DNS resolver by adding the following lines to the file. Then save it and exit the text editor:

   nameserver 51.159.47.28
   nameserver 51.159.47.26
   

   Tip

   Replace the IP of the DNS cache server with the one located in the same physical location as your machine for optimal performance. Check the IPs for each data center

6. Activate the network on your virtual machine by running:

   sudo ifup eth0
   

CentOS

1. Log into the virtual machine and edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 with a text editor of your choice, for example, nano:

   sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
   

2. Configure the network interface as follows. Replace fail.over.ip.address with your failover IP address and virtual:mac:address with the virtual MAC of the VM:

   DEVICE=eth0
   BOOTPROTO=none
   ONBOOT=yes
   USERCTL=no
   IPV6INIT=no
   PEERDNS=yes
   TYPE=Ethernet
   NETMASK=255.255.255.255
   IPADDR=fail.over.ip.address
   GATEWAY=62.210.0.1
   DNS1=51.159.47.28 # Replace the IP of the DNS cache server with the one located in the same physical location as your machine for optimal performances (https://www.scaleway.com/en/docs/console/account/reference-content/scaleway-network-information/#dns-cache-servers)
   DNS2=51.159.47.26
   ARP=yes
   HWADDR=virtual:mac:address
   

3. Save the file and close the text editor.
4. Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/route-eth0 as follows, then save and exit the text editor:

   62.210.0.1 dev eth0
   default via 62.210.0.1 dev eth0
   

5. Run the following command to bring the network interface up:

   sudo ifup eth0
   

Windows Server

1. Connect to the desktop of your VM in the virtual console, then open the network settings of your server.

2. Enter the following information in the network adapter configuration:

   • Address: failover IP
   • Subnetmask: 255.255.255.255
   • Gateway: 62.210.0.1
   • DNS 1: 51.159.47.28
   • DNS 2: 51.159.47.26
   Tip

   Replace the IP of the DNS cache server with the one located in the same physical location as your machine for optimal performance. Check the IPs for each data center