loc_az_hci/infrastructure/proxmox/MANUAL_CONFIGURATION.md

Manual Network Configuration Guide

File to Edit

File: /etc/network/interfaces

Location: On each Proxmox server (ML110 and R630)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Backup Current Configuration

cp /etc/network/interfaces /etc/network/interfaces.backup.$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)

Step 2: Identify Your Physical NICs

Check which physical interfaces you have:

ls -la /sys/class/net/
ip link show

Common interface names:

• nic0, nic1, nic2, nic3 (Proxmox default naming)
• eth0, eth1, eth2, eth3 (traditional)
• ens33, ens34, ens35, ens36 (systemd predictable naming)
• enp1s0f0, enp1s0f1, etc. (PCI based naming)

Step 3: Edit /etc/network/interfaces

nano /etc/network/interfaces
# or
vi /etc/network/interfaces

Step 4: Replace Content with Configuration Below

Use the template below and adjust interface names (nic0, nic1, etc.) to match your actual interfaces.

Configuration Template

# Proxmox VE Network Configuration
# Configure DHCP on all physical NICs

# Loopback interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# Physical interface 1 (first NIC)
auto nic0
iface nic0 inet manual

# vmbr0 - Bridge on first NIC (DHCP)
auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic0
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 200

# Physical interface 2 (second NIC)
auto nic1
iface nic1 inet manual

# vmbr1 - Bridge on second NIC (DHCP)
auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic1
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 100

# Physical interface 3 (third NIC - if exists)
auto nic2
iface nic2 inet manual

# vmbr2 - Bridge on third NIC (DHCP)
auto vmbr2
iface vmbr2 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic2
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no

# Physical interface 4 (fourth NIC - if exists)
auto nic3
iface nic3 inet manual

# vmbr3 - Bridge on fourth NIC (DHCP)
auto vmbr3
iface vmbr3 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic3
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no

Customization Guide

For R630 (if interfaces are nic2 and nic3)

If your 1 Gbps ports are nic2 and nic3, you can configure only those:

# Loopback
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# NIC 2 (LAN)
auto nic2
iface nic2 inet manual

# vmbr0 - LAN Bridge
auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic2
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 200

# NIC 3 (WAN)
auto nic3
iface nic3 inet manual

# vmbr1 - WAN Bridge
auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic3
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 100

For Different Interface Names

If your interfaces are named differently (e.g., eth0, eth1), replace:

• nic0 → eth0
• nic1 → eth1
• etc.

For Different Number of NICs

• 2 NICs: Use only vmbr0 and vmbr1 sections
• 3 NICs: Add vmbr2 section
• 4 NICs: Add vmbr3 section
• More: Copy the pattern for additional interfaces

Step 5: Apply Configuration

After editing the file:

# Apply the new configuration
ifreload -a

# OR restart networking service
systemctl restart networking

# OR manually bring interfaces up
ifdown -a && ifup -a

Step 6: Verify Configuration

# Check bridges are up
ip link show type bridge

# Check IP addresses
ip addr show

# Check which bridges got IPs
for br in vmbr0 vmbr1 vmbr2 vmbr3; do
    echo -n "$br: "
    ip addr show $br 2>/dev/null | grep "inet " | awk '{print $2}' || echo "No IP"
done

# Check routing
ip route show

Step 7: Test Connectivity

# Test LAN (if vmbr0 got 192.168.1.x IP)
ping -c 3 192.168.1.1

# Test WAN/Internet
ping -c 3 8.8.8.8

Troubleshooting

If Configuration Doesn't Apply

# Check for syntax errors
ifup --dry-run vmbr0

# Check logs
journalctl -u networking -n 50

# Restore backup if needed
cp /etc/network/interfaces.backup.* /etc/network/interfaces
systemctl restart networking

If No IPs Assigned

# Manually request DHCP
dhclient -v vmbr0
dhclient -v vmbr1

# Check DHCP client logs
journalctl -u networking | grep -i dhcp

If Wrong Interfaces

1. Edit /etc/network/interfaces again
2. Update interface names to match your actual NICs
3. Apply: ifreload -a

Quick Reference

File: /etc/network/interfaces

Key Points:

• Each physical NIC gets its own bridge (vmbr0, vmbr1, etc.)
• All bridges use DHCP (inet dhcp)
• Metrics: vmbr0=200 (LAN), vmbr1=100 (WAN) for routing priority
• After saving, run: ifreload -a

Example for R630 with 4 NICs

# /etc/network/interfaces

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# nic0 (may be 10GbE)
auto nic0
iface nic0 inet manual

# nic1 (may be 10GbE)
auto nic1
iface nic1 inet manual

# nic2 (1 Gbps - LAN)
auto nic2
iface nic2 inet manual

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic2
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 200

# nic3 (1 Gbps - WAN)
auto nic3
iface nic3 inet manual

auto vmbr1
iface vmbr1 inet dhcp
    bridge-ports nic3
    bridge-stp off
    bridge-fd 0
    bridge-vlan-aware no
    metric 100

This configures only nic2 and nic3 (assuming those are the 1 Gbps ports).