Networking

Armbian uses Netplan.io to describe networking configurations. This is the same on minimal IOT, server CLI and desktop images, Debian or Ubuntu based. However, backends are different.

Minimal images with networkd

Minimal images are using systemd-networkd, which has smaller footprint. systemd-networkd is a system daemon that manages network configurations. It detects and configures network devices as they appear; it can also create virtual network devices. This service can be especially useful to set up complex network configurations. It also works fine on simple connections.

Default Armbian configuration

Preinstalled configuration will run DHCP on all ethernet devices in order to help you connecting to the device and configure it appropriate.

/etc/netplan/armbian-default.yaml

    network:
      version: 2
      renderer: networkd
      ethernets:
        alleths:
          match:
            name: e*
          dhcp4: true
          dhcp6: true

Configuration examples

Set fixed IP address

/etc/netplan/armbian-default.yaml

    network:
      version: 2
      renderer: networkd
      ethernets:
        eth0:
          addresses:
          - 10.0.40.199/24
          routes:
          - to: default
            via: 10.0.40.1
          nameservers:
           addresses: [9.9.9.9,8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4]

Connect to wireless hotspot

It is recommended to make a separate config file for wireless network.

Generate a file:

    sudo nano /etc/netplan/armbian-default.yaml

with content:

    version: 2
    renderer: networkd
    network:
      wifis:
        wlan0:
          dhcp4: true
          dhcp6: true
          access-points:
            "SSID":
              password: "password"

Replace SSID with the name of your hot-spot and wlan0 with a device used on your system.

Applying configuration

Once you are done with configuring your network its time to test syntax and apply it.

1. Fix configurations permissions

    sudo chmod 600 /etc/netplan/*.yaml

2. Test if syntax is correct

    sudo netplan try

3. Apply configuration

    sudo netplan apply

CLI and desktop images with NetworkManager

Cerver CLI and desktop images are using Network Manager. You can use the same methods as for minimal images.

Set fixed IP address

/etc/netplan/armbian-default.yaml

    network:
      version: 2
      renderer: NetworkManager
      ethernets:
        eth0:
          addresses:
          - 10.0.40.199/24
          routes:
          - to: default
            via: 10.0.40.1
          nameservers:
           addresses: [9.9.9.9,8.8.8.8,8.8.4.4]

But you can also use CLI / GUI tools

nmtui-connect SSID

Replace SSID with the name of your hot-spot

    nmtui-edit eth0

Replace eth0 with the name of your network device.

Automatic configuration at first run

It is possible to store first run preset network settings to the file /root/.not_logged_in_yet which is read and executed at first login.

Mount live image before first run and use this example:

# Set PRESET_NET_CHANGE_DEFAULTS to 1 to apply any network related settings below

PRESET_NET_CHANGE_DEFAULTS="1"

# Enable WiFi or Ethernet.
# NB: If both are enabled, WiFi will take priority and Ethernet will be disabled.

PRESET_NET_ETHERNET_ENABLED=1
PRESET_NET_WIFI_ENABLED=1

# Enter your WiFi creds
# SECURITY WARN: Your wifi keys will be stored in plaintext, no encryption.

PRESET_NET_WIFI_SSID='MySSID'
PRESET_NET_WIFI_KEY='MyWiFiKEY'

# Country code to enable power ratings and channels for your country.

# eg: GB US DE | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2
PRESET_NET_WIFI_COUNTRYCODE='GB'

# If you want to use a static ip, set it here

PRESET_NET_USE_STATIC=1
PRESET_NET_STATIC_IP='192.168.0.100'
PRESET_NET_STATIC_MASK='255.255.255.0'
PRESET_NET_STATIC_GATEWAY='192.168.0.1'
PRESET_NET_STATIC_DNS='9.9.9.9 1.1.1.1'

If you want to use first run automatic configuration at build time, check this.

1. Copy cp extensions/preset-firstrun.sh userpatches/extensions/
2. Edit userpatches/extensions/preset-firstrun.sh according to your situation
3. Build with additional parameter ENABLE_EXTENSIONS=preset-firstrun

Note: this method also adds new user, sets passwords, …