# Managing network interfaces

**URL:** <https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463>\
**Category:** Chef Infra (archive)\
**Created:** [July 13, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463 "2010-07-13T23:19:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jacobo\_Garcia](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jacobo_garcia/32/533_2.png) [@Jacobo\_Garcia](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jacobo_Garcia)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/1 "2010-07-13T23:19:41Z")

</div>

Hi,

I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
I know about chef’s route and ifconfig resource. But I’d like to know  
experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
does it work with virtual interfaces?

Thanks 🙂

Jacobo García López de Araujo  
blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
[http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ryan\_C\_Creasey](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/ryan_c_creasey/32/797_2.png) [@Ryan\_C\_Creasey](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Ryan_C_Creasey)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:23pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/2 "2010-07-13T23:23:43Z")

</div>

I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1, loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out and had the recipe manage the templates to the "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're redhat based).

I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with chef.

Ryan C. Creasey  
PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
IGN Entertainment  
T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey

On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> does it work with virtual interfaces?
> 
> Thanks 🙂
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jesse\_Nelson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jesse_nelson/32/262_2.png) [@Jesse\_Nelson](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jesse_Nelson)\
**Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 11:59pm UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/3 "2010-07-13T23:59:43Z")

</div>

you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface and vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..

this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data bag and reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked out well for me.

i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its not up anywhere atm.

On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:

> I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1, loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out and had the recipe manage the templates to the "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're redhat based).
> 
> I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with chef.
> 
> Ryan C. Creasey  
> PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> IGN Entertainment  
> T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> 
> On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > 
> > Thanks 🙂
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![John\_Hanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ba0ec/32.png) [@John\_Hanks](https://discourse.chef.io/u/John_Hanks)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/4 "2010-07-14T00:50:46Z")

</div>

I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
attributes like (most complicated example I've used):

"netcfg" =\> {  
"devices" =\> {  
"bond0" =\> {  
"bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
"device" =\> "bond0",  
"nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
"onboot" =\> "yes",  
"mtu" =\> "9000",  
"mode" =\> "0"  
},  
"vlan32" =\> {  
"bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
"device" =\> "vlan32",  
"physdev" =\> "bond0"  
}  
},  
"gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
}

Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:

"netcfg" =\> {  
"devices" =\> {  
"eth0" =\> {  
"bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
"device" =\> "eth0",  
"onboot" =\> "yes"  
},  
"eth1" =\> {  
"bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
"device" =\> "eth1",  
"onboot" =\> "yes",  
"mtu" =\> "9000"  
}  
},  
"gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
}

The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
[http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)

Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
update the files over time.

jbh

On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:

> you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface and  
> vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data bag and  
> reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked out  
> well for me.  
> i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its not  
> up anywhere atm.
> 
> On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> 
> I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1,  
> loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out  
> and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're  
> redhat based).  
> I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with  
> chef.
> 
> Ryan C. Creasey  
> PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> IGN Entertainment  
> T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> 
> On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> does it work with virtual interfaces?
> 
> Thanks 🙂
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jesse\_Nelson](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jesse_nelson/32/262_2.png) [@Jesse\_Nelson](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jesse_Nelson)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 1:23am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/5 "2010-07-14T01:23:34Z")

</div>

heres an example oh how we do it

$ knife data bag show network test01  
{  
"routes": {  
"home": {  
"network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
"gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
}  
},  
"id": "test01",  
"interfaces": {  
"sys-ext": {  
"mask": "255.255.255.0",  
"ip": "127.0.1.4",  
"dev": "lo:0"  
},  
"mail": {  
"mask": "255.255.255.0",  
"ip": "127.0.0.3",  
"dev": "lo:1"  
},  
"mail-ext": {  
"mask": "255.255.255.0",  
"ip": "127.0.1.3",  
"dev": "lo:2"  
},  
"sys": {  
"mask": "255.255.255.0",  
"ip": "127.0.0.4",  
"dev": "lo:3"  
}  
}  
}

and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:

# want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces

begin  
net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
rescue  
net\_dbag = nil  
end

# we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now

if net\_dbag  
net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
ifconfig int['ip'] do  
ignore\_failure true  
device int['dev']  
mask int['mask']  
gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
end  
end

# custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then

# attrib based routes as well

net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
route r['network'] do  
ignore\_failure true  
gateway r['gateway']  
netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
device r['device'] if r['device']  
end  
end  
end

i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles and such can set routes if need be

super simple data bag driven network config.

On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:

> I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
> eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
> attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> 
> "netcfg" =\> {  
> "devices" =\> {  
> "bond0" =\> {  
> "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> "device" =\> "bond0",  
> "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> "mode" =\> "0"  
> },  
> "vlan32" =\> {  
> "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> }  
> },  
> "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> }
> 
> Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> 
> "netcfg" =\> {  
> "devices" =\> {  
> "eth0" =\> {  
> "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> "device" =\> "eth0",  
> "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> },  
> "eth1" =\> {  
> "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> "device" =\> "eth1",  
> "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> }  
> },  
> "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> }
> 
> The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
> dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> 
> Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
> safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
> update the files over time.
> 
> jbh
> 
> On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:
> 
> > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface and  
> > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data bag and  
> > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked out  
> > well for me.  
> > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its not  
> > up anywhere atm.
> > 
> > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > 
> > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1,  
> > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out  
> > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're  
> > redhat based).  
> > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with  
> > chef.
> > 
> > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > IGN Entertainment  
> > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > 
> > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > 
> > Thanks 🙂
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [NameBright - Coming Soon](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jacobo\_Garcia](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jacobo_garcia/32/533_2.png) [@Jacobo\_Garcia](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jacobo_Garcia)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2010, 11:12am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/6 "2010-07-14T11:12:00Z")

</div>

Thanks for all the information, chefs.

Jacobo García López de Araujo  
blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
[http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:

> heres an example oh how we do it
> 
> $ knife data bag show network test01  
> {  
> "routes": {  
> "home": {  
> "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> }  
> },  
> "id": "test01",  
> "interfaces": {  
> "sys-ext": {  
> "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> "dev": "lo:0"  
> },  
> "mail": {  
> "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> "dev": "lo:1"  
> },  
> "mail-ext": {  
> "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> "dev": "lo:2"  
> },  
> "sys": {  
> "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> "dev": "lo:3"  
> }  
> }  
> }
> 
> and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> 
> # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> 
> begin  
> net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> rescue  
> net\_dbag = nil  
> end
> 
> # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> 
> if net\_dbag  
> net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> ignore\_failure true  
> device int['dev']  
> mask int['mask']  
> gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> end  
> end
> 
> # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> 
> # attrib based routes as well
> 
> net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> route r['network'] do  
> ignore\_failure true  
> gateway r['gateway']  
> netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> device r['device'] if r['device']  
> end  
> end  
> end
> 
> i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles and such can set routes if need be
> 
> super simple data bag driven network config.
> 
> On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> 
> > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
> > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
> > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > 
> > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > "devices" =\> {  
> > "bond0" =\> {  
> > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > },  
> > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > }  
> > },  
> > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > }
> > 
> > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > 
> > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > "devices" =\> {  
> > "eth0" =\> {  
> > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > },  
> > "eth1" =\> {  
> > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > }  
> > },  
> > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > }
> > 
> > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
> > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > 
> > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
> > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
> > update the files over time.
> > 
> > jbh
> > 
> > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:
> > 
> > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface and  
> > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data bag and  
> > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked out  
> > > well for me.  
> > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its not  
> > > up anywhere atm.
> > > 
> > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > 
> > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1,  
> > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out  
> > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're  
> > > redhat based).  
> > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with  
> > > chef.
> > > 
> > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > 
> > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > 
> > > Hi,
> > > 
> > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > 
> > > Thanks 🙂
> > > 
> > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jacobo\_Garcia](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jacobo_garcia/32/533_2.png) [@Jacobo\_Garcia](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jacobo_Garcia)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/7 "2010-07-15T00:14:34Z")

</div>

After taking a look on this  
[http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)  
it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.

In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
/etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?

Thanks.

Jacobo García López de Araujo  
blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
[http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com) wrote:

> Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> 
> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:
> 
> > heres an example oh how we do it
> > 
> > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > {  
> > "routes": {  
> > "home": {  
> > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > }  
> > },  
> > "id": "test01",  
> > "interfaces": {  
> > "sys-ext": {  
> > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > },  
> > "mail": {  
> > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > },  
> > "mail-ext": {  
> > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > },  
> > "sys": {  
> > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > }  
> > }  
> > }
> > 
> > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > 
> > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > 
> > begin  
> > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > rescue  
> > net\_dbag = nil  
> > end
> > 
> > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > 
> > if net\_dbag  
> > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > ignore\_failure true  
> > device int['dev']  
> > mask int['mask']  
> > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > end  
> > end
> > 
> > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > 
> > # attrib based routes as well
> > 
> > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > route r['network'] do  
> > ignore\_failure true  
> > gateway r['gateway']  
> > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > end  
> > end  
> > end
> > 
> > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles and such can set routes if need be
> > 
> > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > 
> > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > 
> > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
> > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
> > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > 
> > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > },  
> > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > }  
> > > },  
> > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > }
> > > 
> > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > 
> > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > },  
> > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > }  
> > > },  
> > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > }
> > > 
> > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
> > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > 
> > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
> > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
> > > update the files over time.
> > > 
> > > jbh
> > > 
> > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com) wrote:
> > > 
> > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface and  
> > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data bag and  
> > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked out  
> > > > well for me.  
> > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its not  
> > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > 
> > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes (eth1,  
> > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way out  
> > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes, we're  
> > > > redhat based).  
> > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface management with  
> > > > chef.
> > > > 
> > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > 
> > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > Hi,
> > > > 
> > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > 
> > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > 
> > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sahil\_R\_Cooner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/sahil_r_cooner/32/773_2.png) [@Sahil\_R\_Cooner](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Sahil_R_Cooner)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/8 "2010-07-15T00:16:32Z")

</div>

well those are configuration files? and would probably be more appropriate  
to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems like  
redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.

--sahil

On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)wrote:

> After taking a look on this
> 
> [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)  
> it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> 
> In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> 
> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> wrote:
> 
> > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > 
> > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > {  
> > > "routes": {  
> > > "home": {  
> > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > }  
> > > },  
> > > "id": "test01",  
> > > "interfaces": {  
> > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > },  
> > > "mail": {  
> > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > },  
> > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > },  
> > > "sys": {  
> > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > }  
> > > }  
> > > }
> > > 
> > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > 
> > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > 
> > > begin  
> > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > rescue  
> > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > end
> > > 
> > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > 
> > > if net\_dbag  
> > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > device int['dev']  
> > > mask int['mask']  
> > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > end  
> > > end
> > > 
> > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > 
> > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > 
> > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > route r['network'] do  
> > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > end  
> > > end  
> > > end
> > > 
> > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles and  
> > > such can set routes if need be
> > > 
> > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > 
> > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > 
> > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
> > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
> > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > 
> > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > },  
> > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > }  
> > > > },  
> > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > }
> > > > 
> > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > 
> > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > },  
> > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > }  
> > > > },  
> > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > }
> > > > 
> > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
> > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)[http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/%7Ejbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > 
> > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
> > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
> > > > update the files over time.
> > > > 
> > > > jbh
> > > > 
> > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface  
> > > > > and  
> > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data  
> > > > > bag and  
> > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked  
> > > > > out  
> > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but its  
> > > > > not  
> > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy way  
> > > > > out  
> > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes,  
> > > > > we're  
> > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > management with  
> > > > > chef.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > Hi,
> > > > > 
> > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip tunnels.  
> > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable enough?  
> > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > 
> > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > 
> > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jacobo\_Garcia](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jacobo_garcia/32/533_2.png) [@Jacobo\_Garcia](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jacobo_Garcia)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:18am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/9 "2010-07-15T00:18:09Z")

</div>

Are you able to write individual files to configure network interfaces  
in debian/ubuntu? If so, could you tell me how since it'll make the  
process easier.

Thanks.

Jacobo García López de Araujo  
blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
[http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:16 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
[sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:

> well those are configuration files? and would probably be more appropriate  
> to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
> information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems like  
> redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.
> 
> --sahil
> 
> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> wrote:
> 
> > After taking a look on this
> > 
> > [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)  
> > it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> > 
> > In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> > /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> > red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> > and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> > fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> > as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> > 
> > Thanks.
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > > 
> > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > 
> > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > wrote:
> > > 
> > > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > > 
> > > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > > {  
> > > > "routes": {  
> > > > "home": {  
> > > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > > }  
> > > > },  
> > > > "id": "test01",  
> > > > "interfaces": {  
> > > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > > },  
> > > > "mail": {  
> > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > > },  
> > > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > > },  
> > > > "sys": {  
> > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > > }  
> > > > }  
> > > > }
> > > > 
> > > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > > 
> > > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > > 
> > > > begin  
> > > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > > rescue  
> > > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > > end
> > > > 
> > > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > > 
> > > > if net\_dbag  
> > > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > device int['dev']  
> > > > mask int['mask']  
> > > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > > end  
> > > > end
> > > > 
> > > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > > 
> > > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > > 
> > > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > > route r['network'] do  
> > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > > end  
> > > > end  
> > > > end
> > > > 
> > > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles and  
> > > > such can set routes if need be
> > > > 
> > > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > > 
> > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to configure  
> > > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set of  
> > > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > > 
> > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > > }  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > > }
> > > > > 
> > > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > > 
> > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > > }  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > > }
> > > > > 
> > > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my interfaces  
> > > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> > > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > > 
> > > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make this  
> > > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain and  
> > > > > update the files over time.
> > > > > 
> > > > > jbh
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use the  
> > > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for sub-interface  
> > > > > > and  
> > > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data  
> > > > > > bag and  
> > > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has worked  
> > > > > > out  
> > > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but  
> > > > > > its not  
> > > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy  
> > > > > > way out  
> > > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes,  
> > > > > > we're  
> > > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > > management with  
> > > > > > chef.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Hi,
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip  
> > > > > > tunnels.  
> > > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to know  
> > > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable  
> > > > > > enough?  
> > > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sahil\_R\_Cooner](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/sahil_r_cooner/32/773_2.png) [@Sahil\_R\_Cooner](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Sahil_R_Cooner)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:24am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/10 "2010-07-15T00:24:56Z")

</div>

I'm not sure I totally understand the question.

But based on the messages on this list, you can store the network  
information that's global for most boxes in a data bag.

use the data\_bag DSL stuff to pull that information and then use the ohai  
set variables for the rest and combine all those attributes into your  
/etc/network/interfaces file. Restart the networking service.

also chef relies on hostnames from your /etc/hosts file so you should  
probably set those up as well.

that should suffice as far as changes go for setting up your systems network  
interface.  
--sahil

On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)wrote:

> Are you able to write individual files to configure network interfaces  
> in debian/ubuntu? If so, could you tell me how since it'll make the  
> process easier.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> 
> On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:16 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> 
> > well those are configuration files? and would probably be more  
> > appropriate  
> > to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
> > information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems  
> > like  
> > redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.
> > 
> > --sahil
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > After taking a look on this
> 
> [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)
> 
> > > it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> > > 
> > > In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> > > /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> > > red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> > > and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> > > fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> > > as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> > > 
> > > Thanks.
> > > 
> > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > 
> > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García \<[jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)
> > 
> > > wrote:
> > > 
> > > > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > > > 
> > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > 
> > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > > > 
> > > > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > > > {  
> > > > > "routes": {  
> > > > > "home": {  
> > > > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > > > }  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "id": "test01",  
> > > > > "interfaces": {  
> > > > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "mail": {  
> > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > > > },  
> > > > > "sys": {  
> > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > > > }  
> > > > > }  
> > > > > }
> > > > > 
> > > > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > > > 
> > > > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > > > 
> > > > > begin  
> > > > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > > > rescue  
> > > > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > > > end
> > > > > 
> > > > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > > > 
> > > > > if net\_dbag  
> > > > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > device int['dev']  
> > > > > mask int['mask']  
> > > > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > > > end  
> > > > > end
> > > > > 
> > > > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > > > 
> > > > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > > > 
> > > > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > > > route r['network'] do  
> > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > > > end  
> > > > > end  
> > > > > end
> > > > > 
> > > > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles  
> > > > > and  
> > > > > such can set routes if need be
> > > > > 
> > > > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to  
> > > > > > configure  
> > > > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set  
> > > > > > of  
> > > > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > > > }  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > > > }
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > > > }  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > > > }
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my  
> > > > > > interfaces  
> > > > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If anyone  
> > > > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)[http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/%7Ejbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make  
> > > > > > this  
> > > > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain  
> > > > > > and  
> > > > > > update the files over time.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > jbh
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use  
> > > > > > > the  
> > > > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for  
> > > > > > > sub-interface  
> > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a data  
> > > > > > > bag and  
> > > > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has  
> > > > > > > worked  
> > > > > > > out  
> > > > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but  
> > > > > > > its not  
> > > > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy  
> > > > > > > way out  
> > > > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes,  
> > > > > > > we're  
> > > > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > > > management with  
> > > > > > > chef.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Hi,
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip  
> > > > > > > tunnels.  
> > > > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to  
> > > > > > > know  
> > > > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff, specially  
> > > > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable  
> > > > > > > enough?  
> > > > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jacobo\_Garcia](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/jacobo_garcia/32/533_2.png) [@Jacobo\_Garcia](https://discourse.chef.io/u/Jacobo_Garcia)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/11 "2010-07-15T00:29:41Z")

</div>

Probably I'm not writing the question right since English is not my  
mother language and its a bit late on this part of the world 🙂

Your approach would definitely work. As I said... too late hours for a chef 🙂

Thanks.

Jacobo García López de Araujo  
blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
[http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:24 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
[sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:

> I'm not sure I totally understand the question.
> 
> But based on the messages on this list, you can store the network  
> information that's global for most boxes in a data bag.
> 
> use the data\_bag DSL stuff to pull that information and then use the ohai  
> set variables for the rest and combine all those attributes into your  
> /etc/network/interfaces file. Restart the networking service.
> 
> also chef relies on hostnames from your /etc/hosts file so you should  
> probably set those up as well.
> 
> that should suffice as far as changes go for setting up your systems network  
> interface.  
> --sahil
> 
> On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> wrote:
> 
> > Are you able to write individual files to configure network interfaces  
> > in debian/ubuntu? If so, could you tell me how since it'll make the  
> > process easier.
> > 
> > Thanks.
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > 
> > On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:16 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> > [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> > 
> > > well those are configuration files? and would probably be more  
> > > appropriate  
> > > to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
> > > information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems  
> > > like  
> > > redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.
> > > 
> > > --sahil
> > > 
> > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > > wrote:
> > > 
> > > > After taking a look on this
> > > > 
> > > > [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)  
> > > > it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> > > > 
> > > > In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> > > > /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> > > > red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> > > > and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> > > > fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> > > > as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> > > > 
> > > > Thanks.
> > > > 
> > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > 
> > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García  
> > > > [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > > > > {  
> > > > > > "routes": {  
> > > > > > "home": {  
> > > > > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > > > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > > > > }  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "id": "test01",  
> > > > > > "interfaces": {  
> > > > > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > > > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "mail": {  
> > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > > > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > > > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > > > > },  
> > > > > > "sys": {  
> > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > > > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > > > > }  
> > > > > > }  
> > > > > > }
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > begin  
> > > > > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > > > > rescue  
> > > > > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > > > > end
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > if net\_dbag  
> > > > > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > > > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > device int['dev']  
> > > > > > mask int['mask']  
> > > > > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > > > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > > > > end  
> > > > > > end
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > > > > route r['network'] do  
> > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > > > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > > > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > > > > end  
> > > > > > end  
> > > > > > end
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles  
> > > > > > and  
> > > > > > such can set routes if need be
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to  
> > > > > > > configure  
> > > > > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set  
> > > > > > > of  
> > > > > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > > > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my  
> > > > > > > interfaces  
> > > > > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If  
> > > > > > > anyone  
> > > > > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make  
> > > > > > > this  
> > > > > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain  
> > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > update the files over time.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > jbh
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use  
> > > > > > > > the  
> > > > > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for  
> > > > > > > > sub-interface  
> > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a  
> > > > > > > > data  
> > > > > > > > bag and  
> > > > > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has  
> > > > > > > > worked  
> > > > > > > > out  
> > > > > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but  
> > > > > > > > its not  
> > > > > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy  
> > > > > > > > way out  
> > > > > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes,  
> > > > > > > > we're  
> > > > > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > > > > management with  
> > > > > > > > chef.
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Hi,
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip  
> > > > > > > > tunnels.  
> > > > > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to  
> > > > > > > > know  
> > > > > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff,  
> > > > > > > > specially  
> > > > > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable  
> > > > > > > > enough?  
> > > > > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![danryan](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/danryan/32/875_2.png) [@danryan](https://discourse.chef.io/u/danryan)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/12 "2010-07-15T00:39:57Z")

</div>

Jacobo,

Unfortunately, there's only the single file for configuring all interfaces on a Debian/Ubuntu system. A separate file per interface (RedHat-style) would be really handy in cases like this 🙂

-Dan Ryan

On Jul 14, 2010, at 8:29 PM, Jacobo García wrote:

> Probably I'm not writing the question right since English is not my  
> mother language and its a bit late on this part of the world 🙂
> 
> Your approach would definitely work. As I said... too late hours for a chef 🙂
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> 
> On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:24 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> 
> > I'm not sure I totally understand the question.
> > 
> > But based on the messages on this list, you can store the network  
> > information that's global for most boxes in a data bag.
> > 
> > use the data\_bag DSL stuff to pull that information and then use the ohai  
> > set variables for the rest and combine all those attributes into your  
> > /etc/network/interfaces file. Restart the networking service.
> > 
> > also chef relies on hostnames from your /etc/hosts file so you should  
> > probably set those up as well.
> > 
> > that should suffice as far as changes go for setting up your systems network  
> > interface.  
> > --sahil
> > 
> > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > wrote:
> > 
> > > Are you able to write individual files to configure network interfaces  
> > > in debian/ubuntu? If so, could you tell me how since it'll make the  
> > > process easier.
> > > 
> > > Thanks.
> > > 
> > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > 
> > > On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:16 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> > > [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> > > 
> > > > well those are configuration files? and would probably be more  
> > > > appropriate  
> > > > to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
> > > > information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems  
> > > > like  
> > > > redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.
> > > > 
> > > > --sahil
> > > > 
> > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > After taking a look on this
> > > > > 
> > > > > [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)  
> > > > > it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> > > > > 
> > > > > In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> > > > > /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> > > > > red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> > > > > and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> > > > > fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> > > > > as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> > > > > 
> > > > > Thanks.
> > > > > 
> > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García  
> > > > > [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > > > > > {  
> > > > > > > "routes": {  
> > > > > > > "home": {  
> > > > > > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > > > > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "id": "test01",  
> > > > > > > "interfaces": {  
> > > > > > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > > > > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "mail": {  
> > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > > > > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > > > > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > "sys": {  
> > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > > > > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > begin  
> > > > > > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > > > > > rescue  
> > > > > > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > if net\_dbag  
> > > > > > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > > > > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > > device int['dev']  
> > > > > > > mask int['mask']  
> > > > > > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > > > > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > > > > > route r['network'] do  
> > > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > > > > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > > > > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles  
> > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > such can set routes if need be
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to  
> > > > > > > > configure  
> > > > > > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a set  
> > > > > > > > of  
> > > > > > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > > > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > > > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > > > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings for  
> > > > > > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my  
> > > > > > > > interfaces  
> > > > > > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If  
> > > > > > > > anyone  
> > > > > > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > > > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > > > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > > > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make  
> > > > > > > > this  
> > > > > > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain  
> > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > update the files over time.
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > jbh
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use  
> > > > > > > > > the  
> > > > > > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for  
> > > > > > > > > sub-interface  
> > > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a  
> > > > > > > > > data  
> > > > > > > > > bag and  
> > > > > > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has  
> > > > > > > > > worked  
> > > > > > > > > out  
> > > > > > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this, but  
> > > > > > > > > its not  
> > > > > > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the easy  
> > > > > > > > > way out  
> > > > > > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}" (yes,  
> > > > > > > > > we're  
> > > > > > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > > > > > management with  
> > > > > > > > > chef.
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Hi,
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip  
> > > > > > > > > tunnels.  
> > > > > > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to  
> > > > > > > > > know  
> > > > > > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff,  
> > > > > > > > > specially  
> > > > > > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable  
> > > > > > > > > enough?  
> > > > > > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![AJ\_Christensen](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.chef.io/aj_christensen/32/525_2.png) [@AJ\_Christensen](https://discourse.chef.io/u/AJ_Christensen)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://discourse.chef.io/t/managing-network-interfaces/1463/13 "2010-07-15T01:17:42Z")

</div>

On 15 July 2010 12:39, Dan Ryan [scriptfu@gmail.com](mailto:scriptfu@gmail.com) wrote:

> Jacobo,
> 
> Unfortunately, there's only the single file for configuring all interfaces  
> on a Debian/Ubuntu system. A separate file per interface (RedHat-style)  
> would be really handy in cases like this 🙂

There is little or no difference between a single file and multiple - it is  
trivial to combine snippets of files (i.e. lexicographically concatenated  
interfaces.d) or re-open existing templates with the resources method and  
stuff extra data from the node, roles or data-bags into the template  
context.

Data bags would be a super win here. 🙂

Regards,

AJ

> 

> -Dan Ryan
> 
> On Jul 14, 2010, at 8:29 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> 
> > Probably I'm not writing the question right since English is not my  
> > mother language and its a bit late on this part of the world 🙂
> > 
> > Your approach would definitely work. As I said... too late hours for a  
> > chef 🙂
> > 
> > Thanks.
> > 
> > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > 
> > On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:24 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> > [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> > 
> > > I'm not sure I totally understand the question.
> > > 
> > > But based on the messages on this list, you can store the network  
> > > information that's global for most boxes in a data bag.
> > > 
> > > use the data\_bag DSL stuff to pull that information and then use the  
> > > ohai  
> > > set variables for the rest and combine all those attributes into your  
> > > /etc/network/interfaces file. Restart the networking service.
> > > 
> > > also chef relies on hostnames from your /etc/hosts file so you should  
> > > probably set those up as well.
> > > 
> > > that should suffice as far as changes go for setting up your systems  
> > > network  
> > > interface.  
> > > --sahil
> > > 
> > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:18 PM, Jacobo García \<[jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)
> > 
> > > wrote:
> > > 
> > > > Are you able to write individual files to configure network interfaces  
> > > > in debian/ubuntu? If so, could you tell me how since it'll make the  
> > > > process easier.
> > > > 
> > > > Thanks.
> > > > 
> > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > 
> > > > On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:16 AM, [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com)  
> > > > [sahil.cooner@gmail.com](mailto:sahil.cooner@gmail.com) wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > > well those are configuration files? and would probably be more  
> > > > > appropriate  
> > > > > to just make templates out of them to configure your networking  
> > > > > information. that's currently how I'm implementing that since systems  
> > > > > like  
> > > > > redhat,ubuntu,debian use those files.
> > > > > 
> > > > > --sahil
> > > > > 
> > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 5:14 PM, Jacobo García \<  
> > > > > [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)\>  
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > > After taking a look on this
> 
> [http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb](http://github.com/opscode/chef/blob/master/chef/lib/chef/provider/ifconfig.rb)
> 
> > > > > > it seems that debian/ubuntu and slackware are not supported.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > In debian network configuration is all done in one file  
> > > > > > /etc/network/interfaces so probably is not as straightforward as in  
> > > > > > red hat to write the file.You have to parse /etc/network/interfaces  
> > > > > > and rewrite it respecting previous interfaces. I am willing to try to  
> > > > > > fix that and write a patch even if I'm a rusty coder as I mainly work  
> > > > > > as a sysadmin, so do you have any advice on how to parse this file?
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Thanks.
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jacobo García  
> > > > > > [jacobo.garcia@gmail.com](mailto:jacobo.garcia@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Thanks for all the information, chefs.
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 14, 2010 at 3:23 AM, Jesse Nelson [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)  
> > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > heres an example oh how we do it
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > $ knife data bag show network test01  
> > > > > > > > {  
> > > > > > > > "routes": {  
> > > > > > > > "home": {  
> > > > > > > > "network": "172.30.10.0/24",  
> > > > > > > > "gateway": "127.0.0.1"  
> > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "id": "test01",  
> > > > > > > > "interfaces": {  
> > > > > > > > "sys-ext": {  
> > > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.4",  
> > > > > > > > "dev": "lo:0"  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "mail": {  
> > > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.3",  
> > > > > > > > "dev": "lo:1"  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "mail-ext": {  
> > > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.1.3",  
> > > > > > > > "dev": "lo:2"  
> > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > "sys": {  
> > > > > > > > "mask": "255.255.255.0",  
> > > > > > > > "ip": "127.0.0.4",  
> > > > > > > > "dev": "lo:3"  
> > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > and the default recipe from a "network" cookbook:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > # want to catch this so we don't always have to set up interfaces
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > begin  
> > > > > > > > net\_dbag = data\_bag\_item('network', @node[:hostname] )  
> > > > > > > > rescue  
> > > > > > > > net\_dbag = nil  
> > > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > # we want to ignore these failures we catch them in splunk for now
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > if net\_dbag  
> > > > > > > > net\_dbag['interfaces'].each\_value do |int|  
> > > > > > > > ifconfig int['ip'] do  
> > > > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > > > device int['dev']  
> > > > > > > > mask int['mask']  
> > > > > > > > gateway int['gateway'] if int['gateway']  
> > > > > > > > mtu int['mtu'] if int['mtu']  
> > > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > # custom routes well do dbag routes first here and then
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > # attrib based routes as well
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > net\_dbag['routes'].each\_value do |r|  
> > > > > > > > route r['network'] do  
> > > > > > > > ignore\_failure true  
> > > > > > > > gateway r['gateway']  
> > > > > > > > netmask r['netmask'] if r['netmask']  
> > > > > > > > device r['device'] if r['device']  
> > > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > > end  
> > > > > > > > end
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > i also setup a route resource based on node attribs. so that roles  
> > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > such can set routes if need be
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > super simple data bag driven network config.
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 5:50 PM, John Hanks wrote:
> > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > I have a recipe that is redhat/centos specific that I use to  
> > > > > > > > > configure  
> > > > > > > > > eth, vlan and bond devices. It's crude but effective and uses a  
> > > > > > > > > set  
> > > > > > > > > of  
> > > > > > > > > attributes like (most complicated example I've used):
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "bond0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > > "device" =\> "bond0",  
> > > > > > > > > "nics" =\> "eth0,eth1",  
> > > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000",  
> > > > > > > > > "mode" =\> "0"  
> > > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > > "vlan32" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > > "device" =\> "vlan32",  
> > > > > > > > > "physdev" =\> "bond0"  
> > > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "vlan32"  
> > > > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Or, a simpler config for 2 nics:
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > "netcfg" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "devices" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "eth0" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth0",  
> > > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes"  
> > > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > > "eth1" =\> {  
> > > > > > > > > "bootproto" =\> "dhcp",  
> > > > > > > > > "device" =\> "eth1",  
> > > > > > > > > "onboot" =\> "yes",  
> > > > > > > > > "mtu" =\> "9000"  
> > > > > > > > > }  
> > > > > > > > > },  
> > > > > > > > > "gatewaydev" =\> "eth1"  
> > > > > > > > > }
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > The cookbook should support all available redhat style settings  
> > > > > > > > > for  
> > > > > > > > > ifcfg-\* files and /etc/sysconfig/network. But since all my  
> > > > > > > > > interfaces  
> > > > > > > > > dhcp, using this for the static settings is poorly tested. If  
> > > > > > > > > anyone  
> > > > > > > > > is interested I've stuck a recent copy of it here:  
> > > > > > > > > [http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz](http://www.broadinstitute.org/~jbh/netcfg.tar.gz)
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > Because my nodes are diskless, there's not much effort put into  
> > > > > > > > > maintaining files, just into creating them since everything gets  
> > > > > > > > > rebuilt upon reboot. It'd probably take a bit more polish to make  
> > > > > > > > > this  
> > > > > > > > > safe for a server provisioned to disk where you'd want to maintain  
> > > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > > update the files over time.
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > jbh
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 7:59 PM, Jesse Nelson \<  
> > > > > > > > > [spheromak@gmail.com](mailto:spheromak@gmail.com)\>  
> > > > > > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > you can manage the files directly or use the resources. we use  
> > > > > > > > > > the  
> > > > > > > > > > resource and data bags to manage static assignments for  
> > > > > > > > > > sub-interface  
> > > > > > > > > > and  
> > > > > > > > > > vlan interfaces on some (not all) hosts..  
> > > > > > > > > > this model has allowed me to name interfaces in json data in a  
> > > > > > > > > > data  
> > > > > > > > > > bag and  
> > > > > > > > > > reuse or search against those names in other recipes. this has  
> > > > > > > > > > worked  
> > > > > > > > > > out  
> > > > > > > > > > well for me.  
> > > > > > > > > > i am happy to share the very simple recipe that achieves this,  
> > > > > > > > > > but  
> > > > > > > > > > its not  
> > > > > > > > > > up anywhere atm.
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:23 PM, Ryan C. Creasey wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > I've played around with managing auxiliary interfaces on my nodes  
> > > > > > > > > > (eth1,  
> > > > > > > > > > loopback aliases, etc) for some of our DSR nodes and took the  
> > > > > > > > > > easy  
> > > > > > > > > > way out  
> > > > > > > > > > and had the recipe manage the templates to the  
> > > > > > > > > > "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-#{interface[:device]}"  
> > > > > > > > > > (yes,  
> > > > > > > > > > we're  
> > > > > > > > > > redhat based).  
> > > > > > > > > > I'd also be interested to hear other use cases for interface  
> > > > > > > > > > management with  
> > > > > > > > > > chef.
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > Ryan C. Creasey  
> > > > > > > > > > PRINCIPAL SYSTEMS ENGINEER  
> > > > > > > > > > IGN Entertainment  
> > > > > > > > > > T: 714.460.6789 | C: 949.378.9023 | AIM: ryancreasey
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > On Jul 13, 2010, at 4:19 PM, Jacobo García wrote:
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > Hi,
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > I have to manage some network interfaces, routes and and ipip  
> > > > > > > > > > tunnels.  
> > > > > > > > > > I know about chef's route and ifconfig resource. But I'd like to  
> > > > > > > > > > know  
> > > > > > > > > > experiences of people playing with these sensitive stuff,  
> > > > > > > > > > specially  
> > > > > > > > > > about configuring network interfaces, is the resource reliable  
> > > > > > > > > > enough?  
> > > > > > > > > > does it work with virtual interfaces?
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > Thanks 🙂
> > > > > > > > > > 
> > > > > > > > > > Jacobo García López de Araujo  
> > > > > > > > > > blog: [http://robotplaysguitar.com](http://robotplaysguitar.com)  
> > > > > > > > > > [http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a](http://workingwithrails.com/person/13395-jacobo-garc-a)