Multiple IP Addresses to One Single Network Interface

ifcfg-eth0, the default interface for the Ethernet device. If you’ve attached second Ethernet device, then there would be an “ifcfg-eth1” device and so on for each device you’ve attached. These device network files are located in “/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/” directory. Navigate to the directory and do “ls -l” to list all devices.

# cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
# ls -l

Sample Output

ifcfg-eth0   ifdown-isdn    ifup-aliases  ifup-plusb     init.ipv6-global
ifcfg-lo     ifdown-post    ifup-bnep     ifup-post      net.hotplug
ifdown       ifdown-ppp     ifup-eth      ifup-ppp       network-functions
ifdown-bnep  ifdown-routes  ifup-ippp     ifup-routes    network-functions-ipv6
ifdown-eth   ifdown-sit     ifup-ipv6     ifup-sit
ifdown-ippp  ifdown-tunnel  ifup-isdn     ifup-tunnel
ifdown-ipv6  ifup           ifup-plip     ifup-wireless

Let’s assume that we want to create three additional virtual interfaces to bind three IP addresses (172.16.16.126, 172.16.16.127, and 172.16.16.128) to the NIC. So, we need to create three additional alias files, while “ifcfg-eth0” keeps the same primary IP address. This is how we moving forward to setup three aliases to bind the following IP addresses.

Adapter            IP Address                Type
-------------------------------------------------
eth0              172.16.16.25            Primary
eth0:0            172.16.16.26            Alias 1
eth0:1            172.16.16.27            Alias 2
eth0:2            172.16.16.28            Alias 3

Where “:X” is the device (interface) number to create the aliases for interface eth0. For each alias you must assign a number sequentially. For example, we copying existing parameters of interface “ifcfg-eth0” in virtual interfaces called ifcfg-eth0:0, ifcfg-eth0:1 and ifcfg-eth0:2. Go into the network directory and create the files as shown below.

# cd /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/
# cp ifcfg-eth0 ifcfg-eth0:0
# cp ifcfg-eth0 ifcfg-eth0:1
# cp ifcfg-eth0 ifcfg-eth0:2

Open a file “ifcfg-eth0” and view the contents.

[root@tecmint network-scripts]# vi ifcfg-eth0

DEVICE="eth0"
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE="Ethernet"
IPADDR=172.16.16.125
NETMASK=255.255.255.224
GATEWAY=172.16.16.100
HWADDR=00:0C:29:28:FD:4C

Here we only need two parameters (DEVICE and IPADDR). So, open each file with VI editor and rename theDEVICE name to its corresponding alias and change the IPADDR address. For example, open files “ifcfg-eth0:0“, “ifcfg-eth0:1” and “ifcfg-eth0:2” using VI editor and change both the parameters. Finally it will look similar to below.

ifcfg-eth0:0

DEVICE="eth0:0"
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE="Ethernet"
IPADDR=172.16.16.126
NETMASK=255.255.255.224
GATEWAY=172.16.16.100
HWADDR=00:0C:29:28:FD:4C

ifcfg-eth0:1

DEVICE="eth0:1"
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE="Ethernet"
IPADDR=172.16.16.127
NETMASK=255.255.255.224
GATEWAY=172.16.16.100
HWADDR=00:0C:29:28:FD:4C

ifcfg-eth0:2

DEVICE="eth0:2"
BOOTPROTO=static
ONBOOT=yes
TYPE="Ethernet"
IPADDR=172.16.16.128
NETMASK=255.255.255.224
GATEWAY=172.16.16.100
HWADDR=00:0C:29:28:FD:4C

Once, you’ve made all changes, save all your changes and restart/start the network service for the changes to reflect.

[root@tecmint network-scripts]# /etc/init.d/network restart

To verify all the aliases (virtual interface) are up and running, you can use “ifconfig” or “ip” command.