How to create a network

To create a managed network, use the lxc network command and its subcommands. Append --help to any command to see more information about its usage and available flags.

Network types

The following network types are available:

Create a network

CLI

Use the following command to create a network:

lxc network create <name> --type=<network_type> [configuration_options...]

See Network types for a list of available network types and links to their configuration options.

If you do not specify a --type argument, the default type of bridge is used.

Create a network in a cluster

If you are running a LXD cluster and want to create a network, you must create the network for each cluster member separately. The reason for this is that the network configuration, for example, the name of the parent network interface, might be different between cluster members.

Therefore, you must first create a pending network on each member with the --target=<cluster_member> flag and the appropriate configuration for the member. Make sure to use the same network name for all members. Then create the network without specifying the --target flag to actually set it up.

For example, the following series of commands sets up a physical network with the name UPLINK on three cluster members:

~$ lxc network create UPLINK --type=physical parent=br0 --target=vm01
Network UPLINK pending on member vm01
~$ lxc network create UPLINK --type=physical parent=br0 --target=vm02
Network UPLINK pending on member vm02
~$ lxc network create UPLINK --type=physical parent=br0 --target=vm03
Network UPLINK pending on member vm03
~$ lxc network create UPLINK --type=physical
Network UPLINK created

Also see How to configure networks for a cluster.

UI

From the main navigation, select Networks.

On the resulting page, click Create network in the upper-right corner.

You can then configure the network name and type, as well as other attributes. Optional additional attributes are split into the categories Bridge, IPv4, IPv6 and DNS, which can be seen in the submenu on the right.

Click Create to create the network.

Attach a network to an instance

CLI

After creating a managed network, you can attach it to an instance as a NIC device.

To do so, use the following command:

lxc network attach <network_name> <instance_name> [<device_name>] [<interface_name>]

The device name and the interface name are optional, but we recommend specifying at least the device name. If not specified, LXD uses the network name as the device name, which might be confusing and cause problems. For example, LXD images perform IP auto-configuration on the eth0 interface, which does not work if the interface is called differently.

For example, to attach the network my-network to the instance my-instance as eth0 device, enter the following command:

lxc network attach my-network my-instance eth0

UI

When creating or configuring an instance, go to the Devices section in the left-hand submenu, then select Network to view and edit the networks linked to the instance.

Click the Attach network button to add a new network. From here, you can select an existing network from the Network dropdown and assign it a device name.

If configuring an instance, select Save changes to save your changes. If creating an instance, select Create to create your instance.

Attach the network as a device

The lxc network attach command is a shortcut for adding a NIC device to an instance. Alternatively, you can add a NIC device based on the network configuration in the usual way:

lxc config device add <instance_name> <device_name> nic network=<network_name>

When using this way, you can add further configuration to the command to override the default settings for the network if needed. See NIC device for all available device options.