---
title: Static IP Configuration
tags: article guide software linux config
created: 2023-07-02T21:43:42Z
published: true
---

When installing Arch Linux on a VPS, you usually need to enable VNC and configure the networking by yourself before you can SSH into your machine.
This post serves as a guide to connect your server to the internet.

## Connectivity check

First of all, confirm that networking hasn't been set up yet:

```bash
ping google.com
```

There should be no response from the ping.

## Network interface

Now let's find out the name of the network interface:

```bash
networkctl list
```

You should see an ethernet device named like `eth0` or `ens0`.
The number at the end will differ.
This is the name of the network interface we'll configure in the following steps.

## Network manager

Arch Linux uses `systemd` which includes the `systemd-networkd` network manager by default.
To configure the network manager, edit the following file:

```bash
sudo vim /etc/systemd/network/20-wired.network
```

Start by specifying the network interface name:

```ini
[Match]
Name=ens0
```

Now you need to enter your IP address, subnet mask and the gateway.
Ideally your VPS provider should include that data in your dashboard.
You can enter the addresses in the network section:

```ini
[Network]
Address=2.1.1.2/32
Gateway=2.1.1.1
DNS=1.1.1.1
```

The DNS shown here is the Cloudflare DNS because it's reliable and easy to remember,
but feel free to use a different DNS.

If your VPS has an IPv6 address you can add more of the same lines to the network section:

```ini
Address=1111:1111:1111::2345
Gateway=1111:1111:1111::1111
DNS=2606:4700:4700::1111
```

## Service installation

Try to start the DNS resolver and the network manager:

```bash
sudo systemctl start systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl start systemd-networkd
```

Check if we're online on both IPv4 and IPv6:

```bash
ping -4 google.com
ping -6 google.com
```

If everything went smooth, make the DNS resolver and the network manager start automatically on boot:

```bash
sudo systemctl enable systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl enable systemd-networkd
```

## DNS records

To finalize the setup, add an `A` record for IPv4 and an `AAAA` record for IPv6 to your DNS and your server should be fully configured.