Can't seem to set a static IP on netbook

Hello all,

I have a Gateway LT31 Netbook which I use as mumble server for friends and I. I want to set it's IP to static and I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Here is what I've tried putting in to no avail:

iface enp3s0 inet static
address 192.168.0.254
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.0.1
dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8

A lot of the guides I'm reading seem to also mention broadcast and network as well and I have tried putting those values into the configuration as well with still no luck.

So what happens is that when I save this file and restart networking

sudo service networking restart

And then do an ifconfig: I just get the following like enp3s0 doesn't even exist anymore. I can set it back to DHCP and then it works just fine again. Not sure what to do.

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:65536  Metric:1
          RX packets:7400 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:7400 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1
          RX bytes:555800 (555.8 KB)  TX bytes:555800 (555.8 KB)

Hya,

Just a guess, but what happens if

sudo ifup -verbose enp3s0

and check messages.

cheers

If network manager is running then it is controlling the interface. If running a desktop you can use the network manager applet to configure a static IP. There is also a command line tool nmcli if not running a desktop. You can shutdown network manager and configure the IP manually as above.

However, if you take your netbook outside your LAN you might want to consider adding an address reservation in your router (most do) or DHCP server. Basically you have a static IP using DHCP.

You may need to add auto enp3s0 on top of your configuration.

Originally Posted by kaz2100 Hya, Just a guess, but what happens if sudo ifup -verbose enp3s0 and check messages. cheers

It appears to say something about rtnetlink answers: file exists.

I do a search on that, and I don't understand any of the terminology and there appears to be a variety of ways to fix it, and some additional steps may be required. this appears to be a problem with two nics, yet my netbook only has one unless the wlan counts as a nic as well. Furthermore, I'm confused as when this was on 14.04 it worked just fine. There is also mention of ethX, and I have enp3s0. Does that make a difference? Why is not just a standard eth?

Should I just try all of the solutions until one works?

Originally Posted by michaelk If network manager is running then it is controlling the interface. If running a desktop you can use the network manager applet to configure a static IP. There is also a command line tool nmcli if not running a desktop. You can shutdown network manager and configure the IP manually as above. However, if you take your netbook outside your LAN you might want to consider adding an address reservation in your router (most do) or DHCP server. Basically you have a static IP using DHCP.

This netbook will live out it's life being a samba server, mumble server and possible a small game server for my friends and I. No need to take it away from the home. It has no GUI on it either, but I will try out that command line tool you mention. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Emerson You may need to add auto enp3s0 on top of your configuration.

It was actually already in my config file, I just didn't post it, silly me. I'm writing the contents out manually as I lose ssh access to it once I change from dhcp to static and then can no longer retrieve the contents.

As we are unable to see error messages, we can only guess.

I am not sure if this tread helps.