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How to create and manage Bridge Interface in Ubuntu

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To create and manage Bridge Interface in Ubuntu

Bridge Interface is a software used to unite more than one LAN segments in Layer-2. It is used to filter and reduce network traffic between many LAN segments. The users can set up a software bridge that interconnects multiple network interfaces. Bridge interface service in Ubuntu is explained in this article.

Creation of Bridge Interface

First check the network interfaces by using the " ip link" command.

root@linuxhelp:~# ip link
1: lo: < LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
2: ens33: < BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:0c:29:d7:91:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff


Now run the below command to install the bridge utility.

root@linuxhelp:~# apt-get install bridge-utils
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  bridge-utils
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 370 not upgraded.
Need to get 28.6 kB of archives.
After this operation, 102 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 http://in.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial/main amd64 bridge-utils amd64 1.5-9ubuntu1 [28.6 kB]
Fetched 28.6 kB in 0s (43.7 kB/s) 
Selecting previously unselected package bridge-utils.
(Reading database ... 172193 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../bridge-utils_1.5-9ubuntu1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking bridge-utils (1.5-9ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.7.5-1) ...
Setting up bridge-utils (1.5-9ubuntu1) ...


Next add the bridge interface with the following command.

root@linuxhelp:~# brctl addbr br0


Add default interface to bridge interface.

root@linuxhelp:~# brctl addif br0 ens33


Use nano editor to configure the added interfaces.

root@linuxhelp:~# nano /etc/network/interfaces


After configuration, open and add the following details in the interfaces. Then save and close the configuration file.

auto br0
iface br0 inet static
    bridge_ports      ens33
    address 192.168.7.124
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    gateway 192.168.7.1


Run the below command to restart the network service.

root@linuxhelp:~# /etc/init.d/networking restart


Check the IP address by using the following command.

root@linuxhelp:~# ip a
1: lo: < LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: ens33: < BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast master br0 state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:0c:29:d7:91:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.7.123/24 brd 192.168.7.255 scope global ens33
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::20c:29ff:fed7:91be/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: br0: < BROADCAST,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:0c:29:d7:91:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff


Next use the below command to up the bridge interface.

root@linuxhelp:~# ip link set dev br0 up


Again check the IP address with the ip command.

root@linuxhelp:~# ip a
1: lo: < LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: ens33: < BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast master br0 state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:0c:29:d7:91:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.7.123/24 brd 192.168.7.255 scope global ens33
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::20c:29ff:fed7:91be/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
3: br0: < BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP>  mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 00:0c:29:d7:91:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.7.124/24 brd 192.168.7.255 scope global br0
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 fe80::20c:29ff:fed7:91be/64 scope link 
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

To remove the Bridge Interface

First remove the connection bridge to default interface in the config file.

brctl delif br0 eth0


Then remove bridge interface.

brctl delbr br0

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Frequently asked questions ( 5 )

Q

Where is the IP configuration file on CentOS?

A

For configuring the IP address on CentOS, use the following configuration file as given below "/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-interface name"

Q

What is the network configuration path for Debian based systems?

A

The network confguration path for Debian based systems, use the following file as given below "/etc/network/interfaces"

Q

How to create bridge interface via command line?

A

For creating the bridge interface on Linux, use the following command as below "brctl addbr br0"

Q

How to enable the bridge interface on Linux?

A

For enable the bridge interface on Linux, use the following command as given below "ip link set dev br0 up"

Q

How to bring up the new or recently configured interfaces, issue a command as root?

A

For bring up the new or recently configured interfaces, issue a command as root, use the following format in Linux as "ifup device"

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