Overview:

What should I check when I'm having problems with my network configuration?

If you're experiencing network configuration issues, we recommend verifying the following settings to ensure they are correctly configured:

• IP address

• Subnet mask

• Default gateway
  
  

If you're unsure what these settings should be, you can find the correct values in the Customer Control Panel in the IP Management area. You can also follow our guide here for step-by-step instructions on where to find these settings in the Customer Control Panel. 

Once you know the correct IP address, subnet mask, and gateway, connect to your server via VNC and follow the steps below to check your server's current configuration and make any necessary changes. If you're not sure how to connect to your server via VNC, you can follow our guide here or watch the tutorial on our YouTube account here.

Table of Contents:

• How can I check and edit the network configuration on Windows?
• How can I check and edit the network configuration on Linux?
• How can I temporarily change my network configuration on Linux? 
• How can I permanently change my network configuration using netplan?
• How do I check if my server is working after I make changes?

How can I check and edit the network configuration on Windows?

1. To check your network configuration on Windows, run the following command in Command Prompt (CMD):
   
   

   ipconfig /all
   

2.  You should see something like the example below being returned, which shows you how your server is currently configured:
   
   
   
   
3. Please check that the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway displayed match up with the ones outlined in the Customer Control Panel. (You can check the Customer Control Panel configuration by following our guide here.)
   
   
4. If you need to update the IP, subnet mask or default gateway you can run the following example command, just make sure to change the example configurations with your own configurations:
   
   

   netsh interface ip set address name="Ethernet" static 111.111.111.11 255.255.255.0 222.222.222.2

   1. To update the IP address - Change 111.111.111.11 with your relevant IP address.
   2. To update the subnet mask - Change 255.255.255.0 with your relevant subnet mask. (255.255.255.0 is the default setting.)
   3. To update the default gateway - Change 222.222.222.2 with your relevant default gateway.

How can I check and edit the network configuration on Linux?

1. To check your network configuration on Linux, run the following commands:
   
   

   ip addr
   ip route

2. Running "ip addr" should return something like the following, the part after "inet" will give you the IP address and subnet mask:
   
   
   
   
3. Running "ip route" should return something like the following, the part after "default via" will give you the default gateway:
   
   
   
   
4. Please check that the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway displayed match up with the ones outlined in the Customer Control Panel. (You can check the Customer Control Panel configuration by following our guide here.)
   
   
5. The process for modifying your network configuration in Linux can vary based on your distribution and whether you need the changes to be temporary or permanent. Below, we outline some common methods to update your network settings based on your specific requirements.
   
   

How can I permanently change my network configuration using netplan?

If you want to permanently change your network configuration on Linux, we reccomend using netplan and following the steps below:

1. First, if you haven't already installed netplan, run the following command to do so:
   
   

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install netplan.io

2. Next, run the following command to check the available configuration files:
   
   

   cd /etc/netplan/
   ls

   You should see something like this is returned:
   
   
   
   
3. You need to open the relevant YAML configuration file to modify your network settings. To open the file using run the following command replacing YOUR_FILE_NAME with the relevant file name:
   
   

   sudo nano /etc/netplan/YOUR FILE NAME

   For example, your command should look something like this:
   
   

   sudo nano /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml

   You should then see something like the following:
   
   
   
   
4. Now you can edit any settings you need, as mentioned before make sure the IP address, subnet mask and default gateway are all correct.
5. Press CRTL+O and then enter to save the changes.
6. Click CRTL+X to exit out of the file editor.
7. Finally run the following commands to make sure your changes have been saved:
   
   

   ip addr
   ip route

If you make changes to your server's configuration and want to check if the changes have worked, simply reboot the server from the Customer Control Panel and try connecting again.

If you're unsure how to do this, you can read our guide here.

I'm still having issues connecting to my server, what should I do?

As mentioned at the beginning of this guide, at Contabo we offer root or administrator access to our servers meaning you can configure the servers as you like. 

However, we do have a general guide on troubleshooting connection issues to your server, which you can find here.

We also have some video content on how to solve connection issues with your server that you can find below:

If you're having trouble accessing the video above, you can also watch it directly on Youtube here.