--- title: "Configuring the vRack on your dedicated servers" description: "Learn how to configure the vRack on two or more dedicated servers." url: https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/vrack-configuring-on-dedicated-server lang: en --- > For AI agents: the complete documentation index is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms.txt, the full documentation bundle is available at https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/llms-full.txt. # Configuring the vRack on your dedicated servers **Learn how to configure the vRack on two or more dedicated servers.** The OVHcloud vRack (virtual rack) allows multiple servers to be grouped (regardless of number and physical location in our data centers) and connects them to a virtual switch within the same private network. Your servers can communicate privately and securely with each other, within a dedicated VLAN.   ## Requirements - A [vRack](https://us.ovhcloud.com/network/vrack/) service activated in your account - Two or more [dedicated servers](https://us.ovhcloud.com/bare-metal/) (compatible with vRack) - Administrative access (root) to the server via SSH or RDP - A private IP address range of your choice #### OVHcloud Control Panel Access - **Direct link:** [vRack](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/#/dedicated/vrack) - **Navigation path:** `Bare Metal Cloud` > `Network` > `vRack Private Network` **Warning:** **NOTE:** This feature might be unavailable or limited on servers of the [Eco product line](https://eco.us.ovhcloud.com/about-us/). Please visit our [comparison page](https://eco.us.ovhcloud.com/compare/) for more information.   ## Instructions ### Step 1: Ordering the vRack Once you are connected to the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), go to the `Bare Metal Cloud` menu and click on the `Order` button. Under this menu, click on `vRack`. You will be redirected to another page to validate the order; it will take a few minutes for the vRack to be set up in your account.   ### Step 2: Adding your servers to the vRack #### Via the OVHcloud Control Panel #### Using the Network menu Once the vRack is activated in your account, go to the `Bare Metal Cloud` section of your [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/), click on `Network`, and open the `vRack` menu. Select your vRack from the list to display the list of eligible services. Click on each server you want to add to the vRack, and then click the `Add` button. #### Using the Dedicated servers menu Alternatively, from the OVHcloud Control Panel: 1. Select `Bare Metal Cloud` from the top navigation bar. 2. From the left-side menu, click `Dedicated servers` and choose your server. 3. Select the `Network interfaces` tab. 4. Locate the Private interface, click the _more options_ `...` button to the right of it, and select `Attach a vRack private interface`. In the pop-up window, select `▼` the vRack network you wish to attach, and then click `Attach`. ##### Via the OVHcloud API Navigate to the [OVHcloud API](https://api.us.ovhcloud.com/) and login. 1. List your vRack service(s): `GET /vrack` 2. Find services that can be attached to vRack: `GET /vrack/{serviceName}/eligibleServices` 3. Attach your dedicated server to the vRack: `POST /vrack/{serviceName}/dedicatedServerInterface` **Note:** Repeat this step for each service you wish to attach to the vRack. 4. Verify that your server is attached: `GET /vrack/{serviceName}/dedicatedServerInterfaceDetails`   ### Step 3: Configuring your network interfaces The following sections contain the configurations for the most commonly used recent distributions/operating systems. The first step is always to [log in to your server](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/getting-started-dedicated-server-windows-linux.md) via SSH or an RDP session (for Windows). The examples below presume you are logged in as a user with elevated permissions (Administrator/sudo). **Note:** Concerning different distribution releases, please note that the proper procedure to configure your network interface as well as the file names may have been subject to change. We recommend consulting the manuals and knowledge resources of the respective OS versions if you experience any issues.\ \ For this example, the configuration details below will have the IP address range `192.168.0.0/16` (**Subnet mask**: `255.255.0.0`).\ \ You can use any private IP range of your choice and any address within that range.   #### Identifying the vRack interface The network interface names of your servers are not always the same. Whenever used in the following examples, replace NETWORK\_INTERFACE with the appropriate interface name. The sure way to verify the correct interface for the vRack is to check the tab `Network interfaces` of your server in the [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/). In the table at the bottom, take note of the MAC address(es) of the **Private** interface. **Note:** If there are two private MAC addresses, you will want to use the one with the lowest alphanumeric value. Once connected to your server via SSH, you can list your network interfaces with the following command: ``` ip a ``` In the line that begins with `link ether`, you can verify that this interface matches the **Private** interface listed in your [OVHcloud Control Panel](https://manager.us.ovhcloud.com/). Use this MAC address to replace `NETWORK_INTERFACE` in the configurations below (example: `eth1`). ``` link ether 08:00:00:ef:0e:38 ```   #### Configuration examples **Tip:** Click the tab that corresponds to your distribution. ##### Debian 11 Using a text editor of your choice, open the network configuration file located in `/etc/network/interfaces.d` for editing. Here the file is called `50-cloud-init`. ```bash sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces.d/50-cloud-init ``` Add the following lines to the existing configuration, replace `NETWORK_INTERFACE`, `IP_ADDRESS` and `NETMASK` with your own values: ``` auto NETWORK_INTERFACE iface NETWORK_INTERFACE inet static address IP_ADDRESS netmask NETMASK ``` **Example:** Save your changes to the config file and exit the editor. Restart the networking service to apply the configuration: ```bash sudo systemctl restart networking ``` Repeat this process for your other server(s) and assign an unused IP address from your private range. Once you have done this, your servers will be able to communicate with each other on the private network. ##### Ubuntu / Debian 12+ Using a text editor of your choice, open the network configuration file located in `/etc/netplan/` for editing. Here the file is called `50-cloud-init.yaml`. ```bash sudo nano /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml ``` Add the following lines to the existing configuration after the line `version: 2`. Replace `NETWORK_INTERFACE`and `IP_ADDRESS/PREFIX` with your own valueS. ```yaml ethernets: NETWORK_INTERFACE: dhcp4: false addresses: - IP_ADDRESS/PREFIX ``` **Example:** **Warning:** **NOTE:** It is important to respect the alignment of each element in `yaml` files as represented in the example above. Do not use the tab key to create your spacing. Only the space key is needed. Save your changes to the config file and exit the editor. Apply the configuration: ```bash sudo netplan apply ``` Repeat this process for your other server(s) and assign an unused IP address from your private range. Once you have done this, your servers will be able to communicate with each other on the private network. ##### AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux (8 & 9) Once you have identified your private network interface, use the following command to create a network configuration file. Replace `NETWORK_INTERFACE` with your own value. ```bash sudo touch /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-NETWORK_INTERFACE ``` For example, if the private interface is named `eth1`, we have the following: ```bash sudo touch /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1 ``` Next, use a text editor of your choice to edit this file. ```bash sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1 ``` Add these lines, replacing `NETWORK_INTERFACE`, `IP_ADDRESS` and `NETMASK` with your own values: ``` DEVICE=NETWORK_INTERFACE BOOTPROTO=static IPADDR=IP_ADDRESS NETMASK=NETMASK ONBOOT=yes TYPE=Ethernet ``` **Example** Save your changes to the config file and exit the editor. Restart the networking service to apply the changes: ```bash sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager.service ``` Repeat this process for your other server(s) and assign an unused IP address from your private range. Once you have done this, your servers will be able to communicate with each other on the private network. ##### Fedora 42+ / AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux (10) Once you have identified the name of your private interface (as explained [here](#identifying-the-vrack-interface)), verify that is it connected. In our example, our interface is called `eno2`: ```bash nmcli device status DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION eno1 ethernet connected cloud-init eno1 lo loopback connected (externally) lo eno2 ethernet disconnected -- ``` If the `STATE` of the `DEVICE` appears as `disconnected`, it must be connected before configuring the IP. When adding an **ethernet** connection, we have to create a configuration profile which we then assign to a device. Run the following command, replacing `INTERFACE_NAME` and `CONNECTION_NAME` with your own values. In our example, we named our configuration profile `private-interface`. ```bash nmcli connection add type ethernet con-name CONNECTION_NAME ifname INTERFACE_NAME ``` **Example:** ```bash nmcli connection add type ethernet con-name private-interface ifname eno2 ``` Check that the interface has been connected correctly: ```bash nmcli device status DEVICE TYPE STATE CONNECTION eno1 ethernet connected cloud-init eno1 eno2 ethernet connected private-interface lo loopback connected (externally) lo ``` Once this is done, a new configuration file named _xxxxxxxxxx.nmconnection_ will be created in the folder `/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections`. ```bash [user@server ~]$ cd /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections [user@server system-connections]$ ls cloud-init-eno1.nmconnection private-interface.nmconnection ``` You can then edit this file using the `nmcli` handler, replacing `IP_ADDRESS`, `PREFIX` and `CONNECTION_NAME` with your own values. - Add your IP: ```bash nmcli connection modify CONNECTION_NAME IPv4.address IP_ADDRESS/PREFIX ``` **Example:** ```bash nmcli connection modify private-interface IPv4.address 192.168.0.1/16 ``` - Change the configuration from **auto** to **manual**: ```bash sudo nmcli connection modify CONNECTION_NAME IPv4.method manual ``` **Example:** ```bash sudo nmcli connection modify private-interface IPv4.method manual ``` - Make the configuration persistent: ```bash sudo nmcli con mod CONNECTION_NAME connection.autoconnect true ``` **Example:** ```bash sudo nmcli con mod private-interface connection.autoconnect true ``` Reboot your network with the following command: ```bash sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager ``` ##### Windows For example purposes, the following configurations will use the IP address range of `192.168.0.0/16` (**Subnet mask**: `255.255.0.0`). Log on to your Windows server via remote desktop and go to the **Control Panel**. Click on `Network and Internet`. Open `Network and Sharing Center`. Click on `Change Adapter Settings`. Right-click the secondary network interface and then click `Properties`. Note that in our example `Ethernet 2` is the interface used for the vRack. However, the vRack NIC may be a different interface in your configuration. The correct one to select will be the interface that does not have the server's main IP address or has a self-assigned IP. Double-click `Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)`. Click on **Use the following IP address**. Enter any **IP address** from your private range and the appropriate **Subnet mask** (`255.255.0.0` in this example) into the corresponding fields. Click on `OK` to save the changes and reboot your server to apply them. Repeat this process for your other server(s) and assign an unused IP address from your private range. Once you have done this, your servers will be able to communicate with each other on the private network.   ## Go further - [Configuring the vRack between the Public Cloud and a Dedicated Server](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/configuring-the-vrack-between-the-public-cloud-and-a-dedicated-server.md) Browse all the [Dedicated Servers guides](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/bare-metal-cloud/dedicated-servers/landing-page-dedicated-servers.md). Browse the rest of the [OVHcloud US documentation](https://docs.us.ovhcloud.com/en/index.md) for guides on our other products and services. Learn more about [Dedicated Servers](https://us.ovhcloud.com/bare-metal/) on the OVHcloud US website. **Note:** **Article Contributor(s):** - Suhail R - Ashley Osei