Technical guide on managing VPS networking in SolusVM 2. Learn how to assign IPv4 addresses, configure IPv6 subnets, and update internal OS network configurations.

Managing Networking: Assigning and Configuring IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses

Networking is the core of your VPS infrastructure. Hovixa provides each instance with a primary IPv4 address and a secondary IPv6 stack for modern connectivity. While SolusVM 2 (vm.hovixa.com) handles the assignment of these addresses at the hypervisor level, you may occasionally need to manually configure the guest OS to recognize new or modified network interfaces.

1. Viewing and Assigning IP Addresses

All network identifiers are located under the Networking tab of your VPS management page. Here, you can view your primary gateway, netmask, and DNS resolvers.

• Primary IPv4: Automatically assigned during deployment. This is the main address for SSH and web traffic.
• IPv6 Subnet: Hovixa supports native IPv6. If an address is not visible, click Assign IPv6 to generate a unique address from our global /64 pool.

2. Internal OS Configuration (Linux)

If you have reinstalled your OS or migrated your instance, you may need to manually verify that the network stack is active. Modern Linux distributions use different tools for this.

A. Ubuntu/Debian (Netplan)

Configuration is stored in /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml. Ensure your static IP settings match the portal:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      addresses:
        - 192.0.2.10/24
        - "2001:db8::1/64"
      gateway4: 192.0.2.1
      gateway6: "2001:db8::g1"
      nameservers:
        addresses: [8.8.8.8, 1.1.1.1]
    

Run netplan apply to commit changes.

B. RHEL/AlmaLinux/Rocky (NetworkManager)

Use the nmcli tool or edit the configuration file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0.

3. Configuring IPv6 for Production

Unlike IPv4, which often uses NAT or simple static assignments, IPv6 requires the guest OS to be aware of the "SLAAC" or static configuration provided by Hovixa. If you can ping the IPv4 gateway but not the IPv6 gateway, check your IPv6 Forwarding settings in /etc/sysctl.conf.

4. Comparison: IPv4 vs. IPv6 at Hovixa

5. Technical Implementation Details

• MAC Address Binding: Hovixa's network infrastructure binds your IP address to your virtual NIC's MAC address. If you attempt to use an IP not assigned to your VM, the uplink switch will drop the traffic.
• PTR Records (Reverse DNS): You can set the PTR record for your IPv4 address within the Networking tab. This is essential for email deliverability to prevent your mail from being flagged as spam.
• MTU Settings: Our network uses a standard MTU of 1500. Changing this to a higher value (Jumbo Frames) will cause packet fragmentation and connectivity loss.

Sysadmin Advice: Always verify connectivity via the VNC Console if you lose SSH access after modifying network files. A simple typo in a Netplan file can disconnect your server from the internet.