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Just Lucky Really
Asked: 2014-09-10 09:39:44 +0800 CST

Does deleting the interfaces config file reset ifconfig to default (DHCP)

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Okay, so I have a remote Ubuntu Server (14.04). Yesterday, I tried changing some network configs in /etc/network/interfaces ... Yeah ... You get the picture ... Now I can't remote into it.

I do however have someone at that location, who could change the configs for me ... My 12 year old little sister (Yep, that's a better option than asking my mum) ...

I was thinking of the easiest way that I could explain to her, which will allow me to gain access to my server again. If I got her to rm /etc/network/interfaces, and then restart the server, would it automatically create a default one, and in turn get an IP from DHCP?

Also, if anyone has any other suggestions on how I can gain access, I'd be glad to hear :D (I do have access to another server on the same network)

networking

1 Answers

  1. AFAIK rebooting will not create a new default /etc/network/interfaces file. Assuming your default interface name is eth0 you should have her create or edit it manually as

    # The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

    If you are not sure about the interface naming convention, have her run ifconfig or ls /sys/class/net to identify the correct name.

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