Networking

This section contains how-to guides on most aspects of networking in Ubuntu. If you would like a broader overview of these topics before getting started, refer to our introduction to networking.

Configuration

Network configuration in Ubuntu is handled through Netplan. See our general walkthrough on Configuring networks, or refer to the Netplan documentation for more specific instructions.

Network tools

The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) can be set up to provide files for download.

The Domain Name Service (DNS) maps IP addresses to fully qualified domain names (FQDN). The DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) allow DNS data to be verified.

Open vSwitch (OVS) with the Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) provides virtual switching for network automation in virtualized environments.

DHCP

Set up Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) for automatic IP address assignment for devices on your network. There are two DHCP servers available in Ubuntu: isc-kea is the most modern, and is available from 23.04 onwards.

Time synchronization

The Network Time Protocol (NTP) synchronizes time over a network. Ubuntu uses chrony by default to handle this. However, users can install and use timedatectl/timesyncd instead if preferred.

Network shares

Sharing files and resources across a network is a common requirement - this is where the Network File System (NFS) comes in.

If you need to share network resources between Linux and Windows systems, see our sections on Samba and Active Directory.

Printing

The Common UNIX Printing System (CUPS) is the most common way to manage print services in Ubuntu.

See also