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Create Network Interface

Published April 5, 2023 | Last modified October 13, 2025

Objective

This guide provides instructions on how to create a Network Interface using the guided wizard in the F5® Distributed Cloud Console (Console). For more information on a site, see Site.

A Network Interface object represents the configuration of a network device in a fleet of F5® Distributed Cloud Services Customer Edge (CE) sites.

The following options can be configured in the Network Interface object:

  • IP address allocation scheme of the network interface (DHCP client or server)

  • Virtual Network of this network interface

  • Whether to run a DHCP server on this network interface:

    • Subnet to use for allocation

    • Default gateway

    • DNS server

    • Reservations

When DHCP address assignment (server) is enabled in the Network Interface, external clients can get their addresses assigned from the configured subnet. The local interface can also get a dynamic address from the same pool if the DHCP client is enabled in the Network Interface. Gateway and DNS servers for such clients can be external addresses or addresses internally allocated from the same subnet, or they may be disabled.

Using the instructions provided in this guide, you will be able to create a Network Interface object, with all its elements, and apply it to your fleet.

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites apply:

Configuration

The following video shows the Network Interface object configuration:

Create a Network Interface

Perform the following steps:

Step 1: Start creating the Network Interface object.

  • Log into Console.

  • Click Multi-Cloud Network Connect.

Figure: Console Homepage

Figure: Console Homepage

  • Select Manage > Networking > Network Interfaces.
Figure: Network Interface Path

Figure: Network Interface Path

  • Click Add Network Interface.
Step 2: Configure Network Interface object.
Step 2.1: Add name and description.
  • In the Name field, enter a name for the interface object.
Figure: Network Interface Creation

Figure: Network Interface Creation

  • Optionally, select a key-value pair from the Labels field.
Step 2.2: Configure interface.

  • From the Interface Config Type drop-down menu, select the type of interface.

  • If you select Layer2 interface, you will be able to configure an App Stack site for SR-IOV interfaces:

    • From the Layer2 Interface Type menu, select SR-IOV interface.

    • From the Ethernet Device menu, use the See Common Values to select an Ethernet device.

    • From the Select Untagged or VLAN tagged menu, select whether this interface will be tagged or not.

    • After you finish, click Save and Exit.

  • If you select Ethernet Interface:

    • Click Configure to set the parameters for the Ethernet configuration. Configure all parameters marked with an asterisk (*).

    • From the Ethernet Device drop-down menu, click See Suggestions to select an interface.

    • From the Select Configuration for Cluster or Specific Node drop-down menu, select whether the interface device will apply to all nodes in a cluster or to a specific node. For Specific Node, click See Common Values to select a node.

    • From the Select Untagged or VLAN tagged drop-down menu, select whether this interface is VLAN tagged or not tagged. If you select VLAN Id, enter an ID for a tagged Ethernet interface.

    • In the IP Configuration section, select an interface address method from the Select Interface Address Method drop-down menu. If you select DHCP Client, no further configuration is needed.

    • If you select DHCP server, click Configure to set the parameters:

      • Under the DHCP Networks, Pools, Gateway section, click Edit Configuration.

      • In the Network Prefix field, enter a prefix for a single site. For example: 192.168.11.0/24.

      • From the DHCP Pool Settings drop-down menu, select whether to include or exclude the DHCP IP address ranges.

Figure: DHCP Pools Creation

Figure: DHCP Pools Creation

  • Click Add Item to configure the non-overlapping IP address ranges.

  • In the Starting IP field, enter an IP address to start the IP range.

  • In the Ending IP field, enter an IP address to end the IP range.

Step 2.3: Configure gateway address.

  • From the Select Default Gateway address drop-down menu, select how the default gateway address is determined from the options available:

    • First Address of Network: First IP address from the Network prefix configured previously.

    • Last Address of Network: Last IP address from the Network prefix configured previously.

    • Configured Address: Configure a specific value to the default gateway (must be from within the network defined in the network prefix section). If you select this option, you must add a valid IP address.

Step 2.4: Configure DNS.

  • From the Select DNS server address drop-down menu, select how the default DNS server address is determined from the options available:

    • Default Gateway Address: DNS is the IP address of the default gateway (Distributed Cloud Services Node).

    • Configured Address: Configure a specific value to the DNS Server. If you select this option, you must add a valid IP address.

Figure: Default Gateway and DNS Configuration

Figure: Default Gateway and DNS Configuration

  • Click Apply.
Step 2.5: Configure a dedicated interface.

  • From the Select Interface Addressing drop-down menu, select how interface addressing is performed on each node:

    • Interface Address: This is the interface address that is assigned to the node's interfaces (must be from the networks defined in the DHCP server network prefix).

    • Automatic Start: This is for assigning from start of the first network in the list.

    • Automatic End: This is for assigning from the end of the first network in the list.

Step 2.6: Configure fixed IP assignments.

  • In the Fixed IP Assignments for Clients section, click Add Item.

  • In the MAC Address field, enter the MAC address for the DHCP client.

  • In the IPv4 Address field, enter the IP address to be assigned to the DHCP client.

  • After you finish, click Apply.

Figure: Fixed IP Address

Figure: Fixed IP Address

Step 2.7: Configure virtual network for the interface.

  • From the Select Virtual Network drop-down menu, select your option.

  • For a storage option, enable the Show Advanced Fields option.

Step 2.8: Optionally, configure common configuration for the interface.

  • In the Common Configuration section, enable the Show Advanced Fields option.

  • From the Maximum Packet Size (MTU) drop-down menu, enter a value for the maximum packet transfer size.

  • Enter a value for the Priority field. The greater the value, the higher the priority.

  • From the Select Link Quality Monitoring configuration drop-down menu, select whether to enable quality probing for the interface.

Step 2.9: Set the interface level.

  • From the Select Primary Interface drop-down menu, select whether this new interface object is primary or not primary.

  • After you finish, click Apply.

  • Click Save and Exit.

Step 3: View the Network Interface object information.

Click > to view the Network Interface object's JSON data.

Figure: View Network Interface Object Information

Figure: View Network Interface Object Information

Concepts

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