NIC Change VM (Ubuntu Hyper-V) Default Switch - External Switch Lost Internet Connection

Configuring Ubuntu 24.04 VM Internet Connection through Hyper-V External Switch

Hyper-V is a powerful virtualization platform built into Windows 11. In this article, we will walk you through the process of configuring an Ubuntu 24.04 virtual machine to connect to the internet using a Hyper-V External Switch. This configuration is particularly useful for scenarios where you want to create a paired connection between your host and virtual machine, sharing the same network interface card (NIC).

Prerequisites

Before getting started, you need to ensure the following:

• A Windows 11 host with Hyper-V enabled.
• A virtual machine (VM) with Ubuntu 24.04 installed.
• A network interface card (NIC) configured for sharing, allowing external switch creation.

Creating a Hyper-V External Switch

To create an external switch, perform the following steps:

1. Launch the Hyper-V Manager on your Windows 11 host.
2. In the Actions pane, click on Virtual Switch Manager.
3. In the Virtual Switch Manager dialog, click on New virtual network switch.
4. Choose External and click Create virtual switch.
5. Name the virtual switch and select the NIC to share from the drop-down menu.
6. Click OK to create the external switch.

Configuring Ubuntu VM Network Settings

To set up internet connectivity on your Ubuntu VM, follow these steps:

1. Power on the Ubuntu VM and log in.
2. Open the terminal and type ifconfig to check the current network configuration.
3. Edit the /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml file by using a text editor like nano or vi:

sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

4. In the file, replace the existing content with the following:

network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    enp0s3:
      dhcp4: yes

5. Save and exit the file.
6. Apply the network configuration by using the following command:

sudo netplan apply

7. Check the network configuration again by running ifconfig.

Troubleshooting - Lost Internet Connection on External Switch

If you lose internet connectivity after changing the NIC to an external switch, follow these steps:

1. Check if the host has internet connectivity. If not, reconfigure your host's network settings.
2. Verify the external switch settings within Hyper-V manager.
3. Power off the VM, then edit the VM settings and ensure that the network adapter is connected to the correct external switch.
4. Restart the VM to apply the changes.

In this article, we discussed configuring an Ubuntu 24.04 virtual machine to connect to the internet via a Hyper-V External Switch. We covered the following key concepts:

• Creating a Hyper-V External Switch
• Configuring Ubuntu VM network settings
• Troubleshooting lost internet connectivity after changing to an external switch

References

• Type: Article
  Title: "Configure a Hyper-V virtual switch for virtual machines in Windows Server"
  URL: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/get-started/create-a-virtual-switch-for-virtual-machines

• Type: Book
  Title: "Mastering Hyper-V Virtualization and Security"
  Author: Yuri Diogenes, James Pennino, Murat Anavar, Devi Arjuna, and Debra Littlejohn Shinder
  Publisher: Packt Publishing, 2018
  ISBN: 978-1788474171

• Type: Online Resource
  Title: "Ubuntu 24.04 Server Guide"
  URL: https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/network-configuration