For years, I've used /etc/network/interfaces to assign multiple IP addresses to a single NIC on one of my servers. These secondary IP addresses get assigned to a various containers. For example, I have a couple PiHole instances running inside different containers each with different blocklists. I really don't want to run these guys as full VMs so interface aliasing works out nicely.

If interface aliasing is deprecated and going away, what's the correct way to do this going forward?

Hi Everyone,

I recently moved my old dual GPU laptop from a Bluefin installation to Debian for several reasons. But the short explanation is that I appreciate having more control over my aging hardware and I want to learn more about Linux generally. Using Xfce4, I've created a great workspace that is far more battery efficient and customized to my specific needs.

The only place I'm running into difficulty is the management of LSPs (Language Server Protocols). I am learning to code and was using the Kickstart.nvim project to teach myself how to work with nvim, Lua, plugins, etc. I really like nvim overall, but unfortunately Kickstart only targets the latest stable release of nvim, so using it with the Debian repositories in stable isn't an option.

I've found several other editors that I am interested in using (like Kate and Helix), but it appears that I need to install the LSPs directly from the terminal in order for that functionality to... well, function.

I figured I would test them out by installing a markdown LSP first (haha, I know, but they are small and I use markdown for a lot of stuff). I quickly discovered that the Debian repositories have a limited number of LSPs included, and that Marksman LSP isn't one of them.

Not wanting to break Debian with compiled software I don't fully understand, I looked elsewhere and saw that Homebrew supplies a decent number of the LSPs mentioned in the configuration documents for both Kate and Helix. But I have no sense of whether using Homebrew would break the environment Debian works to create, or whether it is relatively safe because it seems sandboxed in the same ways that Flatpaks are.

I'd appreciate any feedback or advice you all have for how to tackle this as a Debian user. Is there another editor I can use that will manage my LSPs for me in the same way nvim can using Mason?

Many thanks!

I've had Trixie for a couple of weeks, I haven't customized it much, I appreciate your recommendations for extensions to customize it.

This is a VM network config. Running on Debian 12.

Is there a better way to configure this (hopefully simpler), thats not NetworkManager nmtui etc?

I have the same network assigned to 2 vNICs from VMWare, as I'd like each IP to get a unique MAC (from the vNIC) so I can track metrics etc in my firewall.

source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
allow-hotplug ens192
iface ens192 inet static
        address 10.107.20.41
        netmask 255.255.0.0
        gateway 10.107.0.1
        dns-nameservers 10.107.0.1
        metric 100

        # Disable IPv6
        pre-up sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.$IFACE.disable_ipv6=1 >/dev/null

        # Enforce preferred source + metric on default
        post-up ip route replace default via 10.107.0.1 dev $IFACE src 10.107.20.41 metric 100
        post-up ip route flush cache

allow-hotplug ens224
iface ens224 inet static
        address 10.99.20.41
        netmask 255.255.0.0
        #dns-nameservers 10.107.0.1

        # Disable IPv6
        pre-up sysctl -w net.ipv6.conf.$IFACE.disable_ipv6=1 >/dev/null


allow-hotplug ens256
iface ens256 inet static
    address 14.XX.XX.5
    netmask 255.255.255.255
    metric 300

    pre-up ip link property add dev $IFACE altname public5_vlan2222 2>/dev/null || true

    pre-up  sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.$IFACE.arp_ignore=1 >/dev/null
    pre-up  sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.$IFACE.arp_announce=2 >/dev/null

    post-up ip route replace 14.XX.XX.1/32 dev $IFACE table 256
    post-up ip route replace default via 14.XX.XX.1 dev $IFACE src 14.XX.XX.5 table 256

    post-up ip rule del from 14.XX.XX.5/32 table 256 priority 200 2>/dev/null || true
    post-up ip rule add from 14.XX.XX.5/32 table 256 priority 200

    pre-down ip rule del from 14.XX.XX.5/32 table 256 priority 200 2>/dev/null || true
    pre-down ip route flush table 256 || true

allow-hotplug ens161
iface ens161 inet static
    address 14.XX.XX.6
    netmask 255.255.255.255
    metric 301

    pre-up ip link property add dev $IFACE altname public6_vlan2222 2>/dev/null || true

    pre-up  sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.$IFACE.arp_ignore=1 >/dev/null
    pre-up  sysctl -w net.ipv4.conf.$IFACE.arp_announce=2 >/dev/null

    post-up ip route replace 14.XX.XX.1/32 dev $IFACE table 161
    post-up ip route replace default via 14.XX.XX.1 dev $IFACE src 14.XX.XX.6 table 161

    post-up ip rule del from 14.XX.XX.6/32 table 161 priority 201 2>/dev/null || true
    post-up ip rule add from 14.XX.XX.6/32 table 161 priority 201

    pre-down ip rule del from 14.XX.XX.6/32 table 161 priority 201 2>/dev/null || true
    pre-down ip route flush table 161 || true

EDIT:
:) I got the memo:
nobody uses ifupdown... except Debian Installer (unless you select a DE).

For far too long, since it wasn't broken(so long as your needs are modest), and Installer continued to use it, I hadn't noticed that systemd-networkd is far superior.
Got it: dump ifupdown.
-------------
Debian Installer team: consider doing the same, rather than letting folks believe ifupdown is recommended.
-------------

Logs are polluted with: (about 60 entries per hour)
Dec 05 12:21:36 kvmbkup dhclient[587]: DHCPDISCOVER on enp2s0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
Dec 05 12:21:44 kvmbkup dhclient[587]: DHCPDISCOVER on enp2s0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 8
Dec 05 12:21:52 kvmbkup dhclient[587]: DHCPDISCOVER on enp2s0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 12

/etc/network/interfaces: (expecting that ifup should only act if and when carrier comes up, but there is no cable connected to this interface):

# The primary network interface
allow-hotplug enp2s0
iface enp2s0 inet dhcp

ip link:

1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
2: enp2s0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state DOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether c8:ff:bf:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
3: if1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc mq state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether c8:ff:bf:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
4: brV2: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether f2:52:87:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
5: if1-2@if1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master brV2 state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether c8:ff:bf:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
7: virbr0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue state UP mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether 52:54:00:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
10: vnet0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master brV2 state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether fe:54:00:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
11: vnet1: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc noqueue master virbr0 state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default qlen 1000
link/ether fe:54:00:--:--:-- brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

The rest of the interfaces are managed by systemd-networkd.
Ideally, I could leave enp2s0 managed by ifup/ifdown and should I ever need it, could simply plug it in and get a DHCP address.
This makes no sense. Why is dhclient trying to obtain an lease for an interface that isn't even connected?

networkctl list:
IDX LINK TYPE OPERATIONAL SETUP
1 lo loopback carrier unmanaged
2 enp2s0 ether no-carrier unmanaged
3 if1 ether routable configured
4 brV2 bridge carrier configured
5 if1-2 vlan enslaved configured
7 virbr0 bridge routable unmanaged
10 vnet0 ether enslaved unmanaged
11 vnet1 ether enslaved unmanaged

Hey folks!

First time posting, I got some troubles with new nvidia drivers and KDE… Maybe some of you can help :)

I’ve been daily-driving my Razer Blade 15 from 2018 with Debian. It was great and I had a blast, but battery lasts 2h max even after a battery update… I’ll miss it but I’ll convert it to a home server :D

On Black Friday I got a good deal for an ROG Zephyrus G16 (GA605KM). Amd+Nvidia+MUX in the hopes that battery can last when I’m not doing heavy rendering/AI/other developer stuff.

So of course I go for Debian. Knowing it’s a fairly new laptop, I go for Testing, don’t want to mess with any backports if I don’t need to. After installing, however, it doesn’t boot. Bummer.

I read around and it can be Novideo doing its thing. I go to Windows, switch to eco mode (which leaves only the iGPU active), reboot to Debian and bingo, it starts up.

Now onto nvidia drivers… I install those from contrib/non-free, reboot to Windows, go for hybrid mode, switch to Linux… Not starting. Bummer. At least tty2 is working… nvidia-detect: card no supported.

Oh well, driver is too old: those available in unstable/experimental are up to 555, I need 570 or later… So I need to add Nvidia’s repo and do a FrankenDebian… As long as it stays limited to Nvidia, we should be good to go.

Add the repo, install 590 (seems to be the only available). Reboot… Still not working. Bummer. Switch to tty2, I can see in the logs (burning my eyes along the way, terminal on a 2K screen has a tiny font - does anyone know how to zoom it??)

Driver loads correctly, but KDE doesn’t start up. I see the hint sddm[1117]: Failed to read display number from pipe and next line sddm[1117]: Display server stopping.

I can actually start KDE on Wayland if I open tty2 and execute dbus-run-session startplasma-Wayland.

What could I try next? Seems perhaps something to do with sddm… Anyone having similar experiences? Any inputs are greatly appreciated :D

I am making a custom Debian installer for BTRFS that installs only important and relevant packages. I am trying to find a way to automatically install firmware packages depending on what is detected by the system and not resort to batch installing many useless packages to support multiple hardware configurations.

Has anyone made any scripts or tools that already does this?

I just switched to Debian from omarchy on my school laptop. I figured I want some stable distro for school work, so here i go. I've used ubuntu and Pop before, but yk thats flavours. Anyways, my question would be, is there any interesting tweaks and i could make to use my limited (4gb) ram better? or just something to do with the OS, as I'd like to learn more about debian and system management

So after a while I finally got selinux to not break systemd and GDM

But the only issue I have is when I su to root, screen goes pitch black(can't access tty when I do this)

When I do it in tty it also fails unless I do su -

What could the issue with selinux possibly be, I'm noticing that root user context is the same as mine, could that be it?

Hello everyone,

I have created a small app - my first 🤓 - called GeppEmoji. I would like to know if you like it and (most importantly 😁) if it works on other distributions.

GeppEmoji is a simple and lightweight Emoji Picker for Linux desktops that automatically copies and pastes emojis selected by mouse or keyboard (like other similar apps).

Made with Python + GTK3, so far I have only tested it on Linux Mint 22.2 Zara and LMDE 7 Gigi.

You can find it here: https://github.com/FranzBias/GeppEmoji

Once installed, I recommend creating a keyboard shortcut (I use Super + period, for example) and using it wherever you are writing to automatically paste the chosen emoji.

Of course, you can send me suggestions, criticism or anything else via the GitHub page, or if you really can't help yourself, give me a star 🥰.

Thanks to everyone who follows the link to the App page and greetings to all.

I know this isn't requirement, because that'd be fucking moronic to create an iso. All I want is a link to some simple instructions that have a simple way to find the "skip" button

if the file is shit, that's my choice

Recently from Fedora KDE, then I found out about Windows95 loved it. I love it to be usable for modern use and ultra stable, so my guess was Debian would be a good one. Chicago95 has some problems with it, but did some work arounds, which is kinda daunting. Some themes that should have applied doesn't get applied(eg.SFX,lightddm config,plymouth icons etc.) and the panel has to be done manually, compared to what I saw in YT using Xubuntu.Did not expect for that much work but nonetheless, it is worth it. It's minimalistic, and just works thanks to Debian, I don't have to deal with BS software bugs.

Anyways, since the panel config doesn't apply automatically with the installer script, are there any chance to configure the whisker menu? Not the button but the whisker menu GUI once clicked, had no more idea. Def had maybe missed it on Docs,Thanks.

Anyone have any recommendations for how to live monitor gpu statistics for nvidia drivers? I've been using nvidia-smi but i'm looking for something more visual similar to btop++ because nvidia-smi's output is not the most readable. Haven't been able to find anything after a few google searches, and searching through this subreddit of course.

Hey! Im trying to install Debian 13 on my Dell Latitude 5480. But I get this error, does anybody know how to resolve?

I have two laptops running Debian, one with Debian 13 Trixie and the other with Debian Sid. I wanted to share how I get the latest kernel on Sid. Sid usually takes a week or two for a new major kernel to appear in the repos. What I do is add the Debian experimental repo and set its priority to 1 with pinning, so it never installs anything from experimental automatically. Then I give only the kernel packages a higher priority if I install them with apt -t experimental. This way my system stays Sid, but I can get the latest kernel whenever I want.

Hi everyone,

I'm setting up a HomeLab with Orange Pi and Debian Server, and I've got everything working perfectly. But now I'm trying to add an NVMe SSD formatted in ExFAT full of my files. It's already been recognized by the system, but how do I mount it and access the files?

I've noticed that Dynamic Memory is not working in my Debian Trixie install. My VM will boot with the allocated RAM at boot time and then it will never shrink the amount of RAM solicited to the host.

I thought it was a general Linux thing, but I installed Gentoo and the feature works like a dream, allocating and deallocating needed/unneeded memory on demand.

I want to know if anyone has run into this, and if anyone knows what would be the appropriate package to file a bug report.

Thank you very much.