Photon OS 5 Network Manager (nmctl) Commands to update Hostname/IP Address/DNS in SRM & vSphere replication
Article ID: 413935
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
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Unable to access the VAMI page of the SRM/VR appliance.
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The appliance VM shows an IPv6 address on the ESXi/vCenter after deployment.
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During deployment, the network configuration used DHCP instead of a static IP address.
Environment
VMware vSphere Replication 9.0.4
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0.4
VMware vSphere Replication 9.0.3
VMware Live Site Recovery 9.0.3
Cause
Encountering issues while configuring the network settings of the appliance VM using the command line.
The 9.0.4 and 9.0.3 appliances are built on Photon OS 5, which introduces enhancements in network configuration.
Photon OS 5 utilizes the network-config-manager (nmctl) utility for command-line-based network configuration.
Resolution
You can manually configure the network settings using the Photon Network Configuration Manager Command-Line Interface (nmctl) utility.
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To view the system status: nmctl
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To check the network status: nmctl status eth0
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To add an IP address: nmctl add-addr dev eth0 a <ipaddress/mask>
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To add a default gateway: nmctl add-default-gw dev eth0 gw <gateway_IP> onlink yes
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To add DNS servers: nmctl add-dns dev eth0 dns <dnsip1> <dnsip2>
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To set the hostname: nmctl set-hostname <applianceFQDN>
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To configure DNS domains: nmctl set-dns-domains dev eth0 domains <domain_name>
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To set NTP servers: nmctl set-ntp dev eth0 ntp <ntp_server_IP>
When changing the list of DNS servers (for example when changing networks or decommissioning old DNS servers), it is suggested to remove the current DNS servers first, then add the new ones. This is because there is a limited number of DNS servers that can be registered to the SRM server or vSphere Replication appliance. However the first DNS server can not be deleted.
Times when DNS entry may show stale and may not delete, In such cases restart the Appliance services for SRM/VR using below commands following which run Remove DNS server command - netmgr dns_servers --del --servers <server>
Service restart For SRM
- sysmtemctl stop srm-server
- systemctl stop dr-client
- systemctl start srm-server
- systemctl start dr-client
Service Restart For VR
- systemctl stop hms
- systemctl stop hbrsrv
- systemctl stop dr-client
- systemctl start hms
- systemctl start hbrsrv
- systemctl start dr-client
After making any manual changes, ensure you run the following commands to restart the networkd and DNS service:
- systemctl restart systemd-networkd (For network)
- systemctl restart systemd-resolved (For DNS)
For VMware Live Site Recovery / vSphere Replication VAMI access issues:
Ensure that the IP configuration of the SRM or vSphere Replication appliance includes the correct DNS server and default gateway.
If the configuration is incorrect, update the DNS and IPv4 gateway settings using the steps provided above.
Should the 'nmctl add-dns dev eth0 dns <dnsip1> <dnsip2>' be unsuccessful it would be recommended to change DNS through editing /etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network file:
vi /etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network
DNS=xxxxxx
Then run the systemctl restart systemd-networkd command
**Note: If the hostname does not change after executing the 'nmctl set-hostname' command, ensure that are not any entries blocking this change in the '/etc/hosts' file.
Additional Information
Query and control the netmanager subsystem.
-h --help Show this help message and exit
-v --version Show package version
**Command Option Description**
show Show system status
status List links
status [LINK] Show link status
set-mtu [LINK] [MTU] Set Link MTU
set-mac [LINK] [MAC] Set Link MAC
set-link-mode [LINK] [MODE
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0} ] Set Link managed by networkd
set-dhcp-mode [LINK] [DHCP-MODE
{ yes | no | ipv4 | ipv6 } ] Set Link DHCP setting
set-dhcp4-client-identifier [LINK] [IDENTIFIER
{ mac | duid | duid-only} ]
set-dhcp-iaid [LINK] [IAID] Sets the DHCP Identity Association Identifier
(IAID) for the interface, a 32-bit unsigned
integer.
set-dhcp-duid [LINK | system] [DUID
{ link-layer-time | vendor
| link-layer | uuid } ] [RAWDATA] Sets the DHCP Client
DUID type which specifies how the DUID
should be generated and [RAWDATA] to
overides the global DUIDRawData.
set-link-state [LINK] [STATE { up | down } ] Set Link State
add-link-address [LINK] [ADDRESS] [PEER] ] Add Link Address
delete-link-address [LINK] Removes Address from Link
add-default-gateway [LINK] [GW address] onlink
[ONLINK { yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Add Link Default Gateway
delete-gateway [LINK] Removes Gateway from Link
add-route [LINK] [GW address] metric
[METRIC { number }] Set Link route
delete-route [LINK] Removes route from Link
add-additional-gw [LINK] [ADDRESS] [ROUTE address]
[GW address] [ROUTING POLICY TABLE number] configures additional gateway for
another NIC with routing policy rules
set-hostname [HOSTNAME] Sets hostname
show-dns Show DNS Servers
add-dns [LINK | system] [ADDRESS] Set Link DNS servers
add-domain [LINK | system] [DOMAIN] Set Link DOMAIN
show-domains Show DNS Server DOMAINS
revert-resolve-link [LINK] Flushes all DNS server and Domain settings
of the link
set-link-local-address [LINK] [LinkLocalAddressing
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link link-local address autoconfiguration
set-ipv4ll-route [LINK] [IPv4LLRoute
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set the route needed for non-IPv4LL hosts to
communicate with IPv4LL-only hosts
set-llmnr [LINK] [LLMNR
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link Link-Local Multicast Name Resolution
set-multicast-dns [LINK] [MulticastDNS
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link Multicast DNS
set-lldp [LINK] [LLDP
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link Ethernet LLDP packet reception
set-emit-lldp [LINK] [EmitLLDP
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link Ethernet LLDP packet emission
set-ipforward [LINK] [IPForward
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link IP packet forwarding for the system
set-ipv6acceptra [LINK] [IPv6AcceptRA
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link IPv6 Router Advertisement (RA)
reception support for the interface
set-ipmasquerade [LINK] [IPMasquerade
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set IP masquerading for the network interface
set-dhcp4-use-dns [LINK] [UseDNS
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP4 Use DNS
set-dhcp4-use-domains [LINK] [UseDomains
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP4 Use DOMAINS
set-dhcp4-use-mtu [LINK] [UseMTU
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP4 Use MTU
set-dhcp4-use-ntp [LINK] [UseNTP
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP4 Use NTP
set-dhcp4-use-dns [LINK] [UseDNS
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP4 Use DNS
set-dhcp6-use-dns [LINK] [UseDNS
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP6 Use DNS
set-dhcp6-use-ntp [LINK] [UseNTP
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Set Link DHCP6 Use NTP
add-ntp [LINK] [NTP] Add Link NTP server address. This option
may be specified more than once.
This setting is read by
systemd-timesyncd.service(8)
set-ntp [LINK] [NTP] Set Link NTP server address. This option
may be specified more than once.
This setting is read by
systemd-timesyncd.service(8)
delete-ntp [LINK] Delete Link NTP server addresses.
This setting is read by
systemd-timesyncd.service(8)
disable-ipv6 [LINK] Disables IPv6 on the interface.
enable-ipv6 [LINK] Enables IPv6 on the interface.
create-vlan [VLAN name] dev [LINK master] id [ID INTEGER] Creates vlan netdev and sets master to
device
create-bridge [BRIDGE name] [LINK] [LINK] ... Creates bridge netdev and sets master
to device
create-bond [BOND name] mode [MODE {balance-rr |
active-backup | balance-xor | broadcast Creates bond netdev and sets master to
| 802.3ad | balance-tlb | balance-alb}] device
[LINK] [LINK] ...
create-vxlan [VXLAN name] [dev LINK] vni [INTEGER] Creates vxlan VXLAN (Virtual eXtensible
[local ADDRESS] [remote ADDRESS] Local Area Network) tunneling.
[port PORT] [independent
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}].
create-macvlan [MACVLAN name] dev [LINK] mode Creates macvlan virtualized bridged
[MODE {private | vepa | bridge | passthru networking.
| source}]
create-macvtap [MACVTAP name] dev [LINK] mode Creates macvtap virtualized bridged
[MODE {private | vepa | bridge networking.
| passthru | source}]
create-ipvlan [IPVLAN name] dev [LINK] Creates ipvlan, virtual LAN, separates broadcast
mode [MODE {l2 | l3 | l3s}] domains by adding tags to network packet.
create-ipvtap [IPVTAP name] dev [LINK]
mode [MODE {l2 | l3 | l3s}] Create ipvtap.
create-vrf [VRF name] table [INTEGER}] Creates Virtual routing and forwarding (VRF).
create-veth [VETH name] peer [PEER name}] Creates virtual Ethernet devices
create-ipip [IPIP name] [dev LINK]
local [ADDRESS] remote [ADDRESS]
[independent
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Creates ipip tunnel.
create-sit [SIT name] [dev LINK] local
[ADDRESS] remote [ADDRESS]
[independent
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Creates sit tunnel.
create-vti [VTI name] [dev LINK] local [ADDRESS]
remote [ADDRESS] [independent
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Creates vti tunnel.
create-gre [GRE name] [dev LINK] local [ADDRESS]
remote [ADDRESS] [independent
{ yes | no | on | off | 1 | 0}] Creates gre tunnel.
create-wg [WIREGUARD name] private-key [PRIVATEKEY]
listen-port [PORT INTEGER] public-key
[PUBLICKEY] preshared-key [PRESHAREDKEY]
allowed-ips [IP,IP ...] endpoint [IP:PORT] Creates a wireguard tunnel.
reload Reload .network and .netdev files.
reconfigure [LINK] Reconfigure Link.
generate-config-from-yaml [FILE] Generates network file configuration
from yaml file.
apply-yaml-config Generates network file configuration from
yaml files found in
/etc/network-config-manager/yaml.
generate-config-from-cmdline [FILE | COMMAND LINE] Generates network file configuration from
command kernel command line or command line.
add-nft-table [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] [TABLE] adds a new table.
show-nft-tables [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] shows nftable's tables.
delete-nft-table [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] [TABLE] deletes a existing nftable's table.
add-nft-chain [FAMILY {ipv4 | ip}] [TABLE] [CHAIN] adds a new nftable's chain.
show-nft-chains [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] [TABLE] shows nftable's chains.
delete-nft-chain [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] [TABLE] [CHAIN] deletes a nftable's chain from table
add-nft-rule [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}]
[TABLE] [CHAIN] [PROTOCOL
{ tcp | udp}] [SOURCE PORT / DESTINATION PORT
{sport|dport}] PORT] [ACTION {accept | drop}] configures a nft rule for a port.
show-nft-rules [TABLE] shows nftable's rules.
delete-nft-rule [FAMILY {ipv4 | ipv6 | ip}] [TABLE]
[CHAIN] [HANDLE] deletes a nftable's rule from table
nft-run Feedback
