IFRELOAD(8)

✨ IFRELOAD ✨

okay bestie, so ifreload is the ifreload(8) girlie and her whole thing is reloading network interface configuration. that's it, that's the job 💅

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

ifreload [-h] (-a|-c) [-v] [-d] [-f] [-n] [-s]

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

so basically she reloads the interfaces(5) file at /etc/network/interfaces, or whatever config file got defined in the ifupdown2.conf file. either way, she's reading it.

here's the tea: she runs ifdown on the interfaces that got removed from the file, and then she runs ifup on all the interfaces. like, all of them. no cap.

ifreload is non-disruptive ✨ which is the iconic part honestly. she'll fix your running config so it matches what's in the interfaces file without bringing the interface down. but — and this is important, bestie, don't skip this — there are some cases where on linux an interface config just cannot be applied unless the interface is brought down. for example: change of mac address, and a few bond attributes. for those attribute changes, she may flap the interface, but only if the linux kernel literally requires it to. she's not being dramatic, the kernel is.

⚠️ when you're removing an interface (an iface section) from the interfaces file, please please please make sure all its references are removed too. same energy when you're renaming an interface — make sure every reference to it gets changed to the new name. renaming an interface in the interfaces file results in ifdown of the old one and ifup of the interface with the new name. so yeah. references. check them. 🫶

and if you do not wish to execute down on any interfaces, but only up on the interfaces that were already up? go look at the --currently-up option below, she's got you 💖

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💖 OPTIONS 💖

• -h, --help — shows this help message and exits. the classic. the girl who's always there for you.
• -a, --all — processes all interfaces marked "auto" 👑
• -v, --verbose — verbose. she's gonna yap (affectionately) 🌸
• -d, --debug — outputs debug info. for when you need to know everything 🔍
• -f, --force — force run all operations. no asking, just doing 💅
• -c, --currently-up — reloads the configuration for all interfaces which are currently up, regardless of whether an interface has auto <interface> configuration within the /etc/network/interfaces file. so even the ones with no auto moment get included 🦋
• -X EXCLUDEPATS, --exclude EXCLUDEPATS — excludes interfaces from the list of interfaces to operate on. can be specified multiple times. and heads up bestie: if the excluded interface has dependent interfaces (like, say, a bridge or a bond with multiple enslaved interfaces), then each dependent interface must be specified in order to be excluded. yes, all of them. the exclusion does not cascade, iykyk 😭
• -s, --syntax-check — only runs the interfaces file parser. just a lil vibe check on your syntax, nothing else ✨

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🌈 EXAMPLES 🌈

reload all auto interfaces in the interfaces(5) file:

# reload all auto interfaces in interfaces(5) file

ifreload -a

reload all interfaces using the service command:

# reload all interfaces using service command

service networking reload

reload all currently up interfaces without bringing any interfaces down:

# reload all currently up interfaces without bringing any interfaces
down

service networking reload-currently-up

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

ifup(8), ifdown(8), ifquery(8), interfaces(5), ifupdown-addons-interfaces(5) — the whole friend group fr fr 💜

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

Roopa Prabhu <roopa@cumulusnetworks.com>

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💀 COPYRIGHT 💀

Copyright 2014 Cumulus Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

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okay that's the whole page bestie, you ate it up 🍓 this was ifreload(8), version 0.1, dated 2014-02-05 — go forth and reload responsibly, mwah 💖✨🎀