How to set up with just a single NIC?

Getting Started with IPFire
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Trying to install the system, for now on a VM, to test.
My use case involves a system at a colocation provider, with a system that just has a single NIC, whereby access to the public internet goes as expected out over that NIC, but where the private net isn’t on a separate NIC, but goes back out over a VPN link.
So not only is there no second NIC required, the system physically has only one NIC.
But during the install on the VM, I can’t move beyond the initial setup, which I can’t finish, because two NICs seem to be required, unless I’m doing something fundamentally wrong, at which point any hints would be welcome…

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This video I made on my youtube channel teetechtm shows how to setup and use virtual network interfaces in order to give multiple logical network connections to VMs. It doesn’t matter which hypervisor you are using either and it works on multiple OSes.

Creating Virtual Network Connections In VMs

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Thanks, but I think you misunderstood the question/problem. I know how I can give a VM multiple NICs. But the VM is just to test what I’m going to do on the real hardware later, and that only has a single NIC, and IPFire is supposed to be installed on the bare metal there. However, installing IPFire from the iso won’t let me proceed past the point where I need two NICs for RED and GREEN, while my system will only have a RED interface, while GREEN will be a VPN running over the RED.
My question is, on actual hardware with just a single NIC, how can one install IPFire? (I’m just trying to test this process and setup in a VM, which for that reason also has only a single NIC)

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You can’t. IPFire is designed to have a minimum of two nics.

See the IPFire documentation on requirements for networking

https://www.ipfire.org/docs/hardware/requirements#networking

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Pity. Kindly note this as a feature request to allow installation on a single NIC machine.
I give you some examples:

Example 1:
One NIC, two VLANs going to a switch, where the VLAN separates the WAN from the LAN to different ports on the switch.

Example 2:
Device installed at a colocation service, acting as VPN exit node. Just a single NIC, “green” VPN connections, RED connection to the internet, all using a single RED NIC.

Suppose I stick a USB NIC into the device to get it set up, and then pull it later, will the system still boot?

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Perhaps it is possible…

but not recommended :person_shrugging:

Regards

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it boots.
but complains about missing interfaces :wink:
you can verify inside your test-vm :man_shrugging:

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