Netplan: advanced network configuration (tunnels, VLAN, bridges, bonding)

September 18, 2025

Netplan: advanced network configuration (tunnels, VLAN, bridges, bonding)

Introduction

Netplan is a utility for declarative network configuration in Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, and derivatives). It is usually used for simple cases like Ethernet or Wi-Fi, but it can do much more:

• tunnel interfaces (IPIP, GRE, VXLAN, WireGuard),
• VLAN,
• bridges,
• bonding (interface aggregation).

These features allow building complex network topologies — from home VPNs to data centers and cloud environments.

Tunnel interfaces

Tunnels encapsulate packets of one protocol into another. They are used for VPNs, inter-server connections, or network isolation.