FreeBSD Set a Default Route / Gateway
Q. How do I modify or set a default route for my FreeBSD server? How do I make default route configuration persistent?
A. The route command is used under FreeBSD to manually manipulate the network routing tables. It provides six commands:
=> add : Add a route.
=> flush :Remove all routes.
=> delete : Delete a specific route.
=> change : Change aspects of a route (such as its gateway).
=> get : Lookup and display the route for a destination.
=> monitor : Continuously report any changes to the routing information base, routing lookup misses, or suspected network partitionings.
Task: View / Display FreeBSD Routing Table
Use netstat command with -r option:
$ netstat -r
$ netstat -rn
Output:
Routing tables Internet: Destination Gateway Flags Refs Use Netif Expire default 61.221.xx.yy UGS 0 247 em1 10 10.10.110.5 UGS 0 50 em0 10.10.110/26 link#1 UC 0 0 em0 10.10.110.5 00:1b:0d:e6:58:40 UHLW 2 0 em0 1145 61.221.xx.yy/29 link#2 UC 0 0 em1 61.221.xx.yy 00:1b:0d:e6:57:c0 UHLW 2 0 em1 1055 61.221.xx/24 link#2 UC 0 0 em1 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 UH 0 0 lo0
The first two line displays default routes.
Task: FreeBSD Set a default route
All network packets that cannot be sent according to the previous entries of the routing table are sent through the following default gateway:
# route add default 192.168.1.254
How do I save routing information to a configuration file?
If you reboot FreeBSD box, the routing configuration will be lost i.e. the routing information will not persist. You need to edit /etc/rc.conf file to set defaultroute:
# vi /etc/rc.conf
Set default route by editing defaultrouter variable:
defaultrouter="192.168.1.254"
Save and close the file.
Task: Start and Stop FreeBSD Configured Interfaces
To apply changes to a configuration file, you need to stop and restart the corresponding FreeBSD networking interface. The following command will also update routing information:
# /etc/rc.d/netif restart
# /etc/rc.d/netif stop
# /etc/rc.d/netif start
Further readings:
- Read man pages netstat, route, rc.conf
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Related Linux / UNIX FAQ:
- FreeBSD Static Routing Configuration
- Linux setup default gateway with route command
- Linux route add command
- Debian / Ubuntu Linux Setting a Default Gateway
- Solaris UNIX Add Static Routes
Discussion on This FAQ
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Tags: /etc/rc.conf, bsd routing, destination gateway, freebsd default gateway, freebsd default route, freebsd default router, freebsd route, freebsd route add, freebsd route add default, freebsd route command, freebsd route table, freebsd routing, freebsd routing table, freebsd show routing table, netstat command, route change, route command, routing configuration ~ Last updated on: February 3, 2008
April 1st, 2008 at 2:34 pm
# /etc/rc.d/netif restart
# /etc/rc.d/netif stop
# /etc/rc.d/netif start
these commands make two times the same action: up down the interface.
But these commands don’t renew the routes. to renew the route you must do
/etc/rc.d/routing stop
/etc/rc.d/routing start