Awesome! Now, let’s get your internet working with systemd.

1. Check If Your Network Interface Exists

Run:

ip link

You should see something like:

1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN mode DEFAULT group default
2: enp3s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP mode DEFAULT group default
  • If you see something like enp3s0, eth0, or eno1, that’s your network interface.
  • If no Ethernet interface appears, check:
    lspci -nnk | grep -A3 -i ethernet
    This will show if the Ethernet adapter is recognized.

2. Enable and Start systemd-networkd

First, ensure systemd-networkd is enabled:

sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-networkd

Check if it’s running:

sudo systemctl status systemd-networkd

If it’s active (green), it’s working.

3. Configure a Network File

Create a config file for your Ethernet connection:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/network/20-wired.network

Add the following:

[Match]
Name=enp3s0  # Replace with your actual interface name

[Network]
DHCP=yes

Save and exit (Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter).

Then restart systemd-networkd:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd

4. Enable systemd-resolved for DNS

Systemd uses systemd-resolved for DNS resolution. Enable it:

sudo systemctl enable --now systemd-resolved

Then create a symlink to use its resolv.conf:

sudo ln -sf /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

Check DNS resolution:

ping -c 3 8.8.8.8  # Tests if network is up
ping -c 3 google.com  # Tests if DNS is working

5. Verify Everything

Check if you have an IP address:

ip a

Check if you can reach the internet:

ping -c 3 8.8.8.8

If everything works, your internet is set up via systemd!

Failed to create symbolic link, file exists.

That means /etc/resolv.conf already exists. Let’s fix it:

1. Check What’s Inside /etc/resolv.conf

Run:

cat /etc/resolv.conf

If it contains something like:

# Generated by dhcpcd
nameserver 192.168.1.1

It means another service (like dhcpcd) is managing it.

Force remove the existing file:

sudo rm /etc/resolv.conf

Then recreate the symlink:

sudo ln -s /run/systemd/resolve/stub-resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

3. Restart Services

sudo systemctl restart systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd

Then test DNS resolution:

ping -c 3 google.com