Question: I've some Debian or Ubuntu based servers here with

allow-hotplug eth0

and some with

auto eth0

in /etc/network/interfaces. What is the difference between them? If I'm correct, both are bringing up the interfaces during startup and if a cobel is pluged in. Right?

Thanks

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2 Answers

up vote 3 down vote accepted

allow-hotplug allows you to plug in a new network device (say, turning on a network card, PCMCIA cards, etc.).

auto is just auto-detection of the port being plugged in IIRC to bring the interface online.

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One potential serious consequence of allow-hotplug instead of auto is that allow-hotplug interface usually do not come up after issuing a

/etc/init.d/network restart

they go down but don't come up again which leaves you with a "down" interface.

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Thanks, good to know – Thomas Deutsch Nov 10 '11 at 8:52
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