

I assume you’re using systemd-networkd
so did you try using networkctl
to reload and reconfigure your networks? By using status
you can see which files are being used by your interface. I hope this points you to an explanation.
➜ ~ sudo networkctl
delete -- Delete virtual netdevs
down -- Bring devices down
forcerenew -- Trigger DHCP reconfiguration of all connected clients
label -- Show address labels
list -- List existing links
lldp -- Show Link Layer Discovery Protocol status
reconfigure -- Reconfigure interfaces
reload -- Reload .network and .netdev files
renew -- Renew dynamic configurations
status -- Show information about the specified links
up -- Bring devices up
sudo networkctl status
gives you a general overview of all your network settings but indeed, it doesn’t show the files used. You can dosudo networkctl
to see a list of all your network devices and whether they are managed bysystemd-networkd
or not. For example, the 3rd device is the one I’m using to connect to the internet. The 7th device is a VPN I’m using.➜ ~ sudo networkctl IDX LINK TYPE OPERATIONAL SETUP 1 lo loopback carrier configured 2 enp0s31f6 ether off configuring 3 enxc84bd63372d4 ether routable configured 4 br0 bridge no-carrier configuring 5 wlp0s20f3 wlan off configuring 6 virbr0 bridge no-carrier unmanaged 7 tun0 none routable configured 7 links listed.
Just using
status
gives you the overview of all your IP addresses and DNS settings.➜ ~ sudo networkctl status ● State: routable Online state: partial Address: 10.161.10.39 on enxc84bd63372d4 192.168.122.1 on virbr0 172.28.241.21 on tun0 fe80::ca4b:d6ff:fe33:72d4 on enxc84bd63372d4 Gateway: 10.161.10.254 on enxc84bd63372d4 DNS: 172.16.1.132 172.23.12.100 172.23.13.100 Search Domains: <REDACTED>.tld <REDACTED>.domain.tld Apr 08 09:45:31 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enp0s31f6: Link DOWN Apr 08 09:45:48 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: wlp0s20f3: Link DOWN
What you probably want is the following
sudo networkctl status $INTERFACE
. Here you see the Link file and Network file used by the interface.➜ ~ sudo networkctl status enxc84bd63372d4 ● 3: enxc84bd63372d4 Link File: /usr/lib/systemd/network/73-usb-net-by-mac.link Network File: /etc/systemd/network/05-dock.network State: routable (configured) Online state: online Type: ether Path: pci-0000:05:00.0-usb-0:2.4:1.0 Driver: r8152 Vendor: Realtek Semiconductor Corp. Model: RTL8153 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Hardware Address: c8:4b:d6:33:72:d4 (Dell Inc.) MTU: 1500 (min: 68, max: 9194) QDisc: fq_codel IPv6 Address Generation Mode: eui64 Number of Queues (Tx/Rx): 1/1 Auto negotiation: yes Speed: 1Gbps Duplex: full Port: mii Address: 10.161.10.39 (DHCP4 via 172.27.129.1) fe80::ca4b:d6ff:fe33:72d4 Gateway: 10.161.10.254 DNS: 172.23.12.100 172.23.13.100 Activation Policy: up Required For Online: yes DHCP4 Client ID: IAID:0xf40aaca/DUID DHCP6 Client DUID: DUID-EN/Vendor:0000ab113b3d3a1477342315 Connected To: <REDACTED>.tld on port Gi2/0/19 (== USERS + VoIP ==) Apr 08 08:55:17 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enxc84bd63372d4: Configuring with /etc/systemd/network/05-dock.network. Apr 08 08:55:17 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enxc84bd63372d4: Link UP Apr 08 08:55:17 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enxc84bd63372d4: Gained carrier Apr 08 08:55:18 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enxc84bd63372d4: DHCPv4 address 10.161.10.39/24, gateway 10.161.10.254 acquired from 172.27.129.1 Apr 08 08:55:19 debian systemd-networkd[1083]: enxc84bd63372d4: Gained IPv6LL
You probably have the same
.link
files as me because they are the default ones. The.network
files I use are custom though, for example:➜ ~ cat /etc/systemd/network/05-dock.network [Match] Name=enxc84bd63372d4 [Network] DHCP=yes
I hope this helps you a bit.