Virtual Network Interface

Virtual network interfaces are linked to a hardware device, but are not hardware devices.

A virtual network interface is generally associated with a physical network, another virtual interface, a loopback interface or other standalone interfaces.

Types of Virtual Network Interfaces

Type Example Description
Aliases eth4:5, eth4:6 Used to handle multiple IP-addresses per interface. Supported for backwards compatibility.
Bridges br0, br-lan Used to make multiple network interfaces behave as one network interface.
Stacked VLANs 10, 20 IEEE 802.1ad type network, using two or more tags in each packet.
Special purpose imq0, teql3 Used to change the order of outgoing or incoming network packets.
Tunnel interfaces pppoe-dsl, tun0, vpn1 Used to send packets over a tunneling protocol.
VLANs eth4.0, vlan0 Used to separate a network into multiple virtual networks.
Wireless operating mode virtual interfaces wlan0, ath3 A wireless subsystem created automatically for a wireless NIC master interface.