server wont connect to network; cannot find device eth0

Question

ive looked through several of posts here on related issues and the attempts ive made all seem to lead to the same result, that eth0 is not configured or discoverable.

i have a new 17.04 server, on a laptop which had successful wifi connection. wifi light wont come on. when i ping google, it says 'name or service not known'. have no wired access to connect to until tomorrow. i do have a live usb of the installer available to boot into recovery mode if that would help.

some results so far;

sudo ifup eth0

results;

internet systems consortorium DHCP client 4.3.5.
.
.
.
can not find device "eth0"
error getting hardware address for "eth0": no such device
.
.
failed to bring up eth0

also; sudo ifdown eth0 results ifdown:interface eth0 not configured

also; sudo ifconfig eth0 up result; eth0 error while getting interface flags: no such device

some shots from other results;

also the above photo i added the lines "#the primary network interface, auto eth0 iface eth0 inet dhcp"

also photo from ifconfig -a

also sorry im not knowledgeable of networking really

Solution

I suggest that you edit the file /etc/network/interfaces to replace the eth0 entry with wlp3s0 and add the SSID and encryption details, like this:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto wlp3s0
iface wlp3s0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid <your_router>
wpa-psk <your_wpa_key>

So that you can ssh and ftp into it, I actually recommend a static address, not DHCP, however, let's get connected first and then proceed.

Reboot and tell us if you are connected:

ping -c3 www.ubuntu.com

EDIT:

If you wish to use ethernet as you indicated in your comments, then the sequence is:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto enp2s0f0
iface enp2s0f0 inet dhcp

Reboot.

Comments

[chili555]

As you can see, your ethernet interface is enp2s0f0, not eth0. As ethernet is not available, let's concentrate on wireless.

[user74091]

ok that makes sense, however if i need my router information i dont have access to that here... am at work. will have to do that tomorrow when i get home i think

[user74091]

can i use the ssid thing from my home router and it work here on another network? i wouldnt think so, but i only ask because would i need to edit this file ever time i hook up to another network?

[chili555]

If you are going to be mobile with a server, then yes. If you really need to change locations regularly then I'd suggest a desktop installation, not server, so you can use Network Manager.

[user74091]

no this is going to be a server that stays at home, i brought it to work only today to get it working and ran into this issue

[chili555]

If you are using wireless at home, then this is the recommended method. If you are using ethernet at home, then I will edit the answer.

[user74091]

i will be using ethernet at home, however i do want to understand why the wireless is not working.

[chili555]

I will edit my answer tomorrow.

[user74091]

I edited the /etc/network/interfaces to reflect the above and I still am not able to ping, however a "start job is running for Raise network interfaces" that takes like 5 minutes at start up

[user74091]

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

[chili555]

If my answer and chat have been useful, please accept it: askubuntu.com/tour