auto eth0:0
iface eth0:0 inet static
address 192.168.0.111
netmask 255.255.255.0
broadcast 192.168.0.255
gateway 192.168.0.1
Unfortunately, there is a known bug which prevent such configuration to work. Take a look here.
The first workaround that I figured out is by using /etc/rc.local script.
Add the following lines before exit(0) inside that script:
#################################
sleep 4 # This due to concurrency, set some delay in order for the networking to be set up properly first
ifconfig eth0:0 192.168.0.111 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255
# or use below command to replace above ifconfig command
# ip addr add 192.168.0.111 dev eth0
#################################
The second workaround is, IMHO, better. No sleep hack necessary, since upstart script is used instead of rc.local script.
Create /etc/init/network-interface-virtual.conf (or use different name as you like), with the following lines inside:
#################################
description "configure virtual network device"
respawn
console none
start on (net-device-up IFACE=eth0)
stop on runlevel [!12345]
script
exec ip addr add 192.168.0.111 dev eth0
# or use ifconfig command below
# ifconfig eth0:0 192.168.0.111 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255
end script
#################################
Reboot your system if necessary and everything is set and the virtual nic ip is ready to use. Oh, one more thing. There is also a bug (I think), which makes the virtual nic ip not showing with the ifconfig -a command. Just ping the virtual ip address to test whether it's up or not.
