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Recipe: Persistent Network Configuration in WSL 2 using Hyper-V Virtual Switch

Problem Description

Connecting to services running in WSL 2 from external sources can be challenging due to the instances being on a different network. This guide offers a solution to replace the internal virtual switch of WSL 2 with an external version in Windows 20H2 (WSL 2.0) and configure it for better networking control.

Unfortunately the original recipe doesn't work in Windows 10 (at least for me) because setting networkingMode = bridged causes an error at WSL boot. Apparently bridged networking mode stopped working with WSL version 2.1.5.0

Solution Overview

This recipe uses a Hyper-V virtual switch to bridge the WSL 2 network, providing improved control and visibility of Windows' network adapters within Ubuntu. The configuration supports both dynamic and static IP addressing, eliminating the need for port forwarding and simplifying network setup.

Steps

  1. Enable Hyper-V and Management PowerShell Features:

    • Open PowerShell as administrator and run: 
      Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V-Management-PowerShell

  2. Change WSL Virtual Switch to External in Hyper-V:

    • Open PowerShell as administrator and run:

      Get-NetAdapter -Physical

      image

      Set-VMSwitch "WSL" -NetAdapterName "Wired"

    • If the above commmand fails, do it via Hyper-V manager / Virtual Switch Manager: image

      Sometimes it fails and shows strange error messages. If you close and reopen the Virtual Switch Manager you will find that the WSL virtual switch has changed to "Private network"; try again to set it to "External network" and it should work this time. Sometimes you have to manually set it to "Private network" beforehand.

    • Verify:

      Get-VMSwitch

      image

  3. Modify the WSL Configuration:

    • Do not use networkingMode = bridged in the .wslconfig file in your user profile directory (%USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig).
    • Instead, use networkingMode = NAT (the default) or remove it altogether.

  4. Enable systemd in the WSL Distribution and flush ip configuration at boot:

    • Edit the /etc/wsl.conf file in your WSL distribution and add the following lines: 
      [boot]
systemd=true
# remove NAT related ip configuration applied by WSL at boot
command = ip address flush dev eth0 # see networkctl command output for the interface name, assuming eth0 here
[network]
generateResolvConf = false

  5. Configure Network Addressing:

    • Enable systemd-networkd service:
    sudo systemctl stop NetworkManager; sudo systemctl disable NetworkManager # in case NetworkManager service is present and enabled
sudo systemctl enable systemd-networkd
sudo mkdir /etc/systemd/network
networkctl # display the available network interfaces, assuming eth0 here
    • For dynamic address configuration, ensure the following is present in /etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network:
    [Match]
Name=eth0
[Network]
DHCP=yes

    An empty /etc/systemd/network directory should be equivalent to the above settings.

    • For static address configuration, use: 
      [Match]
Name=eth0
[Network]
Address=192.168.w.x/24
Gateway=192.168.w.y # usually y=1
DNS=192.168.w.z # usually z=y
    • Restart systemd-networkd and check IP configuration 
      sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd
sudo systemctl status systemd-networkd
networkctl
ip addr show eth0
ip route
    • Source

  6. Enable domain names resolution via resolved:

    • Enable systemd-resolved service: 
      sudo systemctl enable systemd-resolved
sudo systemctl start systemd-resolved
    • Create a symbolic link to link resolv.conf from systemd: 
      ln -sfv /run/systemd/resolve/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf

  7. Final verification:

  • Restart the WSL 2 instance and verify the network configuration with: 
    ip addr show eth0
ip route