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To create a NetworkManager bridge, add a bridge connection profile, then add a separate Ethernet connection profile for each interface and set the bridge as its controller. Replace the sample connection and interface names below with those used on your Linux host.
What you need before creating the bridge
This procedure creates persistent NetworkManager connection profiles: one for the bridge and one for each Ethernet interface attached to it. The examples use br0 for the bridge and enp1s0 and enp2s0 for Ethernet interfaces. These are example names, not names guaranteed to exist on your system.
Identify the interfaces you intend to bridge and confirm their actual names on the target host before running the commands. Check the appropriate documentation for your Linux distribution and NetworkManager version for interface discovery, remote-session cutover, and recovery steps; those details vary by system.
How to create a network bridge with nmcli
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Create the bridge connection profile:
nmcli connection add type bridge con-name br0 ifname br0 -
Add an Ethernet connection profile for the first interface, assigning the bridge as its controller:
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nmcli connection add type ethernet con-name br0-port1 ifname enp1s0 controller br0 -
Repeat for each additional Ethernet interface. For example:
nmcli connection add type ethernet con-name br0-port2 ifname enp2s0 controller br0
The bridge connection name and interface name can be the same, as in this example, but they are separate values in the command. Likewise, each port profile needs its own connection name and the actual interface name to attach.
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How to set bridge options such as STP
NetworkManager exposes bridge settings through the bridge connection profile. For example, this command disables Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) on the profile named br0:
nmcli connection modify br0 bridge.stp noThat is an example of changing a setting, not a general recommendation. STP helps protect bridged networks from loops; whether to enable or disable it depends on the network design. Do not copy an example setting without checking the behavior you need.
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Other configurable bridge-port behaviors include hairpin mode, STP path cost and priority, and VLAN membership. Use these only when the network requires them, and consult the settings reference for the installed NetworkManager version: NetworkManager bridge settings.
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For new connection profiles, the current NetworkManager example uses controller to associate an Ethernet profile with the bridge. Older NetworkManager documentation and commands may use master; the nmcli reference marks the bridge-slave Ethernet type with master as deprecated. Match the syntax to the NetworkManager release installed on the host, and avoid mixing the older and current forms in one procedure.
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See the current bridge example in the NetworkManager nmcli examples and the versioned command details in the nmcli reference.
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