Knowledgebase

Static routes tell your server exactly how to reach specific networks, overriding the default gateway for those destinations — useful for VPN configurations, multi-network setups, or directing traffic to specific paths deliberately.

Understanding Routing Basics

By default, traffic to any destination not on the local network goes through the default gateway. A static route creates an exception: traffic to a specific network/host goes through a different path instead.

Step 1 — View the Current Routing Table

ip route show

Shows existing routes, including the default gateway (marked default) and any local network routes automatically configured.

Step 2 — Add a Temporary Static Route (Testing)

sudo ip route add 192.168.50.0/24 via 10.100.0.2

Routes traffic destined for the 192.168.50.0/24 network through 10.100.0.2 (perhaps a VPN gateway or another server) instead of the default gateway.

Step 3 — Test the Route

ping 192.168.50.10

traceroute 192.168.50.10

Confirm traffic is actually taking the expected path.

Step 4 — Make the Route Persistent (Netplan)

sudo nano /etc/netplan/50-cloud-init.yaml

network:
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      routes:
        - to: 192.168.50.0/24
          via: 10.100.0.2

sudo netplan apply

Adding a Route to a Single Host (Not an Entire Subnet)

sudo ip route add 203.0.113.50/32 via 10.100.0.2

Removing a Route

sudo ip route del 192.168.50.0/24

Common Use Case: Routing Through a Site-to-Site VPN

After setting up a site-to-site VPN (see How to Set Up a Site-to-Site VPN Between Two VPS Servers), a static route ensures traffic to the remote site's subnet is correctly directed through the tunnel rather than attempted over the public internet directly.

Verifying Which Route a Specific Destination Uses

ip route get 192.168.50.10

Shows exactly which route/interface would be used for that specific destination, useful for confirming configuration without generating actual traffic.

Common Errors

Route added but traffic still uses the default path — verify there isn't a more specific conflicting route already present (more specific routes/longer prefixes take precedence), and double check the exact syntax and via address.

Route doesn't survive a reboot — the route was added with ip route add directly (temporary) rather than defined in the persistent Netplan configuration.

Best Practices

• Always test routes temporarily before making them persistent, to catch mistakes before they survive a reboot
• Document why each static route exists — non-obvious routing configuration is easy to forget the reasoning behind later
• Keep out-of-band console access available when testing routing changes on a remote server

Continue Reading

• How to Set Up a Site-to-Site VPN Between Two VPS Servers
• How to Bond Multiple Network Interfaces for Redundancy
• How to Configure Multiple IP Addresses on One VPS

Browse more articles in Advanced Networking & VPN.