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Overview

Titled Network Interfaces — “Manage network interfaces attached to this instance”. One card per NIC.
Navigation: Compute → Virtual Machines → click a machine → Networking.

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What each NIC card shows

The default NIC carries a Default badge. The network name links through to the network itself.
While a NIC is being created you’ll see placeholder values — Allocating... for the addresses and Loading... for the network name. They resolve on their own.

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Row actions

Remove NIC and Set as Default are not offered on the default NIC — a machine must always have one. To replace the default, add the new NIC, Set as Default on it, then remove the old one.Changing the default NIC changes which network the machine routes through by default. If the machine reaches an external service over a specific network, verify that still works afterwards.

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Public IPs are display-only here

The Public IP (Static NAT) block shows a mapping but doesn’t let you change it. Assigning and unassigning happens in two other places:
  • The machine’s header actions — Assign Public IP / Unassign Public IP
  • The Overview section’s Network card
The full screen is Public IPs.
If the mapping data can’t be refreshed you’ll see:
Static NAT mappings could not be refreshed. Any public IP mappings shown are the last successfully loaded values and may be incomplete.
Treat what’s displayed as stale rather than authoritative. Don’t make a routing or firewall decision on it — check Public IPs directly.

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Restarting a network affects more than this machine

Restart Network restarts the network itself, not this machine’s interface. Every machine on that network is affected, not just this one.The action sits in a per-NIC menu, which makes it look machine-scoped. It isn’t.

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Common task: put a machine on a second network

1

Confirm the target network is in the same zone

A machine can only attach to networks in its own zone. See Regions and zones.
2

Add the NIC

Add Network, choosing the network. The card appears with Allocating... placeholders while it provisions.
3

Wait for real addresses

The IP Address and MAC Address fields resolving means the NIC is genuinely attached.
4

Decide whether it should be the default

Leave the original as default unless you specifically want traffic routed through the new network. If you do want that, Set as Default on the new NIC.
5

Configure the interface inside the machine

The platform attaches the NIC; the operating system still has to bring it up and route it.
Cloud images usually configure a new interface via DHCP on reboot. If it doesn’t appear, a reboot is the simplest fix.
6

Verify from the other network

Reach the machine’s new private address from something already on that network. If that fails, check the firewall policy governing it — policies are stateless and need rules in both directions.

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Empty and error states

Public IPs

Where mappings are actually managed.

VPC

The networks a machine can attach to.

Firewall Policies

What can actually reach the machine.

Overview tab

The other place to attach an address.