Facing the same issue but with dhcp and on ubuntu 16.04 VM. $ lsb_release -a No LSB modules are available. Distributor ID: Ubuntu Description: Ubuntu 16.04.3 LTS Release: 16.04 Codename: xenial Just after initial launch of VM, it's not accessible. /run/network/ifstate files for interfaces are locked by ifup which only gets released and dhcp probe begins when networking service is restarted. After this VM becomes accessible. $ cat /etc/network/interfaces # This file describes the network interfaces available on your system # and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5). source /etc/network/interfaces.d/* # The loopback network interface auto lo iface lo inet loopback # The primary network interface auto ens3 iface ens3 inet dhcp auto ens4 iface ens4 inet dhcp auto ens5 iface ens5 inet dhcp After initial launch (VM not accessible) ----------------------------------------- $ grep -nri "ifup" /var/log/syslog 20691:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Started ifup for ens5. 20692:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Started ifup for ens3. 20693:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Started ifup for ens4. 20990:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest ifup[1076]: /sbin/ifup: waiting for lock on /run/network/ifstate.ens 3 21001:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest ifup[1076]: /sbin/ifup: waiting for lock on /run/network/ifstate.ens 4 21002:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest ifup[1076]: /sbin/ifup: waiting for lock on /run/network/ifstate.ens 5 21004:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Started Raise network interfaces. 21005:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Reached target Network. 21015:Oct 26 03:10:43 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Reached target Network is Online. After network restart (VM becomes accessible) --------------------------------------------- $ less /var/log/syslog Oct 26 03:34:34 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Stopping Raise network interfaces... Oct 26 03:34:34 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2125]: Killed old client process Oct 26 03:34:34 IansUbunturequest ifdown[2104]: Killed old client process Oct 26 03:34:36 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2166]: DHCPRELEASE on ens3 to 10.64.247.13 port 67 (xid=0x6a1fe99f) Oct 26 03:34:36 IansUbunturequest ifdown[2104]: DHCPRELEASE on ens3 to 10.64.247.13 port 67 (xid=0x6a1fe99f) Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Stopped Raise network interfaces. Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest systemd[1]: Starting Raise network interfaces... Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest ifup[2249]: DHCPDISCOVER on ens3 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3 (xid=0x9fd17b39) Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: Sending on LPF/ens3/fa:16:3e:5e:13:fb Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: Sending on Socket/fallback Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest ifup[2249]: DHCPREQUEST of 10.64.247.24 on ens3 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 (xid=0x397bd19f) Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest ifup[2249]: DHCPOFFER of 10.64.247.24 from 10.64.247.13 Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: DHCPDISCOVER on ens3 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 3 (xid=0x9fd17b39) Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: DHCPREQUEST of 10.64.247.24 on ens3 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 (xid=0x397bd19f) Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: DHCPOFFER of 10.64.247.24 from 10.64.247.13 Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest ifup[2249]: DHCPACK of 10.64.247.24 from 10.64.247.13 Oct 26 03:34:37 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: DHCPACK of 10.64.247.24 from 10.64.247.13 Oct 26 03:34:38 IansUbunturequest dhclient[2263]: bound to 10.64.247.24 -- renewal in 4287 seconds. Oct 26 03:34:38 IansUbunturequest ifup[2249]: bound to 10.64.247.24 -- renewal in 4287 seconds.