---
title: "xNIC dependencies"
slug: "how-to-determine-xnic-dependencies"
updated: 2025-12-23T15:05:48Z
published: 2025-12-23T15:05:48Z
canonical: "docs.swxtch.io/how-to-determine-xnic-dependencies"
stale: true
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.swxtch.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# xNIC dependencies

> [!NOTE]
> **WHAT TO EXPECT**
> 
> **In this article**, users will learn the dependencies for xNIC installation.

### Required Dependencies for xNIC on Linux

Certain operating systems require additional dependencies for xNIC installation. These **will** be installed on the VM by the installation script, if possible.

> [!WARNING]
> NOTE
> 
> On Linux VMs, the xNIC installer will try to download and install the requirements and dependencies, provided an internet connection is available. If the system is isolated from internet (called air-gap environment), the pre-requisites must be met in order for the installer to finish successfully. In that cases, users can consult the [How to Install xNIC Dependencies in an Air-Gapped Environment](/v2/docs/how-to-install-dependencies-in-an-air-gapped-environment) page.

#### Dependencies for Debian-based Linux

When using a Debian-based Linux (like Debian or Ubuntu), the install script for xNIC Type 1 and 2 will try to get the following packages and their dependencies to their latest available version (varying with the OS version, subversion, kernel, etc) using `APT`:

```plaintext
libpcap-dev
binutils
iproute2
linux-tools-generic
libatomic1
libnl-route-3-200
libarchive-dev
```

If the script is installing xNIC Type 3, it will also try to install:

```plaintext
libnuma-dev
libmnl-dev
python-is-python3
```

#### Dependencies for Red Hat-based Linux

When using a Red Hat-based distro (like Red Hat, Rocky, CentOS, Alma Linux, etc), the script will try to install the following packages and their dependencies using `YUM`:

```plaintext
libpcap
libatomic
libarchive
iproute-tc
bpftool
```

And if it’s an Amazon Linux VM, it will also try to install:

```plaintext
wget
```

### Dependencies for xNIC on Windows

None.

The Windows installer gets all the required dependencies from a local repository on the cloudSwXtch, so there’s no need to get any extra packages, and the script will also work when on an air-gap environment.