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Assigning a Virtual MAC to an Additional IP

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Learn how to create a virtual MAC address and assign it to an Additional IP address.

OVHcloud allows you to associate a virtual MAC address with an IP address, so that you can set up virtual machines with a bridge configuration on your server.

Warning

NOTES:

  • This feature might be unavailable or limited on servers of the Eco product line. Please visit our comparison page for more information.
  • ADVANCE Gen 3 servers (powered by EPYC 4004) support 32 vMACs per server.
  • As of May 2025, this feature is available on the Scale and High Grade ranges. These ranges are also limited to 32 vMACs per server.

 

Requirements

Info

If you are not familiar with the OVHcloud API, please refer to our First Steps with the OVHcloud API guide.

 

Instructions

Warning

NOTE: If an IP block has been moved to the vRack, it is no longer assigned to a physical server. This means you cannot assign a virtual MAC address to any IP.

Assign a MAC address

Via the OVHcloud Control Panel

From the OVHcloud Control Panel, select Bare Metal Cloud from the top navigation bar. In the left-hand menu, click Network and then IP.

Use the filter functions beneath My public addresses and associated services to limit your results to Additional IPs.

To the right of your Additional IP address (or block), click the more options ... button and choose Add a virtual MAC.

IP additional more options add vmac

In the pop-up window, select a Type from the dropdown list, enter the Name of virtual machine, and then click Confirm.

Info

Type: Refers to the virtual MAC address type ('vmware' will be a MAC address made for the VMware ESXi system, while ‘ovh’ will be for any other type of virtualization system).

Name of virtual machine: Refers to the desired name for the virtual MAC address, in order to make it easy to identify this IP/MAC pair in the future.

IP add vmac OVHcloud

Info

Do not forget to assign the virtual MAC address created in your virtual machine configuration.

 

Via the OVHcloud API

Use the following API call:

POST/dedicated/server/{serviceName}/virtualMac/{macAddress}/virtualAddress/{ipAddress}

 

Delete a MAC address

Warning

NOTE: When a MAC address is deleted, it will not be recoverable.

Via the OVHcloud Control Panel

To remove a virtual MAC address associated with an additional IP, you must first connect to your OVHcloud Control Panel. Once connected, go to the Bare Metal Cloud section and open the IP menu. Select the correct server so that the additional IP (or IP block) attached to it appears.

Finally, click on the more options ... button on the right, then click Delete a Virtual MAC.

IP additional more options delete vmac

In the pop-up window, click Confirm.

 

Via the OVHcloud API

Use the following API call:

DELETE/dedicated/server/{serviceName}/virtualMac/{macAddress}/virtualAddress/{ipAddress}

 

FAQ

What happens if I move a block with vMACs on a 3rd generation Advance server (powered by an EPYC 4004 Series processor) that already has 32 vMACs?

The block will not be moved. For example, if you try to move a block of four IPs with different vMACs attached on a server that already has 30 vMACs, the block will not be moved because the total vMACs would be greater than the 32 vMACs allowed.

 

Go further

Browse all the Dedicated Servers guides.

Browse the rest of the OVHcloud US documentation for guides on our other products and services.

Learn more about Dedicated Servers on the OVHcloud US website.