6.5.1

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Range-based allocation
After the MAC address is generated, it does not change unless the virtual machine's MAC address
conflicts with that of another registered virtual machine. The MAC address is saved in the configuration
file of the virtual machine.
Note If you use invalid prefix- or range-based allocation values, an error is logged in the vpxd.log file.
vCenter Server does not allocate MAC addresses when provisioning a virtual machine.
Preventing MAC Address Conflicts
The MAC address of a powered off virtual machine is not checked against the addresses of running or
suspended virtual machines.
When a virtual machine is powered on again, it might acquire a different MAC address. The change might
be caused by an address conflict with another virtual machine. While this virtual machine has been
powered off, its MAC address has been assigned to another virtual machine that has been powered on.
If you reconfigure the network adapter of a powered off virtual machine, for example, by changing the
automatic MAC address allocation type or setting a static MAC address, vCenter Server resolves MAC
address conflicts before the adapter reconfiguration takes effect.
For information about resolving MAC address conflicts, see the vSphere Troubleshooting documentation.
VMware OUI Allocation
VMware Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) allocation assigns MAC addresses based on the default
VMware OUI 00:50:56 and the vCenter Server ID.
VMware OUI allocation is the default MAC address assignment model for virtual machines. The allocation
works with up to 64 vCenter Server instances, and each vCenter Server can assign up to 64000 unique
MAC addresses. The VMware OUI allocation scheme is suitable for small scale deployments.
MAC Address Format
According to the VMware OUI allocation scheme, a MAC address has the format 00:50:56:XX:YY:ZZ
where 00:50:56 represents the VMware OUI, XX is calculated as (80 + vCenter Server ID), and YY and
ZZ are random two-digit hexadecimal numbers.
The addresses created through the VMware OUI allocation are in the range 00:50:56:80:YY:ZZ -
00:50:56:BF:YY:ZZ.
Prefix-Based MAC Address Allocation
On ESXi hosts 5.1 and later, you can use prefix-based allocation to specify an OUI other than the default
one 00:50:56 by VMware, or to introduce Locally Administered MAC Addresses (LAA) for a larger
address space.
vSphere Networking
VMware, Inc. 203