2/7/2017 KVM libvirt assign static guest IP addresses using DHCP on the virtual machine

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KVM libvirt assign static guest IP addresses using

DHCP on the virtual machine
by V IV E K GITE on MA RCH 16, 2016 las t updat ed MA RCH 16, 2016
in CE NTOS , DE B IA N / UB UNTU, LINUX, LINUX K V M, RE DHAT A ND FRIE NDS , V IRTUA LIZATION

I am using KVM/libvirt on Linux operating system and how do I assign

static IP address using dnsmasq dhcpd server for my default virtual
network switch?

By default, an instance of dnsmasq dhcpd server is automatically configured and started by

libvirt for each virtual network switch needing it. Each virtual network switch can given a range
of IP addresses provided to guests through DHCP. The default networking switch uses
dnsmasq server.

Fig.01: Libvirt uses a program, dnsmasq for DNS and DHCP for default network.

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View the current dnsmasq DHCP configuration

Type the following command to list networks

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# virsh net-list

Sample outputs:

Name State Autostart Persistent

----------------------------------------------------------
default active yes yes

To see the default network information, enter:

# virsh net-dumpxml default

Sample outputs:

<network connections='2'>
<name>default</name>
<uuid>e346291e-f86b-4f2f-a16e-654136441805</uuid>
<forward mode='nat'>
<nat>
<port start='1024' end='65535'/>
</nat>
</forward>
<bridge name='virbr0' stp='on' delay='0'/>
<mac address='52:54:00:12:fe:35'/>
<ip address='192.168.122.1' netmask='255.255.255.0'>
<dhcp>
<range start='192.168.122.100' end='192.168.122.254'/>
</dhcp>
</ip>
</network>

The DHCP range is between 192.168.122.100 and 192.168.122.254.

How to configure static guest IP addresses on the VM host

First find out your guest VMs MAC addresses, enter:

# virsh dumpxml {VM-NAME-HERE} | grep -i '<mac'

# virsh dumpxml xenial | grep -i '<mac'

Sample outputs:

<mac address='52:54:00:4c:40:1c'/>

Please note down the MAC addresses of the xenial VM that you want to assign static IP
addresses.

Edit the default network

Type the following command:

# virsh net-edit default

Find the following section:

<dhcp>
<range start='192.168.122.100' end='192.168.122.254'/>

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2/7/2017 KVM libvirt assign static guest IP addresses using DHCP on the virtual machine

Append the static IP as follows after range:

<host mac='52:54:00:4c:40:1c' name='xenial' ip='192.168.122.4'/>

Where,

1. mac='52:54:00:4c:40:1c' VMs mac address

2. name='xenial' VMs name.
3. ip='192.168.122.4' VMs static IP.

Here is my complete file with three static DHCP entries for three VMs:

<network>
<name>default</name>
<uuid>e346291e-f86b-4f2f-a16e-654136441805</uuid>
<forward mode='nat'/>
<bridge name='virbr0' stp='on' delay='0'/>
<mac address='52:54:00:12:fe:35'/>
<ip address='192.168.122.1' netmask='255.255.255.0'>
<dhcp>
<range start='192.168.122.100' end='192.168.122.254'/>
<host mac='52:54:00:a0:cc:19' name='centos7' ip='192.168.122.2'/>
<host mac='52:54:00:f7:a1:c8' name='puffy' ip='192.168.122.3'/>
<host mac='52:54:00:4c:40:1c' name='xenial' ip='192.168.122.4'/>
</dhcp>
</ip>
</network>

Restart DHCP service:

# virsh net-destroy default

# virsh net-start default

Sample outputs:

Network default destroyed

Network default started

If you are running the guest/VM called xenial shutdown it:

# virsh shutdown xenial

# /etc/init.d/libvirt-bin restart
# virsh start xenial
# ping -a 192.168.122.4

Sample outputs:

PING 192.168.122.4 (192.168.122.4) 56(84) bytes of data.

64 bytes from 192.168.122.4: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.518 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.122.4: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.202 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.122.4: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.327 ms
^C
--- 192.168.122.4 ping statistics ---
3 packets transmitted, 3 received, 0% packet loss, time 1999ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.202/0.349/0.518/0.129 ms

Each time the guest or VM called xenial comes online (or rebooted for the kernel update) it will
get 192.168.122.4 as static IP address by dnsmasq DHCP server.

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