Why does the default switch IP address change? There are several causes that can lead to this. How to set a static IP in Hyper-V is what we need to figure out, because it’s critical to handling virtual environment.
How to prevent the IP address of hyper-v virtual switch from being changed?
After I have restarted the laptop, the IP address of the hyper-v virtual switch was changed. I couldn't reconnect to VM ubuntu anymore because the VM ubuntu was configured with a static IP and default gateway based on the old IP of the virtual switch. So, is there any way to prevent the IP address of the virtual switch from being changed? Or some way to add name resolving mechanism to Hyper-V virtual switch (then I can configure using dynamic IP address in VMs)?
- Question from Stack Overflow
The Hyper-V default switch IP address can provide network address translation (NAT) for connected virtual machines to create access to external networks. But why Hyper-V default switch IP address keeps changing, the following describes three possible causes of IP address changes.
1. Dynamic IP Assignment
After creating a virtual machine, and rebooting or reconnecting the VM, the default switch can assign it a different IP address.
2. Network Configuration Changes
The default switch may reevaluate its network when the underlying network configuration changes, which can cause the network configuration to assign a new IP address.
3. System Reboots
When you reboot the host or Hyper-V server it may cause the default switch configuration to change, which may assign different IP addresses to the virtual machines.
The issue of the Hyper-V default switch IP address constantly changing can be detrimental, especially in environments where the stability of the network connection is critical, so it is important to set a static IP. The next section provides detailed steps for setting up a stable IP in Hyper-V.
Step 1. Search for Hyper-V Manager in the Start menu and open it.
Step 2. After opening, find and select the VM that you want to set a static IP
Step 3. Right-click the VM, and select Connect to open the VM’s console.
Step 4. Log in to the VM, in the search bar to search the Control Panel, and click Network and Internet to go to Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
Step 5. Right-click the network adapter connected to the default switch or the desired virtual switch and select Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).
Step 6. Then select Use the following IP address, and enter the IP address, Subnet mask, and Default gateway. Also, you can specify the alternate DNS servers. Then click OK.
Step 7. Open Command Prompt to check your static IP address is displayed correctly.
To minimize the problems associated with changing IP addresses, you can try the following strategies to manage changed IP addresses .
1. Static IP Configuration
If the virtual machine requires a consistent IP address, you might consider using a static IP to keep the same IP address always used.
2. Use of External Virtual Switches
You can create an external virtual machine switch in Hyper-V that connects to a physical network adapter to have more control over IP allocation.
3. Monitoring and Alerts
You can track IP address changes within virtual machines, which can help you determine when changes have occurred and alert on time.
Although changing the IP address of the Hyper-V default switch does not directly lead to data loss, it can cause interrupted connections, configuration issues, and other problems that may put data at risk of being lost. In this case, it is very important to have backup software, AOMEI Cyber Backup is a professional backup software to protect data from loss.
AOMEI Cyber Backup offers automated Hyper-V backup solutions and cloud storage to further enhance the reliability and accessibility of backup data. With AOMEI Cyber Backup, you can also enjoy the following benefits and features:
🔰User-friendly Software: It’s an easy-to-use software with an intuitive interface. 🔰Agentless Backup: It creates a complete standalone image-level backup of an entire VMware virtual machine, eliminating the need to install an agent on each virtual machine. 🔰Cloud Archive: It adds cloud storage for you, such as an Amazon S3 storage bucket, and then backup your data to Amazon S3 storage. 🔰Centralized Management: It simplifies the VM backup and restore process by creating and managing Hyper-V VM backups from a central console. 🔰Email Notification: It monitors the status of Hyper-V backups and sends email notifications when a task is completed or an exception is raised.
Step 1. Bind Device: Open the AOMEI Cyber Backup web client, and navigate to Source Device > Hyper-V > + Add Hyper-V to bind the Hyper-V host, then enter Device Information and User Information, and click Confirm.
Step 2. Create Backup Task: Navigate to Backup Task > Create New Task, and set up Task Name, Backup Type, Device, Target, Schedule, and Cleanup.
Device: You can select the virtual machine that you want to back up on the Hyper-V host.
Target: You can select to backup to a local path, or to a network path.
Schedule: You can choose to perform full, or incremental backup, and automate execution daily, weekly, or monthly according to the frequency you specified.
Cleanup: You can perform automatic deletion of old backup copies that have exceeded the specified retention period.
Step 3. Start Backup: Click Start Backup and select Add the schedule and start backup now, or Add the schedule only.
Step 4. Restore: You can restore a virtual machine from any selected backup history. When a Hyper-V VM fails, it's easy to restore the VM by clicking Restore to original location.
The Hyper-V default switch provides a simple way for virtual machines to connect to external networks, but this can result in IP address changes. You can also utilize a static IP or external virtual switch to better control the networking environment in Hyper-V.