VMware vSphere SDKs and Tools 8.0

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Resetting the Network Stack in a Linux Virtual Machine
Last Updated December 16, 2024

When you change network settings in an instant clone, you must reset the network stack of the virtual NIC to adopt the new settings. For a Linux guest operating system, you must unbind and rebind the network driver so it adopts a new MAC address.
The following shell script rebinds all network drivers: 
#!/bin/bash
for NETDEV in /sys/class/net/*
do
  DEV_LABEL=`basename \`readlink -f $NETDEV/device\``
  DEV_DRIVR=`basename \`readlink -f $NETDEV/device/driver\``
  echo $DEV_LABEL > /sys/bus/pci/drivers/$DEV_DRIVR/unbind
  echo $DEV_LABEL > /sys/bus/pci/drivers/$DEV_DRIVR/bind
done
If the guest operating system was configured to use DHCP, you must also force a DHCP refresh after the MAC addresses refresh has completed.
Tip: Avoid resetting the network stack in the guest operating system while you are working over a network connection, such as SSH. You can run the shell commands to reset the stack as part of a customization script installed in the guest operating system of the source virtual machine before running the instant clone operation.

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