When setting up a network within Oracle VM Manager you have the option to configure the IP addressing mechanism that should be used for each Oracle VM Server and also for each virtual machine. There are three options, None, DHCP, and Static. Setting the IP addressing mechanism to None leaves the IP addressing for the network unconfigured. If you choose to make use of DHCP to automatically assign IP addresses to servers or virtual machines within a network, you must ensure that a DHCP server is set up and available within your Oracle VM environment. Oracle VM Manager does not function as a DHCP server by itself. In order for DHCP to function properly, the DHCP server must be connected to the physical network ports that you have specified for each Oracle VM Server within the network. Furthermore, it is important that your DHCP is configured to assign static IP addresses to interfaces on your Oracle VM Servers, since there is a requirement that the IP address for an Oracle VM Server does not change. The behavior of the Oracle VM Server host is undefined if used in an environment where your IP address may change due to DHCP lease expiry.

If using static IP addresses for your Oracle VM Servers or virtual machines, Oracle VM Manager automatically configures the network parameters for each Oracle VM Server or virtual machine, via the Oracle VM Agent, according to the IP address, netmask and gateway that you specify for each server or virtual machine within Oracle VM Manager.

When configuring network bridges, or networks that solely function as virtual machine networks, it is possible to not specify an IP addressing mechanism for the bridge. In this case, the bridge functions as a Layer 2 switch for the virtual machines making use of it. See Section 5.6.5.1, “Network Bridges” for more information on this.