VMware: configuring a static MAC address in a VM

Original article from http://virtrix.blogspot.com/2007/04/vmware-configuring-static-mac-address.html

Sometimes it can be necessary to configure a static MAC address in a VM. A typical issue during P2V is an application that has its licensing based on the MAC address.

VMware has defined that VirtualCenter does not use the following range: 00:50:56:00:00:00 to 00:50:56:3F:FF:FF where 00:50:56 is the OUI.

The steps:

1. Power off & remove the server from the VirtualCenter inventory. This is a necessary step, because VC will overwrite your settings during Power On!
2. Edit the .vmx file and locate the following generated MAC address:
Ethernet0.addressType =
and
Ethernet0.generatedAddress =
3. Change the value for ethernet0.addressType from “vpx” to “static”
4. Change ethernet0.GeneratedAddress to ethernet0.Address
5. Change the current MAC to a MAC address in the following range:
00:50:56:00:00:00-00:50:56:3F:FF:FF
6. In VirtualCenter, select an ESX host and go to storage
7. Browse the data store & locate your VM
8. Right-click on the .vmx file, and select Add to inventory
9. Power On the server. Issue the command ipconfig /all and locate the VMware NIC. Your manually assigned MAC address should be there.

I know you can set your MAC address inside Windows, but I would avoid this.