1

We have a requirement to configure bridge on SLES host and add it for KVM guest as bridge mode for public IP.

In this case, Is it mandatory to have ip on the bridge interface of the SLES host

MOBIN TM
  • 33

1 Answers1

2

No, but also yes:

A bridge interface will still function as a bridge even if it does not have an IP address. (Bridges do not use IP addresses; they forward packets at MAC layer.)

But the interface would need an IP address if the host OS itself needs to participate in the network connected to that interface. (For example, if you want to be able to SSH into the SLES system through eth0, but eth0 was made a member of the br0 bridge, then br0 (not eth0!) needs an IP address.)

So if you're asking "must the host's own address go on the bridge as opposed to one of its physical interfaces", then yes. If you're asking "does the bridge need an IP address in general in order to work as a bridge", then no.

QEMU also supports using "macvtap" configuration, which can attach directly to an Ethernet interface and doesn't require manual bridge setup.

In some situations, Proxy-ARP can be used as an alternative to bridging, making the network think that the VMs are bridged while in reality the host OS is still acting as a router.

grawity
  • 501,077