Windows - Unidentified network on each reboot

[Balanca]

Hi,

Since about 1 year I always have the same error with Windows guets (Windows 2012R2 and Windows 2016, I didn't use other flavours): on each reboot, Windows says the network is unidentified. So the network card is named "Ethernet 8" then "Ethernet 9" then "Etherne 10" etc.

Hosts are Debian Jessie, and Proxmox installed following the very simple official guide

I have the same behaviour:

• with Intel E1000 or the paravirtualised drivers (I had not tested others)
• on all our 3 hosts
• with all our Windows guests. Test, prod, no exception
• with guests installed 1 year ago, and guest installed today on a fresh host

I searched the web and did not found anything valuable.
As it is occuring to me every time, either I make a mistake, either it is common. But as Google give me nothing, I suspect a mistake.

 

[ekin06]

Try to delay the Start of Service "NLA (Network Location Awareness)".

This may have to do with slow network connections.

 

[SimonMcNair]

https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com...nown-by-windows-vista-or-windows-server-2008/

[edit]
This may mean different DHCP server, different gateway ip address, different mac address of the router.

Alternatively if you are getting different network cards, it would be worth checking that you virtual machines are in bridged mode and have a MAC address specified.
If the mac address is the same for all of the vm's that would also probably cause an issue

 

[Balanca]

I delayed the start of "NLA (Network Location Awareness)" and confirm this solve the problem.

sc config nlasvc start= delayed-auto

So this seem to be some race condition.

I use a bridge. The IP address is static. The guest MAC does not change. The host bridge MAC does not change. No DHCP server at all.

 

[neobenedict]

If you are using a vmbr0, you need to give it a static mac address or windows thinks it is a new router every time you reboot the VM (and thus restarting the vmbr0 if nothing else uses it):

add to /etc/systemd/network/100-static-vmbr0.link (rename as you want, eg vmbr1, or lower the number at the start if you have other files in that directory)

[Match]
OriginalName=vmbr0

[Link]
MACAddress=ab:cd:12:34:56:78

For example, then initramfs -u. Also can be added to /etc/network/interfaces (I do both):

auto vmbr0
iface vmbr0 inet static
        address 192.168.1.1
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        bridge_ports none
        bridge_stp off
        bridge_fd 0
        hwaddress ether ab:cd:12:34:56:78

Should fix the problem.

 

[SOlangsam]

Thanks Guys!
There was one more step to do for me - disable IPv6 on the guest machines.