Creating Multiple Multipass VMs with Static IP Addresses

README.md

Creating Multiple Multipass VMs with Static IP Addresses

See more details at https://blog.andygol.co.ua/en/2025/12/26/static-ip-for-multipass-vm/

Option A: Quick Creation with Different IPs

# VM 1 - 10.10.0.10
cat > vm1.yaml << 'EOF'
#cloud-config
write_files:
  - path: /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml
    content: |
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          enp0s2:
            addresses:
              - 10.10.0.10/24
            routes:
              - to: 10.10.0.0/24
                scope: link
    permissions: '0600'
runcmd:
  - netplan apply
hostname: vm1
EOF

# VM 2 - 10.10.0.11
cat > vm2.yaml << 'EOF'
#cloud-config
write_files:
  - path: /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml
    content: |
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          enp0s2:
            addresses:
              - 10.10.0.11/24
            routes:
              - to: 10.10.0.0/24
    permissions: '0600'
runcmd:
  - netplan apply
hostname: vm2
EOF

# VM 3 - 10.10.0.12
cat > vm3.yaml << 'EOF'
#cloud-config
write_files:
  - path: /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml
    content: |
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          enp0s2:
            addresses:
              - 10.10.0.12/24
            routes:
              - to: 10.10.0.0/24
    permissions: '0600'
runcmd:
  - netplan apply
hostname: vm3
EOF

# Launch all VMs
multipass launch --name vm1 --network name=en0,mode=manual --cloud-init vm1.yaml
multipass launch --name vm2 --network name=en0,mode=manual --cloud-init vm2.yaml
multipass launch --name vm3 --network name=en0,mode=manual --cloud-init vm3.yaml

# Wait for completion
sleep 30

# Add alias to bridge101
sudo ifconfig bridge101 10.10.0.1/24 alias

# Check all VMs
multipass list

Option B: Script for Automatic Creation

#!/bin/bash
# Create file: create-vms.sh

BASE_IP="10.10.0"
START_NUM=10
COUNT=3

for i in $(seq 0 $((COUNT-1))); do
    VM_NAME="vm$((i+1))"
    VM_IP="$BASE_IP.$((START_NUM+i))"

    cat > ${VM_NAME}.yaml << EOF
#cloud-config
write_files:
  - path: /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml
    content: |
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          enp0s2:
            addresses:
              - ${VM_IP}/24
            routes:
              - to: ${BASE_IP}.0/24
    permissions: '0600'
runcmd:
  - netplan apply
hostname: ${VM_NAME}
EOF

    echo "Creating $VM_NAME with IP $VM_IP"
    multipass launch --name $VM_NAME --cloud-init ${VM_NAME}.yaml
done

echo "Waiting for cloud-init to complete..."
sleep 30

TARGET_BRIDGE=$(ifconfig -v | grep -B 20 "member: vmenet" | grep "bridge" | awk -F: '{print $1}' | tail -n 1)

if [ -z "$TARGET_BRIDGE" ]; then
    echo "Error: Bridge not found. Check if VM is running."
else
    echo "VM found on $TARGET_BRIDGE. Assigning $BASE_IP.1..."
    sudo ifconfig $TARGET_BRIDGE $BASE_IP.1/24 alias
fi

echo "VM List:"
multipass list

Run:

chmod +x create-vms.sh
./create-vms.sh

Checking Connectivity Between VMs

# From vm1 to others
multipass exec -n vm1 -- ping -c 2 10.10.0.11
multipass exec -n vm1 -- ping -c 2 10.10.0.12

# From vm2 to others
multipass exec -n vm2 -- ping -c 2 10.10.0.10
multipass exec -n vm2 -- ping -c 2 10.10.0.12

# From host to all
for ip in 10.10.0.10 10.10.0.11 10.10.0.12; do
    echo "Ping $ip:"
    ping -c 2 $ip
done

---

Removing Static IP from Individual VM

Option 1: Remove Only Additional IP (Keep VM)

# Remove static IP from VM
multipass exec -n test-vm -- sudo ip addr del 10.10.0.10/24 dev enp0s2

# Check
multipass exec -n test-vm -- ip addr show enp0s2

# VM remains with DHCP IP

Option 2: Remove via Netplan (Permanent)

# Remove configuration file
multipass exec -n test-vm -- sudo rm /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml

# Apply changes
multipass exec -n test-vm -- sudo netplan apply

Option 3: Restart VM (Resets Temporary Changes)

# If IP added via ip addr add (not via netplan)
multipass restart test-vm

# IP will disappear after restart
multipass exec -n test-vm -- ip addr show enp0s2

---

Complete Infrastructure Teardown

Step 1: Delete All VMs

# List all VMs
multipass list

# Stop all VMs
multipass stop --all

# Delete specific VMs
multipass delete test-vm
multipass delete vm1
multipass delete vm2
multipass delete vm3

# Or delete all VMs
multipass delete --all

# Permanently clean (purge)
multipass purge

# Check that everything is deleted
multipass list

Step 2: Remove IP from Bridge on Host

# Remove alias from bridge100, if you added it earlier
sudo ifconfig bridge100 -alias 10.10.0.1

# Check that it's removed
ifconfig bridge100 | grep "inet "

# Should not have 10.10.0.1

Step 3: Clear ARP Cache (Optional)

# Remove all entries for subnet 10.10.0.0
sudo arp -d -a

# Or specific IPs
sudo arp -d 10.10.0.10
sudo arp -d 10.10.0.11
sudo arp -d 10.10.0.12

# Check
arp -an | grep 10.10.0
netstat -rn | grep 10.10.0

Step 4: Remove Routes (If Added Manually)

# Check routes
netstat -rn | grep 10.10.0

# Remove if present
sudo route delete 10.10.0.0/24

# Check again
netstat -rn | grep 10.10.0

Step 5: Remove Configuration Files

# Remove cloud-init files
rm -f multipass-static-ip.yaml
rm -f vm1.yaml vm2.yaml vm3.yaml
rm -f create-vms.sh

Step 6: Restart Multipass (Optional)

# Restart daemon for clean state
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

Step 7: Final Check

# Check that everything is clean
echo "=== Multipass VM ==="
multipass list

echo "=== Bridge IP ==="
ifconfig bridge100 | grep "inet "

echo "=== Routes ==="
netstat -rn | grep 10.10.0

echo "=== ARP cache ==="
arp -an | grep 10.10.0

echo "=== Launch Daemons ==="
ls -la /Library/LaunchDaemons/ | grep multipass

echo "=== Cloud-init files ==="
ls -la *.yaml 2>/dev/null || echo "No cloud-init files"

Expected Result After Cleanup:

• Multipass VM: No instances found.
• Bridge IP: only primary IP (not 10.10.0.1)
• Routes: no entries with 10.10.0
• ARP cache: no entries with 10.10.0
• Files: deleted

✅ Infrastructure completely dismantled!

---

Quick Commands (Cheat Sheet)

Create Infrastructure:

# Host
sudo ifconfig bridge100 10.10.0.1/24 alias

# VM
multipass launch --name test-vm --cloud-init multipass-static-ip.yaml

# Check
ping 10.10.0.10

Dismantle Infrastructure:

# VM
multipass delete test-vm
multipass purge

# Host
sudo ifconfig bridge100 -alias 10.10.0.1
sudo arp -d -a

# Check
multipass list
ifconfig bridge100 | grep 10.10.0

Temporary IP (without cloud-init):

# Add
multipass exec -n test-vm -- sudo ip addr add 10.10.0.10/24 dev enp0s1

# Remove
multipass exec -n test-vm -- sudo ip addr del 10.10.0.10/24 dev enp0s1

---

Automation: Creation and Teardown Scripts

Creation Script (setup.sh)

#!/bin/bash
# File: setup.sh

BRIDGE="bridge100"
BRIDGE_IP="10.10.0.1"
SUBNET="10.10.0.0/24"
VM_NAME="test-vm"
VM_IP="10.10.0.10"

echo "=== Setting up bridge ==="
sudo ifconfig $BRIDGE $BRIDGE_IP/24 alias
ifconfig $BRIDGE | grep "inet "

echo "=== Creating cloud-init ==="
cat > ${VM_NAME}.yaml << EOF
#cloud-config
write_files:
  - path: /etc/netplan/60-custom-network.yaml
    content: |
      network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
          default:
            dhcp4: true
            addresses:
              - ${VM_IP}/24
            routes:
              - to: default
                via: ${BRIDGE_IP}
                metric: 200
    permissions: '0600'
runcmd:
  - netplan apply
hostname: ${VM_NAME}
EOF

echo "=== Creating VM ==="
multipass launch --name $VM_NAME --cloud-init ${VM_NAME}.yaml

echo "=== Waiting for cloud-init ==="
sleep 30
multipass exec -n $VM_NAME -- cloud-init status --wait

echo "=== Check ==="
echo "VM list:"
multipass list

echo "VM IP:"
multipass exec -n $VM_NAME -- ip addr show enp0s1 | grep "inet "

echo "Ping test:"
ping -c 4 $VM_IP

echo "✅ Infrastructure created!"

Teardown Script (teardown.sh)

#!/bin/bash
# File: teardown.sh

BRIDGE="bridge100"
BRIDGE_IP="10.10.0.1"
VM_NAME="test-vm"

echo "=== Deleting VM ==="
multipass stop $VM_NAME 2>/dev/null
multipass delete $VM_NAME 2>/dev/null
multipass purge

echo "=== Removing bridge IP ==="
sudo ifconfig $BRIDGE -alias $BRIDGE_IP

echo "=== Clearing ARP ==="
sudo arp -d -a

echo "=== Removing routes ==="
sudo route delete 10.10.0.0/24 2>/dev/null

echo "=== Removing configs ==="
rm -f ${VM_NAME}.yaml

echo "=== Check ==="
echo "Multipass VM:"
multipass list

echo "Bridge IP:"
ifconfig $BRIDGE | grep "inet " | grep -v "127.0.0.1"

echo "Routes:"
netstat -rn | grep 10.10.0

echo "✅ Infrastructure dismantled!"

Using Scripts

# Make executable
chmod +x setup.sh teardown.sh

# Creation
./setup.sh

# Teardown
./teardown.sh

---

Troubleshooting Teardown

Problem: VM Not Deleting

# Force delete
multipass stop test-vm --force
multipass delete test-vm --force
multipass purge

# If still problems
sudo pkill -9 multipassd
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.canonical.multipassd.plist

Problem: IP Not Removing from Bridge

# Try again
sudo ifconfig bridge100 -alias 10.10.0.1

# If not helping, check all aliases
ifconfig bridge100

# Remove each alias separately
sudo ifconfig bridge100 -alias [IP]

# In extreme case restart bridge
sudo ifconfig bridge100 down
sudo ifconfig bridge100 up

Problem: ARP Entries Not Deleting

# Force delete entire ARP cache
sudo arp -d -a

# Restart network (carefully!)
sudo ifconfig bridge100 down
sudo ifconfig bridge100 up

Problem: Routes Remain

# Check all routes
netstat -rn

# Remove specific route
sudo route delete [IP or subnet]

# Example
sudo route delete 10.10.0.10
sudo route delete 10.10.0.0/24

---

Permanent Settings (Automatic Creation After Reboot)

If you want the bridge IP to be created automatically:

# Create Launch Daemon
sudo tee /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.local.multipass-bridge.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.local.multipass-bridge</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/bin/sh</string>
        <string>-c</string>
        <string>sleep 10 &amp;&amp; /sbin/ifconfig bridge100 10.10.0.1/24 alias</string>
    </array>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <false/>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

# Load
sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.local.multipass-bridge.plist

# To remove
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.local.multipass-bridge.plist
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.local.multipass-bridge.plist