Layer 2 Networking

Use Layer 2 Networks in Private Cloud Director to create networks that connect VMs without managed IP, DHCP, or routing services.

Overview

Layer 2 Network is a beta feature in the 2026.1 release. Please contact the support team for further details.

A Layer 2 Network (L2 Network) is an L2-only physical network that provides basic Layer 2 connectivity between virtual machines, without managed IP addressing, routing, or security services. Layer 2 Networks are available only when creating Physical Networks. Virtual Networks are always Managed Networks and do not have an L2 option.

Use a Layer 2 Network when your infrastructure already handles IP management externally, or when you are migrating workloads from VMware and want equivalent L2 behaviour without adopting managed networking. If you need subnets, DHCP, routers, or security groups, use a managed Virtual Network or Physical Network instead.

How Layer 2 Networks Work

A Layer 2 Network provides pure L2 connectivity between VMs. Private Cloud Director provides the Layer 2 segment and nothing above it. It forwards ethernet frames between VMs and leaves IP addressing, routing, security entirely to the customer's existing networking infrastructure. This is the key difference from a Managed Network, where the platform handles IP assignment, routing, security groups, and subnets on your behalf. On a Layer2 network - 1. IP addressing: Private Cloud Director does not assign or track IP addresses. The customer configures them either statically or through an external DHCP server of their choice 2. Routing: VMs on the same L2 network reach each other directly at L2. Traffic destined for another network must be routed by an external router or other L3 device 3. Security: There are no security groups. Port-level filtering is handled by the guest OS firewall or an upstream firewall, outside Private Cloud Director 4. Subnets: A L2 operates at the datalink layer so there are no platform-defined subnets Use a L2 Network when you want Private Cloud Director: to preserve an existing network design during migration, to keep your own DHCP, IPAM, or DNS as the source of truth, or to support workloads that depend on raw L2 behavior. What's supported

L2 networking works with all core PCD VM operations 1. VMHA: auto restarts VMs on healthy hosts after a failure 2. Live migration: Move running VMs between hosts with zero downtime 3. Cold migration: Migrate powered off VMs across hosts 4. VM Cloning: Clone VMs with L2 attachments 5. VM from snapshots: Restore VMs from snapshots 6. Power operations: Start, stop, restart, and suspend all work seamlessly 7. NIC add/remove

Prerequisites

• A physical network must be configured in your cluster blueprint. See Cluster Blueprint

• The VLAN ID you specify must exist on your physical network infrastructure.

Perform the following steps.

1. On the Private Cloud Director UI , navigate to Networks and Security > Networks.

2. Select Create Network and then select Physical Network.

3. Under Basic Information, enter the following details.

Field	Description
Name	Enter a name for the network.
Description	Optionally, enter a description.
Admin State	Select Up to make the network available for VM provisioning immediately, or Down to defer availability.
MTU	Optionally, set the maximum transmission unit. Minimum value is 68 for IPv4 and 1280 for IPv6.

1. Under Network Type, select Layer 2 Network.

NOTE Selecting Layer 2 Network hides all subnets, DHCP, router, security groups, and public IP fields. These are not applicable to Layer 2 Networks. If you choose to configure these instances, configure the Network Type to Managed Network.

1. Enter the following details.

Field	Description
Network Label	Select the network label that maps this network to the corresponding physical network on your hypervisors.
Network Type	Select Flat (Untagged) for a network with no VLAN tags, or VLAN (Tagged) for a network that uses VLAN tagging.

1. Optionally, select Make Shared (Across All Tenants) to make the network type available to every tenant.

2. Select Create Physical Network.

The network appears in Networks and Security > Networks with a Layer 2 Network tag corresponding to the network name.

Using pcdctl CLI

pcdctl network create \
    --provider-physical-network PHYSICAL_NETWORK_LABEL  \
    --provider-network-type NETWORK_TYPE \
    --provider-segment VLAN_TAG \
    --tag simple_network \
    --disable-port-security \
    NETWORK_NAME

Parameter	Description
PHYSICAL_NETWORK_LABEL	The label configured in the blueprint.
NETWORK_TYPE	Either vlan or flat.
VLAN_TAG	The VLAN tag. Only required if NETWORK_TYPE is vlan.
NETWORK_NAME	The name you want to assign to the network.

The --disable-port-security option is required for L2-only networks because port security is a Layer 3 feature and does not apply to L2-only networks.

On a successful network creation, you should see a similar output.

$ pcdctl network create \
    --provider-network-type vlan \
    --provider-segment 1234 \
    --provider-physical-network physnet \
    --tag simple_network \
    --disable-port-security \
    my-net
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Field                     | Value                                |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| admin_state_up            | UP                                   |
| availability_zone_hints   |                                      |
| availability_zones        |                                      |
| created_at                | 2026-03-05T18:58:02Z                 |
| description               |                                      |
| dns_domain                |                                      |
| id                        | c2d9b7a4-88e0-480b-99a3-576ce202adf2 |
| ipv4_address_scope        | None                                 |
| ipv6_address_scope        | None                                 |
| is_default                | False                                |
| is_vlan_qinq              | None                                 |
| is_vlan_transparent       | None                                 |
| mtu                       | 9000                                 |
| name                      | my-net                         |
| port_security_enabled     | false                                 |
| project_id                | 635d175b6dec4b44899acd475a837cfc     |
| provider:network_type     | vlan                                 |
| provider:physical_network | physnet                              |
| provider:segmentation_id  | 1234                                 |
| qos_policy_id             | None                                 |
| revision_number           | 1                                    |
| router:external           | Internal                             |
| segments                  | None                                 |
| shared                    | False                                |
| status                    | ACTIVE                               |
| subnets                   |                                      |
| tags                      | simple_network                              |
| tenant_id                 | 034e5250cf6f48baaf59ffba6bea08b3     |
| updated_at                | 2026-03-05T18:58:02Z                 |
+---------------------------+--------------------------------------+

Deploy a VM on a Layer 2 Network

You can configure a VM for a Layer 2 Network when deploying a new VM from the Virtual Machines section.

1. Navigate to Virtual Machines > Virtual Machines.

2. Select Deploy New VM and proceed through the VM creation wizard.

3. On Select Network Type, choose Layer 2 Network.

4. Select the Layer 2 Network you want to use from the list. Managed Network options show IP configuration fields. Layer 2 Network selection hides all IP configuration fields.

5. Select Next Step to continue creating the VM.

NOTE

When deploying a VM on a Layer 2 Network:

• The security group field is disabled and cannot be changed.

• You can only create one VM at a time. To create multiple VMs on the same Layer 2 Network, repeat the deployment process for each VM.

1. Complete the remaining VM configuration and select Deploy.

After deployment, the VM instance details the following for the network attachment:

• Network: [Network Name] (Layer 2)

• IP Address: N/A — Configure in guest OS

NOTE

• External DHCP configuration: If using an external DHCP server for IP assignment, ensure the DHCP server is reachable in the L2 network's broadcast domain.

• Cloud-init workaround for network configuration: There is a known issue with setting network configurations in cloud-init. As a workaround, use the runcmd section of cloud-init to configure static IP or DHCP.

Here is an example for an Ubuntu VM.

NOTE

You may need to make changes to make this work for other operating systems.

runcmd:
  - |
    cat </etc/netplan/99-static.yaml
    network:
      version: 2
      ethernets:
        ens3:
          dhcp4: false
          addresses:
            - 10.10.10.50/24
          gateway4: 10.10.10.1
          nameservers:
            addresses: [8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4]
    EOF
  - netplan apply

Using pcdctl CLI

Create the L2-only port that will be associated with the VM:

pcdctl port create \
    --network NETWORK_NAME_OR_ID \
    --disable-port-security \
    --no-fixed-ip \
    --binding-profile '{"l2-port": true}' \
    PORT_NAME

This command returns the port ID upon successful creation.

Here is an example of the output.

pcdctl port create \
    --network my-net \   
    --disable-port-security \
    --no-fixed-ip \
    --binding-profile l2-port=true \
    my-l2-port
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Field                   | Value                                |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| admin_state_up          | UP                                   |
| allowed_address_pairs   |                                      |
| binding_host_id         |                                      |
| binding_profile         | l2-port='true'                       |
| binding_vif_details     |                                      |
| binding_vif_type        | unbound                              |
| binding_vnic_type       | normal                               |
| created_at              | 2026-03-05T22:11:58Z                 |
| data_plane_status       | None                                 |
| description             |                                      |
| device_id               |                                      |
| device_owner            |                                      |
| device_profile          | None                                 |
| dns_assignment          |                                      |
| dns_domain              |                                      |
| dns_name                |                                      |
| extra_dhcp_opts         |                                      |
| fixed_ips               |                                      |
| hardware_offload_type   | None                                 |
| hints                   |                                      |
| id                      | f86dd5d6-fd59-4a84-a0e9-1c2b9722a582 |
| ip_allocation           | None                                 |
| mac_address             | fa:16:3e:dd:12:a6                    |
| name                    | my-l2-port                           |
| network_id              | c2d9b7a4-88e0-480b-99a3-576ce202adf2 |
| numa_affinity_policy    | None                                 |
| port_security_enabled   | False                                |
| project_id              | 635d175b6dec4b44899acd475a837cfc     |
| propagate_uplink_status | None                                 |
| resource_request        | None                                 |
| revision_number         | 1                                    |
| qos_network_policy_id   | None                                 |
| qos_policy_id           | None                                 |
| security_group_ids      |                                      |
| status                  | DOWN                                 |
| tags                    |                                      |
| trunk_details           | None                                 |
| updated_at              | 2026-03-05T22:11:58Z                 |
+-------------------------+--------------------------------------+

Attach the port created and create a VM:

pcdctl server create \
    --flavor  \
    --image  \
    --nic port-id=PORT_ID_FROM_ABOVE \
    VM_NAME

Here is an example.

pcdctl server create \
    --flavor m1.tiny \
    --image 889fb5f1-f1cf-44d7-a12a-6fb42d4d1e60 \
    --nic port-id=f86dd5d6-fd59-4a84-a0e9-1c2b9722a582 \
    my-vm
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Field                                | Value                                                               |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+
| OS-DCF:diskConfig                    | MANUAL                                                              |
| OS-EXT-AZ:availability_zone          |                                                                     |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:host                 | None                                                                |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:hypervisor_hostname  | None                                                                |
| OS-EXT-SRV-ATTR:instance_name        |                                                                     |
| OS-EXT-STS:power_state               | NOSTATE                                                             |
| OS-EXT-STS:task_state                | scheduling                                                          |
| OS-EXT-STS:vm_state                  | building                                                            |
| OS-SRV-USG:launched_at               | None                                                                |
| OS-SRV-USG:terminated_at             | None                                                                |
| accessIPv4                           |                                                                     |
| accessIPv6                           |                                                                     |
| addresses                            |                                                                     |
| adminPass                            | dLC4vKgnNgEF                                                        |
| config_drive                         |                                                                     |
| created                              | 2026-03-05T22:22:09Z                                                |
| flavor                               | m1.tiny (6f3d4b95-fa8e-49c1-a494-4f338f72871d)                      |
| hostId                               |                                                                     |
| id                                   | 99b3addc-0fcb-44e3-a54c-14edfa915375                                |
| image                                | cirros-0.6.2-x86_64-disk.img (889fb5f1-f1cf-44d7-a12a-6fb42d4d1e60) |
| key_name                             | None                                                                |
| name                                 | my-vm                                                               |
| os-extended-volumes:volumes_attached | []                                                                  |
| progress                             | 0                                                                   |
| project_id                           | 635d175b6dec4b44899acd475a837cfc                                    |
| properties                           |                                                                     |
| security_groups                      | name='default'                                                      |
| status                               | BUILD                                                               |
| updated                              | 2026-03-05T22:22:09Z                                                |
| user_id                              | a2dc5954fe2540a8b1825beb76834e12                                    |
+--------------------------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------+

Clone a VM on a Layer 2 Network

When cloning a VM, you can select a Layer 2 Network during the clone workflow.

The network selection page that appears during cloning follows the same workflow as the VM deployment process.

1. Navigate to Virtual Machines > Virtual Machines.

2. Select the VM you want to clone.

3. Select Clone.

4. On the network selection page, choose Layer 2 Network as the network type.

5. Select the Layer 2 Network from the list and complete the clone process.

The same limitations apply: security groups are disabled, and only one VM can be cloned at a time.

View Layer 2 Network details

To view details and connected VMs for a Layer 2 Network:

1. Navigate to Networks and Security > Networks.

2. Identify Layer 2 Networks by the Layer 2 Network tag displayed next to each network name. Select the specific Layer 2 Network you want to inspect.

The network details page displays the network type as Physical. You will not be able to view details on Subnets, Router Attachments, and DHCP Configuration.

Edit a Layer 2 Network

You can update the name and description of a Layer 2 Network after it is created. The VLAN ID and physical network cannot be changed.

1. Navigate to Networks and Security > Networks.

2. Select the Layer 2 Network you want to edit.

3. Select Edit.

4. Update the Name or Description as needed.

5. Select Save.

Delete a Layer 2 Network

Deleting a Layer 2 Network detaches all VMs connected to it. Ensure no active workloads depend on the network before proceeding.

1. Navigate to Networks and Security > Networks.

2. Select the Layer 2 Network you want to delete.

3. Select Delete.

4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Next steps

After creating a Layer 2 Network and configuring IP addresses in your guest OS, you can continue managing your VMs:

• Virtual Machines

• Cluster Blueprint