---
name: vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-network
title: Network interface
description: As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026.
last-updated: 2025-10-24
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Network interface
{: #vs_orderinginstances-network-interface-settings}

As of 17 July 2025, new automated installations of Red Hat® OpenShift® for VMware® are no longer available for new or existing deployments of VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Automated instances. You can still use or delete your existing Red Hat OpenShift for VMware automated installations until 16 July 2026. The service will no longer be available from 17 July 2026.
{: deprecated}

You must specify the following network interface settings when you order a new VMware Cloud Foundation for Classic - Flexible instance.

## Hostname prefix
{: #vs_orderinginstances-host-name-prefix}

The host name is used for all IBM Cloud® bare metal server orders. It is recommended to use the host name for all management virtual machines, such as VMware vCenter Server® and VMware NSX®.

The hostname prefix must meet the following requirements:
* Only lowercase alphabetic, numeric, and hyphen (-) characters are allowed.
* No consecutive hyphens are allowed.
* The hostname prefix must start with a lowercase alphabetic character.
* The hostname prefix must end with a lowercase alphabetic or numeric character.
* The maximum length of the hostname prefix is 10 characters.

## Domain name
{: #vs_orderinginstances-domain-name}

The domain name is used for all IBM Cloud bare metal servers and must meet the following requirements:
* The domain name must consist of three or more strings that are separated by a period (.)
* Only lowercase alphabetic, numeric, and hyphen (-) characters are allowed.
* No consecutive hyphens are allowed.
* Each string must start with a lowercase alphabetic character and end with a lowercase alphabetic or numeric character.
* The last string can contain only lowercase alphabetic characters.
* The length of the last string must be in the range 2 - 24 characters.
* The maximum length of the domain name is 50 characters.

## Configure hostnames individually
{: #vs_orderinginstances-network-diagram}

You can customize the prefix for each hostname by toggling the **Configure hostnames individually** switch on.

The hostname prefix must meet the following requirements:
* Only lowercase alphabetic, numeric, and hyphen (-) characters are allowed.
* No consecutive hyphens are allowed.
* The hostname prefix must start with a lowercase alphabetic character.
* The hostname prefix must end with a lowercase alphabetic or numeric character.
* The maximum length of the hostname prefix is 13 characters.

## Networking type
{: #vs_orderinginstances-public-private-network}

Network interface card (NIC) enablement settings are based on your selection of either **Public and private network** or **Private network only**.

## Uplink speed
{: #vs_orderinginstances-uplink}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| SYD04 | 01 |
| SYD05 | 01 |
| TOK02 | 02 |
| TOK04 | 01 |
| TOK05 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - Asia Pacific" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Asia Pacific"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| AMS03 | 01-02 |
| FRA02 | 02 |
| FRA04 | 01 |
| FRA05 | 01 |
| LON04 | 01 |
| LON06 | 01 |
| MAD02 | 01 |
| MAD04 | 01 |
| MAD05 | 01 |
| PAR04 | 01 |
| PAR05 | 01 |
| PAR06 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - Europe" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="Europe"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| TOR04 | 01 |
| TOR05 | 01 |
| WDC04 | 05 |
| WDC06 | 01 |
| WDC07 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - NA East" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA East"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

| Data center | Pod |
| :----------- | :--- |
| DAL10 | 03 |
| DAL13 | 02 |
| DAL14 | 01 |
{: caption="Available locations for 25 Gb uplink speed - NA South" caption-side="bottom"}
{: tab-title="NA South"}
{: tab-group="Data centers"}
{: class="simple-tab-table"}

CONTENT:

You must manage the IBM Cloud for VMware Solutions components that are created in your IBM Cloud account only in the VMware Solutions console, not the IBM Cloud infrastructure customer portal, or any other means outside of the console. If you change these components outside of the VMware Solutions console, the changes are not synchronized with the console.
{: important}

## VLANs
{: #vs_orderinginstances-vlans}

Network settings are based on your selection of either **Order new VLANs** or **Select existing VLANs**.

### Order new VLANs
{: #vs_orderinginstances-new-vlans}

If you are ordering for a public and private network, one public VLAN and two private VLANs are required for your instance order. The two private VLANs are trunked into each bare metal server.

If you are ordering for a private network, two private VLANs are only required for your instance order.

### Select existing VLANs
{: #vs_orderinginstances-existing-vlans}

Depending on the IBM Cloud data center that you selected, existing public and private VLANs might be available.

When you select to reuse existing public and private VLANs, specify the VLANs and subnets:
* **Public VLAN** is for public network access. If you select the **Allocate a new one** option for **Public VLAN**, a new primary public subnet is allocated automatically and cannot be modified.
* **Public primary subnet** is assigned to physical hosts for public network access.
* **Private VLAN** is for connectivity among the data centers and services within the IBM Cloud. If you select the **Allocate a new one** option for **Private VLAN**, a new private primary subnet is allocated automatically and cannot be modified.
* **Private primary subnet** is assigned to physical hosts for management traffic.
* **Secondary private VLAN** is for VMware features such as vSAN. You can select an existing secondary private VLAN or select to allocate a new one.

#### Important
{: #vs_orderinginstances-important}

* Ensure that the firewall configuration on the selected VLANs does not block the management data traffic.
* Ensure that all VLANs that you select are in the same pod. ESXi servers cannot be provisioned on mixed-pod VLANs.

### FortiGate Physical Appliance 300 Series HA Pair
{: #vs_orderinginstances-fortigate-physical-appliance}

You can also select whether to include the FortiGate® Physical Appliance 300 Series HA Pair to secure your cloud environment. For more information, see [FortiGate Virtual Appliance overview](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-fortinetvm_considerations&format=markdown).

This option is only available for an order with both a public and private network.
{: note}

## Related links
{: #vs_orderinginstances-network-related}

* [Summary](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-order-summary&format=markdown)
* [Procedure to order Flexible instances](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vmwaresolutions?topic=vmwaresolutions-vs_orderinginstances-procedure&format=markdown)