Cloned VMs from template receive the same DHCP IP address because the DHCP client identifier survives the clone. The fix is to reset the machine-id or force a new MAC, then clear the stale lease on the DHCP server.
Why the clone gets the same lease
DHCP servers identify clients by MAC address or by a client identifier option. Proxmox clones keep the same virtual MAC unless you change it, and many Linux guests send a DHCP client ID derived from /etc/machine-id. Clone the VM and both stay identical, so the DHCP server hands back the same IP.
Fix it in the guest
Regenerate the machine-id on the cloned VM. On Debian or Ubuntu:
sudo rm /etc/machine-id /var/lib/dbus/machine-id
sudo systemd-machine-id-setup
sudo dhclient -r && sudo dhclientIf the guest uses NetworkManager, restart it instead of dhclient:
sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager
Or force a new MAC in Proxmox
Shut down the cloned VM, open its Hardware tab, select the network device, and click Edit. Change the MAC address to a new random one. Start the VM and it’ll request a fresh lease.
Clear the stale lease on the DHCP server
If you run dnsmasq, edit /etc/dnsmasq.conf or the lease file and remove the old entry, then restart dnsmasq. For ISC DHCP, delete the lease from /var/lib/dhcp/dhcpd.leases and restart the service. The cloned VM will get a new IP on next request.
My take
Regenerating machine-id is cleaner than messing with MACs, but if you need a static IP per clone, set a DHCP reservation by MAC instead. This is a stupid default and I have no idea why Proxmox doesn’t randomize the MAC on clone automatically.
Related: Proxmox Network No Longer Available After Upgrade: Diagnose and Restore It
