How to fix "Device eth0 has different MAC address than expected, ignoring." error

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • When performing a service network restart, NICs fail with the following error:
# service netowrk restart
Shutting down loopback interface:         [  OK  ]
Bringing up loopback interface:           [  OK  ]
Bringing up interface eth0: Device eth0 has different MAC address than expected, ignoring.
                                          [FAILED]
Bringing up interface eth1: Device eth0 has different MAC address than expected, ignoring.
                                          [FAILED]

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x
  • IBM System x3200 M3
  • VMware guests

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