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VMID Convention

VMIDs follow a 4-digit [N][P][SS] convention encoding node, purpose, and sequence.

Format

Position Name Description Values
N Node Which Proxmox node 1=px1, 2=px2, 3=px3, 5=px5
P Purpose Environment type 1=prod, 5=dev, 8=template, 9=temp
SS Sequence Unique identifier 01-99

Examples

VMID Breakdown Meaning
1111 1-1-11 px1, production, sequence 11
1112 1-1-12 px1, production, sequence 12
1522 1-5-22 px1, development, sequence 22
3102 3-1-02 px3, production, sequence 02
2804 2-8-04 px2, template, sequence 04
1901 1-9-01 px1, temporary, sequence 01

Purpose Codes

Code Purpose Description
1 Production Live services, critical workloads
5 Development Testing, staging environments
8 Template Base images for cloning
9 Temporary Short-lived, can be deleted

Using the Infra CLI

The infra command helps manage VMIDs:

# Get next available VMID for px1 production
infra next-vmid px1 prod
# Output: 1114

# Decode an existing VMID
infra decode 1111
# Output: px1-silverstone, prod, sequence 11

# List all assets with their VMIDs
infra list

# Check for VMID/IP conflicts
infra conflicts

IP Address Assignment

IP addresses are decoupled from VMIDs and managed via:

  • Static configuration in the VM/CT
  • DHCP reservations in UniFi

To get the next available IP:

infra next-ip uk      # Get next IP for UK site
infra next-ip france  # Get next IP for France site

Migration Notes

Prior to 2025-12-29, VMIDs used a different convention. The migration to [N][P][SS] was documented in VMID_MIGRATION_2025-12-29.md.