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A macvlan network tells Docker to give a container its own virtual MAC address and bind it directly to a physical (or virtual) network interface on the host. From your router and switch’s perspective, the container looks like a separate device plugged into the network. This is different from the default Docker bridge networking, where containers share the host’s IP and use NAT to talk to the outside world. With macvlan, there’s no NAT, no port mapping, and no proxy — the container gets a real IP on your subnet. That makes it ideal for: Wake-on-LAN tools that need to send magic packets on a spe

With bridge networking, containers share the host’s IP and use NAT to reach the outside world. With macvlan, each container gets its own IP directly on your physical network — no NAT, no port forwarding. Macvlan behaves more like adding a new device to your network, while bridge networking behaves more like a software router sitting between the container and your LAN.

Yes. Once the macvlan network is created, you can attach as many containers as you want to it — each gets its own static IP on the VLAN subnet. Just make sure each IP is unique and outside your DHCP pool.

Yes, but the VM’s virtual network interface needs to be configured to pass VLAN tags. In Proxmox, this means the bridge the VM uses must be VLAN-aware, and the VM’s interface should either be on a trunk or have the specific VLAN tag set. See the Proxmox VLAN configuration guide for the full setup. If you’re just getting started with Docker in Proxmox, setting up Docker in Proxmox via a VM is worth reading first.