spoofing the mac address with NetworkManager
NetworkManager is based on a concept of connection profiles, sometimes referred to as connections only. These connection profiles contain a network configuration.
Essentially changing the way we used to think of network configuration.
After a lot google searches and dozens of trial and errors, here is how I eventually found out how to change the Mac Address in a persistent way, for each connection profile.
The folder /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ contains the connections configuration files, with a ifcfg- prefix
I have a cabled connection to an emc nas, that connection is called “Wired connection 1”, the config file is called ifcfg-Wired_connection_1
By default the configuration will contain the actual hardware address with a line like:
HWADDR=45:8B:E9:39:71:C3
Replace that line with MACADDR and the mac address you want to set.
MACADDR=00:00:00:00:00:02
NOTE: Leaving HWADDR and MACDDR together can give unexpected behavior according to the NetworkManager Reference manual
If you are changing a wireless connection, by default they get a randomized mac address for privacy reasons:
So if you want to use a fixed address remember to change the default behavior by setting it to never.
MAC_ADDRESS_RANDOMIZATION=never
