diff --git a/api/nvidia.com/resource/gpu/v1alpha1/multinode.go b/api/nvidia.com/resource/gpu/v1alpha1/multinode.go
index c48eb04b..23593eb3 100644
--- a/api/nvidia.com/resource/gpu/v1alpha1/multinode.go
+++ b/api/nvidia.com/resource/gpu/v1alpha1/multinode.go
@@ -43,8 +43,11 @@ type MultiNodeEnvironmentList struct {
 	Items []MultiNodeEnvironment `json:"items"`
 }
 
+// +kubebuilder:validation:XValidation:rule="(has(self.resourceClaimName) ? !has(self.deviceClassName) : has(self.deviceClassName))",message="Exactly one of 'resourceClaimName' or 'deviceClassName' must be set."
+
 // MultiNodeEnvironmentSpec provides the spec for a MultiNodeEnvironment.
 type MultiNodeEnvironmentSpec struct {
 	NumNodes          int    `json:"numNodes"`
-	ResourceClaimName string `json:"resourceClaimName"`
+	ResourceClaimName string `json:"resourceClaimName,omitempty"`
+	DeviceClassName   string `json:"deviceClassName,omitempty"`
 }
diff --git a/cmd/nvidia-dra-controller/mnenv.go b/cmd/nvidia-dra-controller/mnenv.go
index 77132495..5568e677 100644
--- a/cmd/nvidia-dra-controller/mnenv.go
+++ b/cmd/nvidia-dra-controller/mnenv.go
@@ -172,13 +172,15 @@ func (m *MultiNodeEnvironmentManager) onMultiNodeEnvironmentAdd(obj any) error {
 		Controller: ptr.To(true),
 	}
 
-	dc, err := m.createDeviceClass("", ownerReference)
+	dc, err := m.createDeviceClass(mne.Spec.DeviceClassName, ownerReference)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("error creating DeviceClass '%s': %w", "<generated-name>", err)
 	}
 
-	if _, err := m.createResourceClaim(mne.Namespace, mne.Spec.ResourceClaimName, dc.Name, ownerReference); err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("error creating ResourceClaim '%s/%s': %w", mne.Namespace, mne.Spec.ResourceClaimName, err)
+	if mne.Spec.ResourceClaimName != "" {
+		if _, err := m.createResourceClaim(mne.Namespace, mne.Spec.ResourceClaimName, dc.Name, ownerReference); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("error creating ResourceClaim '%s/%s': %w", mne.Namespace, mne.Spec.ResourceClaimName, err)
+		}
 	}
 
 	return nil
diff --git a/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/crds/gpu.nvidia.com_multinodeenvironments.yaml b/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/crds/gpu.nvidia.com_multinodeenvironments.yaml
index cb4fac04..b29f5490 100644
--- a/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/crds/gpu.nvidia.com_multinodeenvironments.yaml
+++ b/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/crds/gpu.nvidia.com_multinodeenvironments.yaml
@@ -40,14 +40,19 @@ spec:
           spec:
             description: MultiNodeEnvironmentSpec provides the spec for a MultiNodeEnvironment.
             properties:
+              deviceClassName:
+                type: string
               numNodes:
                 type: integer
               resourceClaimName:
                 type: string
             required:
             - numNodes
-            - resourceClaimName
             type: object
+            x-kubernetes-validations:
+            - message: Exactly one of 'resourceClaimName' or 'deviceClassName' must
+                be set.
+              rule: '(has(self.resourceClaimName) ? !has(self.deviceClassName) : has(self.deviceClassName))'
         type: object
     served: true
     storage: true
diff --git a/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/templates/deviceclass-imex.yaml b/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/templates/deviceclass-imex.yaml
deleted file mode 100644
index bb26adbb..00000000
--- a/deployments/helm/k8s-dra-driver/templates/deviceclass-imex.yaml
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,11 +0,0 @@
-{{- if include "k8s-dra-driver.listHas" (list $.Values.deviceClasses "imex") }}
----
-apiVersion: resource.k8s.io/v1beta1
-kind: DeviceClass
-metadata:
-  name: imex.nvidia.com
-spec:
-  selectors:
-  - cel:
-      expression: "device.driver == 'gpu.nvidia.com' && device.attributes['gpu.nvidia.com'].type == 'imex-channel'"
-{{- end }}