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I am running VMWare Server on a Windows 2K8 server. I want to ensure that I am correctly configuring the virtual network adapter.

What settings should I use to assign a static IP to the virtual machine so that it can connect to the company network? Is this called "bridged" networking?

Do I need to configure both the host VMWare adapter and the LAN adapter in the virtual host? Currently I set a static IP in the virtual host, but the W2K8 adapter has a 192.168.x.x address.

Thanks!

Don Jacobson
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1 Answers1

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When you create a VM, you can usually select from three options in the Network Card:

  • Host Only - this will give the VM a private address that only the VMware Server can see
  • NAT - this will give the VM a private address that only other VMs can see
  • Bridged - this will expose the VM to the same network as the VMware Server

If you want your VM to have an IP address that is on the same network as your host server, you would pick Bridged.

You should not have to modify the network settings of any of the VMware network devices visible to the VMware Server's parent Windows.

jimbobmcgee
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  • Thank you for the clarification. Is it OK that the IP address obtained automatically by the VMWare Server adapter is in a different subnet (192.168.x.x; our network range is not in 192.168.x.x)? Should I manually configure an IP on the adapter connected to the virtual host, or the VMWare adapter on the server? – Don Jacobson Sep 07 '11 at 15:29
  • There are usually two VMware-specific adapters visible from the host Windows environment; one that facilitates NAT and one that facilitates Host Only. It is expected that both these adapters would have a different subnet range than your server's real LAN adapter. If you select Bridged for your VM, it is expected that the VM's adapter will have the same subnet as your server's real LAN. If you select Host Only or NAT, it is expected that subnet for the VM's adapter will be the same as the relevant VMware adapter on the host server (i.e. VMware Host Only or VMware NAT) – jimbobmcgee Sep 07 '11 at 15:33
  • I have selected BRIDGED mode, and can obtain a network connection on the virtual host, however the VMWare adapter on the Windows Server has an IP address of 192.168.235.1, and the host has an IP in the 10.x.x.x network. Why aren't both IPs the same? – Don Jacobson Sep 07 '11 at 15:35
  • Is the normal operation of your LAN's DHCP server to supply 10.x.x.x addresses? Is your server's LAN adapter statically assigned? If not statically assigned, is there a DHCP reservation forcing the 192.x.x.x address for your server's MAC? – jimbobmcgee Sep 07 '11 at 15:57
  • The server's LAN adapter is statically assigned. The VMWare adapter (displayed to the right of the LAN adapter) obtains an IP in the 192.168.x.x range. We do not have a DHCP server assigning IPs in that range. The VMWare virtual host has a static IP configured in our range. Somehow this works, but I'm not sure why the host server's VMWare adapter obtains a 192 address? – Don Jacobson Sep 07 '11 at 15:59
  • The /host/ server's VMware adapter gets an address in the same 192.168.x.0 range? Or does it get one in a different 192.168.y.0 range? If it gets one in a different 192.168.y.0 range, that is normal. The exact value of y can probably be configured in the Configure Virtual Networks screens in VMware Server. – jimbobmcgee Sep 07 '11 at 17:47
  • The host server's VMWare adapter obtains an IP via DHCP in the 192.168.235.x range. The guest VM's adapter has an IP assigned by me statically in the 10.x.x.x network. I'm not sure why the host adapter needs an IP via VMWare's DHCP? – Don Jacobson Sep 07 '11 at 18:23