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While installing vmware server I'm asked

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual machines? [yes]

what do they mean by this?

Thanks!

Thomas G Henry LLC
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3 Answers3

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Host-only networking creates a network that is completely contained within the host computer.

Sorry SO. Forgot to Google first.

Thomas G Henry LLC
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I actually find the NAT networking so much more useful in practice. If you have a VM that you need to update or grab the occasional package from the net. This is so handy I never create host only VMs anymore.

Tim Potter
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Host-only networking is a way to restrict a VM's networking capability to talk to the outside world. It means the VM can only communicate with the host.

I've rarely found a need for it, since I almost always want the guest to be able to access the entire internet, not just the host machine.

However, the question being asked is: do you want to allow host-only networking? You still won't be forced to use it for all your VMs, so I would say yes. You will still be able to configure your VMs for full access.

paxdiablo
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  • Yeah, that kinda threw me off. I wanted the least restricted set up possible. I ultimately chose [no] and I think I got what I needed. – Thomas G Henry LLC Feb 15 '09 at 01:01
  • True, and when you do need fully-restricted networking, you can use LAN segments with teams. (AFAIK, host-only networking is like a big LAN segment made up of all running VMs on the same host. Teams allows you to specify which VMs are allowed in.) – C. K. Young Feb 15 '09 at 02:13