Virtual Machine with own IP address

[yelloguy]

I am trying to setup an XP virtual machine with its own IP address on the iMac so I can remote into it from my laptop. I have tried both VMWare Fusion and Parallels to do this. But the VM only sees the network in Shared mode (called Bridged mode in VMWare). But in that mode, the VM gets a random IP address not in the same subdomain as my local network.

When I change the networking mode to Bridged (called NAT in VMWare) the VM gets an IP in the correct sub domain (192.168.0.xxx) and it gets the auto configured Gateway (192.168.0.1) and DNS Server (192.168.0.1) but I can't see any machines on the network. I can't even ping the router (192.168.0.1). The only thing I can see (Ping) is the host iMac (192.168.0.3). But I can't see any other machines or connect to the internet.

I am getting identical behavior in both Parallels and VMWare fusion which makes me think I am doing something wrong.

Any ideas?

 

[swiftaw]

I can do this in Parallels.

Are you sure you have actually turned on Allow Remote Desktop Connection in the Windows control panel.

 

[yelloguy]

I can do this in Parallels.

Are you sure you have actually turned on Allow Remote Desktop Connection in the Windows control panel.

FWIW, yes I have. But the problem is not that I cannot remote into the VM. The problem is that the VM is not seeing the network and has no internet when in Bridged/Shared mode (with unique network identifiable IP).

PS: I could do it in Leopard with VMWare 2.0. Since I have upgraded to Snow Leopard, I have not been able to do this.

 

[swiftaw]

Works perfectly for me with Snow leopard and Parallels 4 with Bridged Ethernet option.

 

[yelloguy]

Could you post your network adapter settings in Windows? Specifically I want to see the assigned IP, gateway and DNS and whether its automatic or manual.
Thanks for your help.

 

[swiftaw]

Could you post your network adapter settings in Windows? Specifically I want to see the assigned IP, gateway and DNS and whether its automatic or manual.
Thanks for your help.

Everything is set to automatic.

 

[yelloguy]

Found it!

The wrong network interface was getting picked up. I had a USB network adapter that was not connected to the network. The VM was picking up that interface instead of the one connected. I found out only when I tried connecting that interface to network. Now I can pick the interface manually it is working as expected.
Thanks for your help.

 

[sjinsjca]

Works perfectly for me with Snow leopard and Parallels 4 with Bridged Ethernet option.

+1

Yes, that's the ticket. In Parallels or Fusion, you set the VM's network adaptor to bridged, which makes it appear on the network as a separate machine. Note that this is a setting for Parallels or Fusion, not the guest OS.

In VMWare Workstation running on a PC, last time I checked it was necessary to disconnect and then reconnect the network adaptor (which amounts to a couple of button punches) in order for the new setting to stick.

There are many reasons to do this, or not. On the plus side, some applications like Exchange seem to be able to do their thing only over a certain number of NAT traversals. Having your VM share your host computer's IP address means you're adding a NAT layer, which can bork your connection to your Exchange server. Ditto some VPN implementations. So a bridged connection might be necessary under some circumstances. On the other hand, having a separate IP address means you might have to pay twice if you're connecting to a hotel's guest network. And so on. Every situation is different.