Simplified Introduction to VMware network connectivity modes

VMware Network Connection modes (bridging, NAT, host mode differences)

When using VMware Workstation virtual machines, it is important to configure the virtual machine's network connection as shown in several network connection modes: Bridge mode, Nat mode, host-only mode, custom network connection mode.

So what are the main uses of these kinds of network connection modes, and what are the differences between them?

such as three modes

Bridging mode

The virtual network adapter of the VM is handed over to the host's physical network adapter, and the virtual network adapter in the virtual machine is directly accessible to the external network through the physical network adapter in the host. Virtual machines and hosts each occupy one IP address in the LAN and can access each other with other terminals. The Bridging mode network connection supports both wired and wireless host network adapters.

nat Mode

nat is the abbreviation for network address translation, which means the translation of Web addresses. virtual machine And the host uses the same external network IP, the external network device cannot directly access the . When using NAT mode network connections, VMware establishes a separate private network on the host to communicate with each other between the host and the virtual machine. The virtual machine does not have to have its own IP address in the external network, The virtual machine does not assign an intranet IP, but the host can communicate with the virtual machine (the virtual machine and host are sharing an IP address). That is to say virtual machines using virtual network cards VMware Network Adapter 8 online

Note 1: The Virtual machine LAN IP segment must not conflict with the IP segment that is actually used. Note 2, the local computer VMnet8 network card IP segment must be the same as the virtual machine LAN IP port

Host-only mode

Host-only mode, which is a more closed network connection mode than NAT mode, creates a private network that is fully contained in the host. Only the host-mode virtual network adapter is visible to the host and provides network connectivity between the virtual machine and the host system. Compared to NAT mode, host-only mode does not have NAT, so by default, virtual machines that use only host-mode network connections cannot connect to the Internet (install the appropriate routing or proxy software on the host Or, you can still have the virtual machine connected to the Internet or another network by using the Internet Connection Sharing feature on the host on the Windows system.

Multiple host-only virtual networks can be created on the same host, and if multiple virtual machines are in the same host-only mode network, they can communicate with each other, and if they are in a different host-only mode network, they cannot communicate with each other by default ( You can communicate with each other by setting up routers between them.

Customizing the network Connection Configuration

You can also create complex virtual networks with the virtual network connectivity components provided by WMware. Here we don't go into detail, you can refer to the official documentation and then create the virtual network with VMware's Virtual network editor.

Simplified Introduction to VMware network connectivity modes