Determining host IP address in guest OS

[curtisg]

In VMware Fusion 3.0, can I programmatically determine the host system's primary IP address from Windows running as a guest OS? I see that shared folders are mounted from "vmware-host" but that name appears to be only useful for mounting CIFS volumes.

--Curtis

[admin · Accepted solution]

In VMware Fusion 3.0, can I programmatically determine the host system's primary IP address from Windows running as a guest OS?

No, short of having the host put it somewhere the guest knows to query (e.g. create a text file in a shared folder). HGFS shared folders do not go over the network.

If you're using NAT or host-only networking, the host defaults to a predictable address from the guest's point of view, but this is not the externally visible IP address.

[rcardona2k]

In NAT mode, the host responds to the address of the TCP/IP gateway, i.e. it's natted to the real host address, i use this address for mounting a CIFS share on the host or accessing the host's web server.

In bridged mode, you could use a dynamic DNS service that registers your host's address so guests can resolve the host's address just like the on the Internet. I use dyndns.com for this service.