I think I know what the end-game here is, but I thought I would get out of my box and get some feedback.
I have created a virtual guest, which has two virtual NICs. Both NIC's use NAT. I have installed CentOS 4.5 onto the virtual guest. Both interfaces were found at the time of install, and although the "setup" tool doesn't find eth1, I've manually configured the interface and both eth devices are given DHCP leases. While interesting, the ability to connect a single host via a switch with two different NICs isn't a very compelling use of resources. Typically one would expect to connect the first NIC to one network and the other to a different network. A common use of the second network, usually a private network, is for:
\* private communication between application servers (Weblogic heartbeat)
\* private communication between Oracle 9i database nodes (heartbeat or failover)
\* private communication between scripts, backups, or a secure access by administrators
\* isolated DHCP for services like Redhat's Kickstart for use with PXE booting
I can see no way to configure this second network using the GUI. If such a way exists, what really matters is that I have total command of the second network. I need one of my virtual guests to be the DHCP server for the second network so that PXE boot hosts can get an IP Address and Kickstart image.
What I've observed to date makes me believe I can only PXE boot against the first network. Presumably the DHCP server that is configured for PXE would answer up, though I am worried about DHCP contention. This solution in this situation is to forget about having a 2nd network, which is, to say the least, disappointing.
I have achieved the very same thing with ESX, so I guess I'm just trying to confirm that it can or cannot be done by Fusion. Please refer to the attached diagram if you are unclear about my example above.
