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JuanCaba
Contributor
Contributor

Fusion 12.1 under macOS Big Sur has lost network connectivity (Could not connect 'Ethernet0')

So I have been happily using VMWare Fusion 12.1 on Big Sur for about a month when today, I was asked if I had moved or copied my VM.  It said to say 'Copied' if unknown, so I did... now I am getting this error:

Could not connect 'Ethernet0' to virtual network '/dev/vmnet8'.

whenever I launch my VM and sure enough, no network access for the VM.

I tried to solution noted elsewhere of using the commands

sudo rm /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist && sudo killall -9 configd

from the command line but that didn't fix it.  Even after a reboot and a reinstallation of VMWare Fusion, I still can't get it to work.  There is a references to a VMware.log I am supposed to check, but the Console doesn't show that and searching for vmnet8 in the Console doesn't reveal anything in any of the logs.  Any ideas?

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Technogeezer
Immortal
Immortal

A few questions:

  • What is the operating system in your VM?
  • Was this VM working at any time under Fusion 12.1 running on Big Sur?
  • If it was working, what changed between when it worked and "today" when it doesn't?

My experience is that the question about a VM being "moved or copied" isn't asked unless something has happened on the Mac. I find that simply moving the VM from one folder to another will cause the question to appear.

The usual place for the VMware logs is in the VM bundle itself, not Console. In the macOS Finder, right click on the VM bundle and select "Show bundle contents" and you will find some logs in there as well as the VM files themselves.

- Paul (Technogeezer)
Editor of the Unofficial Fusion Companion Guides
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JuanCaba
Contributor
Contributor

A few answers:

  • What is the operating system in your VM? It actually happened to both my macOS VM and Windows 10 VM.
  • Was this VM working at any time under Fusion 12.1 running on Big Sur? Yes, for the last month, in fact, earlier this week, both worked. There has been no host OS update I am aware of between when it worked two days ago and this morning.
  • If it was working, what changed between when it worked and "today" when it doesn't? I have NO clue.  That's what is messing me up, usually I can place an obvious change in the host, but literally over the last two days, that laptop has sat mostly quiet, with occasional web browsing or document editing, but no 'upgrades' or 'updates' or crashes in the VMWare app to corrupt the preferences.  Wiping the preferences didn't help resolve this either (I didn't expect it would).

I actually did look in the package earlier (since I knew VMWare had some command line told hosted there) but I can't find the log files inside the package.  In fact I just went back and double checked and an "ls -alR" from the command line reveals no log files hidden in the package.

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or-suk
Contributor
Contributor

SAME HERE !!

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or-suk
Contributor
Contributor

I upgraded to macOS Big Sur 11.1 and found this problem. I ran smoothly when using Catalina.

I am running virtual Windows 10 Professional by VMware Fusion Player version 12.1.0 on MacBook Air 2020.

I tried the commands mentioned above, re-install VMware and create new virtual machines, but all can't work.

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Technogeezer
Immortal
Immortal

I'm feeling that you're looking in the wrong place for the log. The log is found in the virtual machine's directory, not the directory holding Fusion executables.

There are two ways to get to this directory easily:

  • On the Virtual Machine Library window, right click on the virtual machine's name and select "Show in Finder". In the Finder window, you should see the contents of the folder where that VM is located. Right click on the virtual machine in the Finder window, and then select "Show Package Contents". Another Finder window should open with all of your virtual disk files and the log files (the latest log is named vmware.log). You can open this file with your favorite text editor.
  • On the Virtual Machine Library window, right click on the virtual machine name found on the left side bar while holding down the "Command" key, then selecting "Open Latest Log File". The log file will be opened for viewing.
- Paul (Technogeezer)
Editor of the Unofficial Fusion Companion Guides
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JuanCaba
Contributor
Contributor

Found the log file (thank you Technogeezer from a fellow geezer).  Looked for relevant lines in the log and found the text below.  Any ideas as to what it means in terms of the source of failure.  It says it can't create the virtual interface, but what would status 1009 mean?:

2021-01-27T12:33:14.039-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetMacosGetRealAdapterType: network type for adapter 0: 8
2021-01-27T12:33:14.039-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetMacosGetVnetProperties: vnet properties: vnet=vmnet8, nat=yes, dhcp=yes (ignored), subnet=172.16.47.0, mask=255.255.255.0, firstAddr=172.16.47.1, lastAddr=172.16.47.127, isIPv6=no, IPv6Prefix=fd15:4ba5:5a2b:1008::, IPv6PrefixLen=64
2021-01-27T12:33:14.039-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartInterface: Waiting on semaphore for adapter: 0
2021-01-27T12:33:14.060-06:00| host-274654| I005: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartHandler: starting interface for adapter: 0, status: 1009
2021-01-27T12:33:14.060-06:00| host-274654| W003: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartHandler: unable to create virtual intrface for device: 0, status: 1009
2021-01-27T12:33:14.061-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: Semaphore signalled for adapter: 0, timeoutMs=5000, waitMs=21
2021-01-27T12:33:14.061-06:00| vcpu-0| W003: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartInterface: Failed to create interface for adapter: 0, handlerStatus: 1009
2021-01-27T12:33:14.094-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetPort_Connect: Ethernet0: can't start virtual interface
2021-01-27T12:33:14.094-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: Msg_Post: Warning
2021-01-27T12:33:14.094-06:00| vcpu-0| I005: [msg.vnet.connectvnet] Could not connect 'Ethernet0' to virtual network '/dev/vmnet8'. More information can be found in the vmware.log file.

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Boon_rocks
Contributor
Contributor

I do have the same problem. Suddenly, the NAT Network cannot be started any more. Any suggestions how to fix this?

2021-04-18T16:11:56.752+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: DictionaryLoad: Cannot open file "/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/config": No such file or directory.
2021-04-18T16:11:56.756+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetMacosGetRealAdapterType: network type for adapter 0: 8
2021-04-18T16:11:56.756+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetMacosGetVnetProperties: vnet properties: vnet=vmnet8, nat=yes, dhcp=yes (ignored), subnet=172.16.238.0, mask=255.255.255.0, firstAddr=172.16.238.1, lastAddr=172.16.238.127, isIPv6=no, IPv6Prefix=fd15:4ba5:5a2b:1008::, IPv6PrefixLen=64
2021-04-18T16:11:56.756+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartInterface: Waiting on semaphore for adapter: 0
2021-04-18T16:11:56.782+02:00| host-32871| I005: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartHandler: starting interface for adapter: 0, status: 1001
2021-04-18T16:11:56.782+02:00| host-32871| W003: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartHandler: unable to create virtual intrface for device: 0, status: 1001
2021-04-18T16:11:56.782+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: Semaphore signalled for adapter: 0, timeoutMs=5000, waitMs=26
2021-04-18T16:11:56.782+02:00| vcpu-0| W003: VNET: MACVNetPortVirtApiStartInterface: Failed to create interface for adapter: 0, handlerStatus: 1001
2021-04-18T16:11:56.783+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: VNET: MACVNetPort_Connect: Ethernet0: can't start virtual interface
2021-04-18T16:11:56.783+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: Msg_Post: Warning
2021-04-18T16:11:56.783+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: [msg.vnet.connectvnet] Could not connect 'Ethernet0' to virtual network '/dev/vmnet8'. More information can be found in the vmware.log file.
2021-04-18T16:11:56.783+02:00| vcpu-0| I005: [msg.device.startdisconnected] Virtual device 'Ethernet0' will start disconnected.

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DavidGriffiths
Contributor
Contributor

I've suddenly started seeing that pop up message "vmware fusion could not connect 'ethernet0' to virtual network" since upgrading to Big Sur 11.3.1. I have Fusion 12.1.1. Using NAT by default. Biggest pain for me is that avahi-daemon no longer does its thing so I can't connect to "hostname.local" from the Mac side. I have to temporarily switch to Bridged mode, then I can ssh in but VPN access does not work so I have to switch back to NAT. I tried the "rm /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/NetworkInterfaces.plist" thing but that didn't work.

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VijayKK
Contributor
Contributor

Did any found any solution. If I use bridge mode I am loosing internet.

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AkhilBettadapur
Contributor
Contributor

Same Problem, any body got resolution.! Hope VMware resolves this bug soon!

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VijayKK
Contributor
Contributor

For me NAT works fine but when I use BRIDGE MODE it doesn't work. So I started using PARALLELS Instead of fusion

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j314erre
Contributor
Contributor

Here's what worked for me to get NAT working again with Big Sur:

 

  • Click on "Apple" logo in menu bar
  • Click "System Preferences"
  • Click "Sharing"
  • Disable "Internet Sharing"
  • Restart the VM.
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VijayKK
Contributor
Contributor

It was turned off for me and still it didn't work.

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