Fusion 12 - Can't set Bridged network to a specific interface

[ecb]

Player Version 12.0.0 (16880131)

MacOS 11.0 beta 9 (20A5384c)

Windows 10 guest.

I'm unable to bridge the guest network interface to a specific host NIC. It appears to only allow "autodetect" which seems to select the the first host interface in the current service order.

I have two wired ethernet interfaces and a wifi interface. I want to bridge to a wired interface which is not the first in the current service order.

This worked in previous versions of Fusion. Should it work now? Is this a Player limitation?

The feature comparison notes Player doesn't support: "Virtual Network Customization (NAT, network rename)" but it's not clear (to me) what that means.

Thanks for any help.

[nancyz]

Hi ecb ,

I'm unable to bridge the guest network interface to a specific host NIC

Does the wired network adapter listed in VM Network Adapter settings pane? Could you upload a screenshot of your VM Network Adapter settings? Thanks.

[ecb]

Hi,

Yes, all active interfaces show in the Network Settings pane. Selecting a specific interface doesn't change the bridged adapter. And I have shutdown and restarted the guest as well as deleting and recreating the interface.  N.B. only "Autodetect" shows in the menu bar drop-down for 'Bridged'.

Thanks for your help.

E.

[nancyz]

Hi ecb ,

And I have shutdown and restarted the guest as well as deleting and recreating the interface.  N.B. only "Autodetect" shows in the menu bar drop-down for 'Bridged'.

Could you check the vmx file if it contains the lines like:

ethernet0.connectionType = "custom"

ethernet0.vnet = "vmnet3"

ethernet0.bsdName = "en0"

ethernet0.displayName = "Thunderbolt Ethernet"

If not, please try to quit and relaunch Fusion, then re-select Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter via VM network settings. Hope that could help.

[ecb]

Those lines don't appear. Restarting VMWare makes no difference.

Here are the ethernet0 lines for each of the three interface types.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bridged

———

ethernet0.addressType = "static"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.address = "00:50:56:2F:67:6C"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "160"

ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "TRUE"

NAT

——

ethernet0.addressType = "static"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.address = "00:50:56:2F:67:6C"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "160"

ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"

Host-Only

—————

ethernet0.addressType = "static"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000e"

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.address = "00:50:56:2F:67:6C"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "160"

ethernet0.connectionType = "hostonly"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "TRUE" means Bridged (Autodetect)

Since the Windows installation was originally created using the tech preview of Fusion 12, I created a new Win10 VM as a clean start test. It behaves identically. I tested a number of permutation of setting the interface type.

1) I can only change the interface type from the Menu Bar dropdown Virtual Machines -> Network Interfaces. Any change made in the Network Interface Settings panel have no effect.

2) Contrary to my original post the interface used for Bridged mode is always the same, Thunderbolt Ethernet Slot 1, regardless of current Service Order in the host.

It would be really good to know if Bridging to a specific interface is expected to work in Fusion Player. If I have time I'll try to install a trial version of Fusion Pro to see if it behaves differently.

Again, thanks for your help.

Addendum: I completely uninstalled Player then reinstalled a Fusion 12 Pro trial. The behavior is the same. Sigh. It's possible but I think unlikely this is a Big Sur issue.  If I have time I'll try this on Catalina later today.

[ivivanov]

Hi ecb,

Looking at your second screenshot there is something wrong with it. Here is how my screenshot looks like:

You can see there is a separate column with dots on the right. In order to change the selection - you need to click on the *dot*, but not just on the line (clicking on the text changes the highlighted row, updates the description text, but *DOES NOT* actually change the network selection).

In your screenshot the dots column is missing. I assume it is because the labels in your case are a bit longer and (possibly) there is a problem in the UI that does not display them properly. Can you please rename your services to something shorter through System Preferences/Network and see whether the dots column will appear in the UI?

Hope this helps.

[ecb]

With the last Big Sur beta (and now with the released version 11.0.1) the selection dots appear in the Network Adapter settings and I'm able to select any interface to bridge to. 

So it's all working as expected.

Thanks all for the suggestions and the patience with questions about beta software