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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

Network connection in Guest VM (Win 8 x64) keeps dropping after a few hours (Host: Mac OS X 10.8.5, Macbook Pro Retina)

VMWare Platform: VMWare Fusion 6.0.1 (30 day trial)

Guest OS: Windows 8 x64 (patched to latest updates)

Guest Networking: Bridged

Host OS: Mac OS 10.8.5

Host Machine: Macbook Pro Retina (network is over WiFi)

Wireless Router: Airport Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation) - All IPs are assigned via DHCP

Issue: After a few hours, the guest network shows no/limited connectivity. There is a yellow triangle in the system tray which says Limited connectivity and all network traffic in the guest stops. The Host (Mac OS) experiences no downtime.

Work around: Exit full screen mode from guest OS, VMWare fusion host menu => Virtual Machines => Network Adapter => Disconnect and then Reconnect again)

Question: Is there a fix to prevent this bug from happening in the first place? Loss of network connectivity is a pain

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18 Replies
ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

Have you tried switching to NAT?

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

That is not a workable solution for the guest OS's role.

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ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

Some networks only allow a single IP address per physical MAC - that's why I asked about NAT.  Have you checked with your network admin to see if you have that restriction in place?

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

The VM interface has its own MAC address. The network router is an AirPort Extreme; its self administered.

If that were the issue why would it get the initial IP via DHCP?

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ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

It has a virtual MAC, not a physical one, but yeah, the extreme isn't likely to do that (it's an enterprise-class thing).

Is the host perhaps sleeping?

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ulrich_scherb
Contributor
Contributor

hello,


i have the same problem too ...

after upgrading netowring with fusion 5.0.3 is a night mare

every 2-3 hours the network is gone

if you suspend and resume the network is gone

very dissatisfying Smiley Sad

and everything was find with mac osx 10.8.x previously.

regards,

ulrich

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

Ok!

Its possible, yesterday this happened in the morning about 5 mins after opening the lid of the laptop. But sometimes this has happened in the afternoon (mid work day) when plugged in. I doubt it sleeps in those instances. Regardless, shouldn't the guest complete this DHCP when it wakes up (assuming a dhcp lease boundary)? Just the way the OS (Win8) would do if it were on a physical machine waking from sleep?

What do you think?

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ColoradoMarmot
Champion
Champion

It should..... :winking_face:

I'm stretching here, but have a couple of ideas.  Apple by default now 'soft sleeps' the computer (PowerNap), even when plugged in unless you override the settings.  Might be worth verifying the power settings in system preferences (hey, it's a straw, but worth a check - sometimes upgrades reset those options).

The other idea is that maybe the DHCP leases are expiring and not getting renewed.

Beyond that, maybe Woody has some ideas - he's deeper in this stuff than I am.  Woody are you watching? :slightly_smiling_face:

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

Ok, host sleeping is NOT the issue. This just happened right in the middle of an active user session (on VM).

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nancyz
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Sid314 wrote:

VMWare Platform: VMWare Fusion 6.0.1 (30 day trial)

Guest OS: Windows 8 x64 (patched to latest updates)

Guest Networking: Bridged

Host OS: Mac OS 10.8.5

Host Machine: Macbook Pro Retina (network is over WiFi)

Wireless Router: Airport Extreme 802.11n (5th Generation) - All IPs are assigned via DHCP

Hi Sid314,

Have you tried other wireless router? Are you facing the same problem after you changed to other wireless route?

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

I don't have another wireless router to try. Not to mention I'm paying for this product so that VMware tests it at its end instead of paying users becoming beta testers for VMware.

Nothing in my configuration is exotic or custom built either - Apple routers are part of the standard wifi alliance testing.

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nancyz
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Hi Sid,

Are you still facing the same issue in your VM using your setup?

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

Yes, do you have a solution now?

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nancyz
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Sid314 wrote:

Yes, do you have a solution now?

No, I have the same setup with you. But my VM network works fine. BTW, I just used the default setting for my Airport Extreme.

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crdotme
Contributor
Contributor

I have the same issue.

Mac Mini w/ Airport Extreme hard-wired (Ethernet). Windows 8.1 x64 Guest. Network connectivity lost randomly every few hours, even when I'm right in the middle of an RDP session to a Windows server.

Mac stays connected. I'm evaluating VMWare Fusion 6. This is frustrating to put it mildly.

My Mac pulls an IP via DHCP, but the VM has a static IP assigned by me along with some static persistent routes. When the network drops, I can't even ping other hosts on my own network.

VM adapter is in Ethernet Bridged mode. Disconnecting and reconnecting the adapter does not fix it for me. I have to shut down the VM and restart it. Would be very interested in a fix.

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leapfrogs
Contributor
Contributor

Have a look at solution here as it looks like a Hotpug issue on the network card:

This issue occurs when the Network Interface Card (NIC) HotPlug is enabled.

To resolve this issue, disable the Network Interface Card (NIC) HotPlug.

For more information, see Disabling the HotAdd/HotPlug capability in ESXi 5.x and ESXi/ESX 4.x virtual machines (1012225).

To disable the HotPlug capability by editing the .vmx file:

  1. Power off the virtual machine.
  2. Connect to the ESX service console using an SSH client.
  3. Open the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx) using a text editor. The default location is:

    /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/vm_name.vmx

  4. Add the line:

    devices.hotplug = "false"

  5. Save the file.
  6. Power on the virtual machine.

Alternatively:

  1. Connect to the ESXi/ESX host or vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
  2. Power off the virtual machine.
  3. Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
  4. Click the Options tab.
  5. Click General > Configuration Parameters > Add Row.
  6. Insert a new row with the name devices.hotplug and set its value to false.
  7. Power on the virtual machine.

Note: Do not edit the virtual machine configuration file when the virtual machine is running.

VMware KB: Virtual machines in the VMware View environment lose network connectivity

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dangero
Contributor
Contributor

leapfrogs, your solution did not resolve the issue for me. I put the devices.hotplug = true into my vmx file, but I just now lost internet connection again. Just like crdotme I have to fully close VMWare Fusion and reopen to fix it. I'm using VMWare fusion in a professional capacity for 8 hours a day, so this is VERY annoying.

My Mac still has internet connectivity, but the Windows 8.1 x64 vm does not. Even if I "restart windows" in the VM, connectivity is not regained. It's almost certainly an issue in the OS X or Fusion layer. I'm using the "shared connection" mode, while other people are reporting that they are using bridged, so I don't think it has anything to do with that either.

-Dan

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Sid314
Contributor
Contributor

Ok, so I might have a workaround that, well, works. I started having these issues after I upgraded my VMWare Fusion from one minor version to another (6=>6.01=>6.02 or something). This issue seems to be due to improper upgrades/bugs when upgrading VMWare 6.xx. Along with the intermittent network issues, I was also having weird issues like mouse clicks sometimes not working or VMWare freezing when connecting an external monitor (I'd have to shutdown and restart VMWare each time).

Workaround (15 minutes)

  1. Uninstall VMWare Guest tools from the guest VM
  2. Uninstall VMWare Fusion (instructions)
  3. Reboot your Mac
  4. Reinstall VMWare Fusion
  5. Create a new Virtual Machine but use your existing virtual disk (vmdk) so everything carries over. If you're paranoid do make a copy of your VM but I didn't (since I do have periodic backups anyways). Details:
    1. Launch VMWare Fusion =>
    2. Virtual Machine Library =>
    3. Add =>
    4. New =>
    5. More Options =>
    6. Create a custom virtual machine =>
    7. Pick your OS (eg: Windows 8 x64) =>
    8. Choose a Virtual Disk =>
    9. Use an existing virtual disk =>
    10. Navigate to your existing Virtual Machine's virtual disk (this is the key step)
      • I do NOT think you need to "Make a separate copy" and I chose "Take this disk away ..." which moves, not copies, the VMDK virtual disk file (mine was 100GB).
    11. Continue this wizard
  6. Boot this newly created VM
  7. Install VMWare Guest tools
  8. Email VMWare to fix their upgrade process and improve their testing coverage for upgrades.

Now you should have a fully working guest VM. Granted its a pain but it takes 15 minutes (on my macbook pro)

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