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andrewconstanti
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Contributor
‎10-07-2020 06:38 AM
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Bridged vs NAT connection

Windows 10 host, ubuntu guest in vmware workstation 15 player.

On my home network, I have the network adapter of the workstation set to "bridged" and it connects perfectly fine automatically.

On my work network, I cannot connect with a bridged connection, but as soon as I change it to NAT, it connects right away.

I do not have a very good understanding of networks, could some please provide me with an explanation why I see this behaviour? Would it be possible to connect to my work network through a bridged connection as well?

My understanding is that the bridged connection should connect my wifi PCIE from my host computer into the vm. However, the guest would still be assigned a unique IP by the router? In contrast, the NAT connection just assigns the same IP from the host onto the guest computer.

I appreciate the help!

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a_p_
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‎10-07-2020 06:56 AM
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Welcome to the Community,

For a "Bridged" virtual network adapter, the host shares its physical adapters, i.e. the VM basically connects to the network like any other physical system. This also requires that the VM hat a valid IP address, or receive one from a DHCP server. With bridged networking, the VM is accessible from the network.

"NAT" on the other hand shares the hosts network connection by assigning the VMs an IP address from a private network, and translates network requests from the guest. This way the host appears as a single system to the network. VMs configured with NAT networking cannot be accessed from other systems on the network by default.

The reason why you cannot access the work network from the VM is likely caused by security policies, which prevent that unknown devices can access the network, or that only a single system can use a single network port.

One word of caution: Make sure that your company allows you to run virtual machines which access the network. In some companies this is considered a severe security violation, which can lead to personal consequences!

André

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a_p_
Leadership
Leadership
‎10-07-2020 06:56 AM
Jump to solution

Welcome to the Community,

For a "Bridged" virtual network adapter, the host shares its physical adapters, i.e. the VM basically connects to the network like any other physical system. This also requires that the VM hat a valid IP address, or receive one from a DHCP server. With bridged networking, the VM is accessible from the network.

"NAT" on the other hand shares the hosts network connection by assigning the VMs an IP address from a private network, and translates network requests from the guest. This way the host appears as a single system to the network. VMs configured with NAT networking cannot be accessed from other systems on the network by default.

The reason why you cannot access the work network from the VM is likely caused by security policies, which prevent that unknown devices can access the network, or that only a single system can use a single network port.

One word of caution: Make sure that your company allows you to run virtual machines which access the network. In some companies this is considered a severe security violation, which can lead to personal consequences!

André