Dual network card and 2 networks

[Siberiantiger]

Hi!

We have  networks, 10.247.148.0/23 and 10.148.0.0/24

We also have 2 physical network cards on our computers. Is there a way to have both networks on these computers?

We want the first one to be the ip address for the local OS and the other one only availible to the virtual maschines (VMWare Workstation)

Without doing any special configuration, we get problems on the local OS (Windows 7) because it does not know where to sendt packets when using local network programs installed on the computer.

So, is there a way to make this work with VMWare Workstation 7.1.4? And if so, could someone explain in detail how to do this?!

[WoodyZ · Accepted solution]

Use Bridged networking in the VM's Settings and disable automatic bridging on VMnet0 and assign a specific NIC in the Virtual Network Editor.  If you do not want the Host to use that physical NIC and just the Guest then disable everything but VMware Bridged Protocol on the Physical NIC's Settings.

[RDPetruska]

Yes, you can do this.

In the host OS, for the network card you want only the host to use, de-select the VMware Bridge Protocol from the list of drivers/protocols/clients installed.  For the network card you want only the guests to use, de-select all items except the VMware Bridge Protocol.

In the Virtual Network Editor, disable automatic bridging, and specify the network card you want the guests to use.

[Siberiantiger]

Thank you very much for the quick positive response! I will try this tomorrow when i get to work again and will of course add to this post what worked and not..

By the way, is this a documented way of doing this? If so, where can i find this documentation?

[RDPetruska]

Some of it is documented in the User Manual - Networking chapters.

Other parts unofficially documented by advanced users - see http://www.sanbarrow.com/transparentbridge.html for similar but different setup.

[Siberiantiger]

RDPetruska - I tried your solution, but could still access the other network from the local host. So local network software i had installed on my computer stopped working because it randomly took the wrong path / network. Did i do anything wrong? Could you please explain the process in detail?

[WoodyZ]

If I understood what you wanted correctly then I already gave you the answer.

The Host has two NIC's and you want one just to be used by the Guest and not the Host is that correct?  If yes then do the following.

In the Guest's Settings under Network Adapter set it to Bridged.

In the Virtual Network Editor disable automatic bridging on VMnet0 and assign it the NIC that is to be used only by the Guest.

In Windows 7 Networking disable all protocols except for VMware Bridged Protocol on the NIC that is to be used only by the Guest.

It's really just that simple and while you're at it... To gain a better understanding of the VMware Virtual Network Infrastructure I'd strongly suggest you read Chapters 14 (Configuring a Virtual Network) & 15 (Advanced Virtual Networking) in the Workstation User's Manual. (Also available in the VMware Workstation Help File.)