How do I bridge my internal wireless card to VMWare Workstation 10 guest and still isolate the host?

[akuseix]

My current setup:

• VMWare Workstation 10.0.3 (trial)
• Host OS is Windows 8.1 x64
• Guest VM is Windows 8.1 x64
• Host has 1 wired ethernet and 1 internal wireless NIC (Broadcom 802.11n BCM43XX)
• No antivirus (except windows defender) is installed
• Firewall on both the host OS and guest VM are turned off

What I'm trying to accomplish is to have the host OS use the wired ethernet to connect to an internal private network and the guest VM to use the wireless NIC in bridge mode to access the internet but still keep the host OS isolated from the internet.

I have followed the VMWare guide (http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=102035...) which instructed me to disable everything on the wireless NIC except "VMWare Bridge Protocol". I changed "VMNet 0" from automatic bridging to bridge the specific wireless NIC and set my guest VM to use bridging. I connect to the wireless network from the host OS and then attempt to get a DHCP address inside the guest VM but it does not work. I even tried assigning a static IP and pinging the gateway which also does not work.

I tried uninstalling the wireless NIC drivers, reinstalling them, resetting the winsock catalog and ip stack, uninstalled and reinstalling VMWare, but nothing seems to work. I have also tried to connect to the wireless network through the same wireless NIC on the host (with all the appropriate protocols enabled) and the host is able to connect and pull a DHCP address from the router; it just will not work in the VM. Likewise, if I leave everything enabled (protocol bindings) and connect to the wireless network from the host and get an IP address, I am able to bridge the guest VM and access the network with a static IP address but this is not what I need... I need to have complete host isolation.

Any idea of what I'm doing wrong?

The network topology over here is such that the internet facing network is wireless only and the private internal network is wired only, so testing the internet connection on a wired NIC isn't possible. Plus, this is a laptop and it only has 1 wired NIC so using something like an external wireless-to-ethernet bridge is out of the question.

I was using a wireless USB adapter and connecting that directly to the guest VM and this works but is a huge headache since over time, the USB adapter seems to stop working inside the VM and I constantly need to unplug the adapter, plug it back in and even sometimes have to go so far as to disable the device and re-enable it inside the guest VM's device manager (and yes, the drivers for the device are made for windows 8 and the device is fully compatible).

[Aiden1]

Hi

Welcome to communities.

you need to select which NIC want o user for vmware ,accordingly vm ware will create virtual adapter .,

[WoodyZ]

Aiden1 wrote: you need to select which NIC want o user for vmware ,accordingly vm ware will create virtual adapter .,

Aiden1 did you ever read the OP and if you did from your reply I'd have to say you certainly didn't comprehend it at all!  Your reply is not totally accurate and it's compleately wrong as a solution to the issue of the OP!  When VMware Workstation is installed it automatically creates the Virtual Network Infrastructure consisting of VMnet0 (Bridged), VMnet1 (Host-Only) and VMnet8 (NAT) and when selecting what type of network adapter to use of these three default adapters nothing is being created as they already exist and the OP is trying to use the existing VMnet0 (Bridged) which has already been set to the Wi-Fi network Adapter vs. the default Automatic.

[WoodyZ]

akuseix from what you've already done, and the fact that you're in a Managed Environment, I'd say the issue is most likely caused by a Network Administration Policy in that the Wi-Fi Network Adapter is connecting to a Managed Switch which is configured to disallow multiple MAC Addresses per Port.  You could test this by trying to connect to a Wi-Fi Router at home or a friends as these Routers are not typically managed in the same way.  If you can connect at home (or a friends) but not while at work then this validates my assumption.  This assumption is based on what you've presented thus far and that fact it is quite normal in Managed Environments not to allow multiple MAC Addresses per Port on a Managed Switch and while quit often Users come here with this same issue when at work.

Your other option would be to try using NAT for the VM's Network Adapter and disabling the Host's VMnet8 Network Adapter so as to not allow connectivity directly between the Host and Guest.  You can down the Host's VMnet8 Network Adapter in the Virtual Network Editor or from within the Host OS.  I'd opt for using the Virtual Network Editor.

[ittvn]

Hey friend, you can refer to a tutorial here, it have a three way for VmWare Workstation connect Internet (Brigde, NAT and Host Only) Hướng dẫn kết nối Internet (kết nối mạng) cho máy ảo VMware Workstation - YouTube

[Virtually]

May depend on what type of network adapter you're using and how it connects to your system hardware.

It's my understanding that if you "pass through" a device to your Guest, that Guest has monopolistic use of the device and even the Host cannot use it.