Modifying the DHCP settings of vmnet1 and vmnet8 in Fusion

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article provides the steps to modify the default DHCP settings for the vmnet1 (Host-only) and vmnet8 (NAT) network adapters.

For more information about these adapters, see Understanding networking types in VMware Fusion (1022264).

Caution: Do not modify the dhcp.conf file. Modify only the networking file, as detailed in this article.

Symptoms:

 

Environment

VMware Fusion 4.x
VMware Fusion 10.x
VMware Fusion 3.x
VMware Fusion 6.x
VMware Fusion 7.x
VMware Fusion 8.x
VMware Fusion 5.x
VMware Fusion Pro 11.x
VMware Fusion Pro 10.x
VMware Fusion Pro 8.x
VMware Fusion 11.x

Resolution

To modify the default DHCP settings for the vmnet1 (Host-only) and vmnet8 (NAT) network adapters:

1. Shut down all virtual machines and quit Fusion.
2. Open a Terminal window. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
3. Run this command:
   
   In Fusion 4.x and above:
   
   sudo nano /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/networking
   
   In Fusion 3.x and earlier:
   
   sudo nano /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/networking
    
4. When prompted for a password, enter the administrator user's password.
   
   Note: For security reasons, the password that you type is not displayed. You need not enter your password again for the next five minutes.
    
5. Modify the NETMASK and SUBNET sections of the appropriate adapter(s), as required.
6. Press Ctrl + X to exit.
7. When prompted, press Y to save.
8. In Fusion 4 and later, restarting Fusion restarts the networking service. In Fusion 3.x and earlier, run this command in Terminal to restart the boot.sh script and to load the changes:
   
   sudo ./Macintosh HD/Library/Application\ Support/boot.sh --restart

Note: When using 4.x and above, do not use the boot.sh --restart command because it may result in unexpected behaviors. Instead, restart Fusion.
 

Note: VMware Fusion 6.x Professional, Fusion 7.x Pro and Fusion 8.x Pro includes a network editor that can be used to make the required changes.

To access the network editor:

1. Click VMware Fusion in the menu bar.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Click Network.
4. Click the + sign located at the bottom right to add a custom network connection.

Additional Information

Run the following commands in sequence to update the changes without restarting Fusion 4.x and later. These can be used if you do not want to relaunch Fusion(if you have other Virtual Machines running).

sudo /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmnet-cli --configure
sudo /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmnet-cli --stop
sudo /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmnet-cli --start

Opening a command or shell prompt
Editing files on an ESX host using vi or nano
Understanding networking types in VMware Fusion