VMware host-only networking Internet access

Question

I am running a Ubuntu Linux VM using VMware Player on a Windows 7 host.

I don't want to connect directly to the network or use NAT; I need host-only networking but also need Internet access. How can I do this?

Solution 1

At the end of the day you will have to either use some form of NAT or Bridge. If you can't/don't want to let VMWare do it for you, you can have windows do it by enabling Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on the host's connection.

1. Go to Control Panel -> Network and Internet ->Network and Sharing Center
2. Click on 'Change adapter settings'
3. Right click the connection you wish to share (the one which does have access to the net)
4. Click properties
5. Go to the sharing tab at the top of the window
6. Check the first checkbox
7.(optional) select the VMWare adapter responsible for the host only connection with the guest from the drop down box.

Solution 2

"Host-only networking provides a network connection between the virtual machine and the host computer, using a virtual Ethernet adapter that is visible to the host operating system. This approach can be useful if you need to set up an isolated virtual network." - Host-only networking

Solution 3

if your host is a linux box you can set up your own NAT for the host-only vmware

echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -s 172.16.60.150 -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE

where 172.16.60.150 is the IP of your vmware image and eth0 is the interface with access to Internet

Comments

[jcrawfordor]

Please explain what you are trying to achieve, because I think you are approaching it the wrong way.

[Tarek Fadel]

You're right, edited answer to reflect that. Thanks