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Configuring a Network Adapter

Use this screen to change your virtual Ethernet adapter and to add additional virtual Ethernet adapters.

Under Device status:

• Connected — Check or uncheck this option while the virtual machine is running to connect or disconnect the virtual Ethernet adapter.
• Connect at power on — Check this option if you want the virtual Ethernet adapter to automatically connect to the virtual machine when it powers on. If you do not check this option, the adapter is not available to the virtual machine when it first powers on.

Under Network connection, you can choose:

• Bridged — If your host computer is on an Ethernet network, this is often the easiest way to give your virtual machine access to that network. With bridged networking, the virtual machine appears as an additional computer on the same physical Ethernet network as the host. A virtual machine with bridged networking may transparently use any of the services available on the network to which it is bridged, including file servers, printers, gateways and so on. Likewise, any physical host or other virtual machine configured with bridged networking can use resources of that virtual machine.
• NAT (Network Address Translation) — If you want to connect to the Internet or other TCP/IP network using the host computer's dial-up networking connection and you are not able to give your virtual machine an IP address on the external network, this is often the easiest way to give your virtual machine access to that network. The virtual machine does not have its own IP address on the external network. Instead, a separate private network is set up on the host computer. The virtual machine obtains an address on that network from the VMware virtual DHCP server.
• Host-only — When you use this type of network connection, the virtual machine is connected to the host operating system on a virtual private network, which normally is not visible outside the host. Multiple virtual machines configured with host-only networking on the same host are on the same network.
• Custom — If you want to set up a more complex networking configuration, select Custom for one or more of the virtual network adapters. After selecting Custom, choose a virtual switch (VMnet2-VMnet7or VMnet9) from the drop-down list. This connects your virtual machine's adapter to that switch. All virtual machines running on the same host computer and connected to the same virtual switch are on the same virtual network.

If you are adding a new virtual Ethernet adapter, click Add to install the device.

To remove an existing virtual Ethernet adapter, select that Ethernet adapter, then click Remove.

Click OK to save the configuration and close the virtual machine settings editor.

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