For some configurations, you may need to set up more than one host-only network on the same host computer.

You may, for example, want to have two virtual machines connected to one host-only network, and at the same time have other virtual machines connected to another host-only network so the network traffic on each network is isolated.

Or you may want to test routing between two virtual networks. Or test a virtual machine with multiple network interface cards — without using any physical Ethernet adapters.

On Windows hosts, the first host-only network is set up automatically when you install GSX Server.

On Linux hosts, the first host-only network is set up when you run the vmware-config.pl program after you install GSX Server (provided you agree to install host-only networking). If you did not agree to use host-only networking, you need to run the script again to set up host-only networking.

To set up the second host-only network, follow the steps outlined below for your host operating system.

Follow these steps to set up the second host-only interface on a Windows host.

1. Choose Host > Virtual Network Settings > Host Virtual Adapters.

2. Click Add new adapter.

3. Choose the virtual network on which you want to use the adapter and click OK.

4. Click Apply.

5. Click OK to close the Virtual Network Editor.

1. As root (su -), run the GSX Server configuration program.
vmware-config.pl

2. Use the wizard to modify your configuration. After asking about a NAT network, the program asks:

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual machines?

Answer yes.

The wizard reports on host-only networks that you have already set up on the host or, if no host-only network is present, configures the first one.

3. The wizard asks:

Do you wish to configure another host-only network?

Answer yes.

Repeat this step until you have as many host-only networks as you want. Then answer no.

4. Complete the remaining steps in the wizard. When the wizard is finished, it restarts all services used by GSX Server.

5. Run ifconfig. You should see at least four network interfaces — eth0, lo, vmnet1 and vmnet2. If the VMnet interfaces do not show up immediately, wait for a minute, then run the command again. These four interfaces should have different IP address on separate subnets.

Now you have two host-only interfaces (VMnet1 and VMnet2). You are ready to set up your virtual machines for one of the following configurations:

1. The virtual machine is configured with one virtual Ethernet adapter, and that virtual adapter is connected to the default host-only interface (VMnet 1).

2. The virtual machine is configured with one virtual Ethernet adapter, and that virtual adapter is connected to the newly created host-only interface (VMnet2).

3. The virtual machine is configured with two virtual Ethernet adapters. One virtual adapter is connected to the default host-only interface (VMnet1) and the other virtual adapter is connected to the newly created host-only interface (VMnet2).

1. Create the virtual machine or use an existing virtual machine.

2. Launch a VMware Virtual Machine Console and open the virtual machine.

3. Edit the configuration using the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings).

Select NIC, select Custom, then choose VMnet1 (Host-only) (on a Windows host) or /dev/vmnet1 (on a Linux host) from the drop-down list on the right.

If no network adapter is shown in the list of devices, click Add, then use the Add Hardware Wizard to add an adapter.

1. Create the virtual machine or use an existing virtual machine.

2. Launch a VMware Virtual Machine Console and open the virtual machine.

3. Edit the configuration using the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings).

Select NIC, select Custom, then choose VMnet 2 (Host-only) (on a Windows host) or /dev/vmnet2 (on a Linux host) from the drop-down list on the right.

If no network adapter is shown in the list of devices, click Add, then use the Add Hardware Wizard to add an adapter.

1. Create the virtual machine or use an existing virtual machine.

2. Launch VMware GSX Server and open the virtual machine.

3. Edit the configuration using the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings).

Select the first network adapter in the list of devices, select Custom, then choose VMnet1 (Host-only) (on a Windows host) or /dev/vmnet1 (on a Linux host) from the drop-down list on the right. Select the second network adapter in the list of devices, select Custom, then choose VMnet 2 (Host-only) (on a Windows host) or /dev/vmnet2 (on a Linux host) from the drop-down list on the right.

If you need to add one or more network adapters, click Add, then use the Add Hardware Wizard to add an adapter.

At this point you can power on the virtual machine and install your guest operating system. In configurations 1 and 2 you see one AMD PCNet Family Adapter. In configuration 3 you see two AMD PCNet Family Adapters within the guest. Configure the Ethernet adapters as you would physical adapters on a physical computer, giving each adapter an IP address on the appropriate VMnet subnet.

On Windows hosts, you can open a command prompt and run ipconfig /all to see what IP addresses each host-only network is using.

On Linux hosts, you can open a terminal and run ifconfig to see what IP addresses each host-only network is using.