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Léon Zhang

Software Engineer

Infrastructure
#VMware#macOS#Networking#Virtualization

VMware Fusion Networking Configuration

Practical notes on configuring VMware Fusion virtual networks, DHCP/NAT settings, and useful commands on macOS.

Sep 6, 20252 min readLéon Zhang
VMware Fusion Networking Configuration

VMware Fusion Networking Configuration

Configuration File Location

  • Path: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/networking
  • Requires sudo access for editing

Current Configuration Content

text
VERSION=1,0
answer VNET_1_DHCP no
answer VNET_1_HOSTONLY_NETMASK 255.255.255.0
answer VNET_1_HOSTONLY_SUBNET 192.168.1.0
answer VNET_1_HOSTONLY_UUID 31E17A97-6F3C-41DB-932E-9D493E6FE614
answer VNET_1_VIRTUAL_ADAPTER yes
answer VNET_8_DHCP yes
answer VNET_8_DHCP_CFG_HASH 4DC03A7316BB90545231A786857C44B2D6EE3D2D
answer VNET_8_HOSTONLY_NETMASK 255.255.255.0
answer VNET_8_HOSTONLY_SUBNET 172.16.54.0
answer VNET_8_HOSTONLY_UUID 65DAB13D-9556-4300-9B2C-10B67BEB779F
answer VNET_8_NAT yes
answer VNET_8_VIRTUAL_ADAPTER yes

Network Configuration

  • VNET_1: Host-only network (192.168.1.0/24, no DHCP, no internet)
  • VNET_8: NAT network (172.16.54.0/24, DHCP enabled, internet access)

Advanced Configuration Files

DHCP Configuration

Location: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet8/dhcpd.conf

bash
subnet 172.16.54.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
    range 172.16.54.128 172.16.54.254;
    option broadcast-address 172.16.54.255;
    option domain-name-servers 172.16.54.2;
    option domain-name "localdomain";
    option routers 172.16.54.2;
    default-lease-time 1800;
    max-lease-time 7200;
}
 
# Static IP assignment example
host myvm {
    hardware ethernet 00:0c:29:02:00:f1;
    fixed-address 172.16.54.100;
}

NAT Configuration

Location: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet8/nat.conf

bash
[incomingtcp]
# Forward host port 2222 to SSH on VM
2222 = 172.16.54.100:22
# Forward port 8080 to VM web server
8080 = 172.16.54.100:80
 
[incomingudp]
# UDP port forwarding example
5353 = 172.16.54.100:53

Essential Commands

bash
# Configure and restart networking
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
 
# Edit configuration files
sudo vi /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/networking
sudo vi /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/vmnet8/dhcpd.conf
sudo vi /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/vmnet8/nat.conf
 
# Make files writable if needed
sudo chmod 644 /Library/Preferences/VMware\ Fusion/networking

References

  • VMware Fusion Pro VMnet Configuration Guide
  • Customizing VMware Fusion Virtual Networks
  • Modifying DHCP settings of vmnet1 and vmnet8 in Fusion
  • Understanding networking types in VMware Fusion
  • VMware Fusion Network Configuration Gist

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