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Today, I will talk to you about what the VMware network connection mode refers to. Many people may not know much about it. In order to make you understand better, the editor has summarized the following content for you. I hope you can get something according to this article.

In the process of creating a virtual machine using VMware Workstation (hereinafter referred to as: VMware), configuring the network connection of the virtual machine is a very important part. When we configure the network connection for the virtual machine, we can see several network connection modes shown in the following figure: bridge mode, NAT mode, host-only mode, and custom network connection mode. So what are the main uses of each of these network connection modes and what are the differences between them?

In order to make better use of virtual machines, it is necessary to understand the main uses of these connection modes and the differences between them. Here, we will take the following network connection diagram as an example to introduce it.

In VMware, the network connection of virtual machines is mainly realized by virtual switches (also known as virtual networks) created by VMware, and VMware can create multiple virtual networks as needed. On the host of the Windows system, VMware can create up to 20 virtual networks, each virtual network can connect any number of virtual machine network devices; on the host of the Linux system, VMware can create up to 255virtual networks, but each virtual network can only connect 32 virtual machine network devices.

VMware's virtual networks are named in the form of "VMnet+ numbers", such as VMnet0, VMnet1, VMnet2... And so on (on hosts on Linux systems, the names of virtual networks are in lowercase, such as vmnet0).

When we install VMware, VMware automatically creates a virtual machine network for each of the three network connection modes: VMnet0 (bridging mode), VMnet8 (NAT mode), and VMnet1 (host only mode). In addition, we can also create more virtual networks as needed.

VMware bridging mode

VMware bridging mode, that is, the virtual network adapter of the virtual machine is handed over to the physical network adapter of the host, and the virtual network adapter in the virtual machine can directly access the external network through the physical network adapter in the host (such as the LAN and Internet shown in the figure, the same below). In short, it's like adding a new, stand-alone computer to the LAN shown above. Therefore, the virtual machine will also occupy an IP address in the local area network and can access each other with other terminals. Bridge mode network connections support wired and wireless host network adapters. If you want to treat the virtual machine as a completely independent computer and allow it to communicate on the network like other terminals, bridging mode is usually the easiest way for the virtual machine to access the network.

VMware NAT mode

NAT is the abbreviation of Network Address Translation, which means network address translation. NAT mode is also the default network connection mode for VMware to create virtual machines. When using NAT mode network connections, VMware establishes a separate private network on the host to communicate with each other between the host and the virtual machine. The request data "package" sent by the virtual machine to the external network will be handed over to the NAT network adapter with a "special mark" and forwarded in the name of the host. The response data "package" returned by the external network is also received by the host first, and then sent to the NAT network adapter to identify and forward to the corresponding virtual machine according to the "special mark". Therefore, the virtual machine does not have to have its own IP address in the external network. From the perspective of the external network, the virtual machine and the host share an IP address, and by default, the external network terminal cannot access the virtual machine.

In addition, only one virtual network in NAT mode is allowed on a host. Therefore, multiple virtual machines connected to the network in NAT mode on the same host can also access each other.

As mentioned earlier, by default, the virtual machine cannot be accessed by the external network, but we can also manually modify the NAT setting to achieve port forwarding to forward the data sent from the external network to the designated port of the host to the specified virtual machine. For example, we "set up" a site on port 80 of the virtual machine, as long as we set up port forwarding to forward the data on port 88 of the host to port 80 of the virtual machine. The external network can access the site on port 80 of the virtual machine through the host's port 88.

VMware host-only mode

Host-only mode is a more closed network connection mode than NAT mode, which creates a private network that is completely included in the host. The host-only virtual network adapter is visible only to the host and provides network connectivity between the virtual machine and the host system. Compared to NAT mode, only host mode does not have NAT functionality, so by default, virtual machines using host-only network connections cannot connect to Internet (virtual machines can still connect to Internet or other networks by installing appropriate routing or agent software on hosts or using Internet connection sharing on hosts on Windows systems).

Multiple virtual networks in host-only mode can be created on the same host, and if multiple virtual machines are in the same host-only mode network, they can communicate with each other; if they are in different host-only mode networks, they cannot communicate with each other by default (they can communicate with each other by setting up routers between them).

Custom network connection configuration

Using the virtual network connection components provided by WMware, you can also create complex virtual networks. Instead of going into detail here, you can refer to the official documentation and create a virtual network through the virtual network editor provided by VMware.

Figuratively speaking:

A virtual machine in bridge mode is like an adult who has "registered permanent residence" at the router "Civil Affairs Bureau". He or she lives in the same courtyard as the mainframe, but at least he or she has a hukou. You can swagger and communicate directly with the outside world.

The virtual machine of NAT mode is purely an unregistered household registration. The router "Civil Affairs Bureau" simply does not know that there is such a person, and naturally will not take the initiative to communicate with it. Even if the virtual machine occasionally sends letters to the outside, it has to be forwarded to the host in the name of the host, and the host has specially hired an old man named NAT to be responsible for the sending and receiving of these virtual machines.

The virtual machine, which is only in mainframe mode, is a pure black slave. Not only does it have no hukou, the router "Civil Affairs Bureau" does not know such a person, but it is also in a small dark room by the main organ, and even letters are not allowed to be sent out.

After reading the above, do you have any further understanding of what the VMware network connection mode refers to? If you want to know more knowledge or related content, please follow the industry information channel, thank you for your support.

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