Using 1 ethernet port for Host and 1 for Guest

R

RonMil

Bit poster
I have a Mac Pro with two ethernet connectors. I also have two different wired networks at my home ... one is from my cable modem and a second is from the company I work for.

I would like to assign one ethernet connection (my cable modem) to OSX, and have the work connection for Parallels only.

I have figured out how to set up Parallels the way I want to by configuring my virtual machine to use "Ethernet 2" which is connected to my work network.

However, I would like to make sure that the host (OSX Mountain Lion) never uses Ethernet 2.

With OSX Lion, I used to just leave Ethernet 2 set to "Off" in my system preferences, and Parallels was still able to connect through it.

However, in Mountain Lion, when I set Ethernet 2 to "Off", the status of the adaptor in System Preferences changes to "Either the cable for Ethernet 2 is not plugged in or the device at the other end is not responding.", and Parallels no longer seems to be able to connect using that port.

Interestingly, in Mountain Lion, I haven't disabled Ethernet 2, but OSX still seems to not be using it. However, I would like to make sure that it never does in order to keep my "personal" and "work" network use separate, and I definitely don't want my home computer (host) to show up on my work network.

Is there any way that I can set things up so that Parallels can see Ethernet 2, but OSX never uses it for itself?

Thanks,
Ron
 
Anyone have any suggestions for this situation. Also how do we isolate the use of two networks if we want host to use wifi only and guest use Ethernet only, or vice versa
 
tkparallels said:
Anyone have any suggestions for this situation. Also how do we isolate the use of two networks if we want host to use wifi only and guest use Ethernet only, or vice versa
Click to expand...

The solution to my problem ended up being quite simple. I was using a cheap USB ethernet converter, and I wanted my virtual machine to connect to it, while my iMac uses the built-in ethernet port.

I just needed to set the USB-Ethernet adapter to be connected directly to the Parallels machine, and I set the virtual machine network settings to be "Host Only". With "Host Only", Parallels is not acting as a network coordinator between the host and the virtual machines. Instead, they really are isolated. Windows in my virtual machine connects to the USB ethernet adapter directly and Parallels is not directly involved.

When my Parallels machine is not running, the USB adapter is seen by my Mac, but I have it configured to be "OFF".

I now have perfectly isolated networks on my host and virtual machines.
 
Is there any way to have the virtual machine take over the host airport interface while host uses Ethernet on another network? Or does the use of isolated networks require USB connections of network adapters?
 
I actually work from home also, but I use wireless for my work network. I don't think it'd matter to you though (wired or wireless), because it's just a network and it's pretty easy to configure.

Prioritize the traffic so the "home" network is #1 and the "work" network is #2. To do this, go into Network Settings, click on the gear at the bottom of the window (next to the +/- sign), Set Service Order. Just drag your "Home" connection to the top of the list and the "work" connection to the bottom. In your VM's, you then would just choose the "work" network as the primary network connection under the settings for the VM (Configure, Hardware, Network, Type).

As long as your "Home" network is up, your Mac will always pass any normal traffic to that connection.

RonMil said:
I have a Mac Pro with two ethernet connectors. I also have two different wired networks at my home ... one is from my cable modem and a second is from the company I work for.

I would like to assign one ethernet connection (my cable modem) to OSX, and have the work connection for Parallels only.

I have figured out how to set up Parallels the way I want to by configuring my virtual machine to use "Ethernet 2" which is connected to my work network.

However, I would like to make sure that the host (OSX Mountain Lion) never uses Ethernet 2.

With OSX Lion, I used to just leave Ethernet 2 set to "Off" in my system preferences, and Parallels was still able to connect through it.

However, in Mountain Lion, when I set Ethernet 2 to "Off", the status of the adaptor in System Preferences changes to "Either the cable for Ethernet 2 is not plugged in or the device at the other end is not responding.", and Parallels no longer seems to be able to connect using that port.

Interestingly, in Mountain Lion, I haven't disabled Ethernet 2, but OSX still seems to not be using it. However, I would like to make sure that it never does in order to keep my "personal" and "work" network use separate, and I definitely don't want my home computer (host) to show up on my work network.

Is there any way that I can set things up so that Parallels can see Ethernet 2, but OSX never uses it for itself?

Thanks,
Ron
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top