Force vmware to configure a network interface
This is funny but true. System developer updated the system including libc and other critical files. After upgrading system, they just rebooted the system and everything worked fine except VMWARE networking. Since they skipped the Linux kernel upgrade, VMWARE workstation was coming up but vmnet1 was not starting for some weird reason.
First, I restarted vmware service: # /etc/init.d/vmware restart
Output:
Stopping VMware services: Virtual machine monitor done Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0 done DHCP server on /dev/vmnet1 done Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet1 done Virtual ethernet done Starting VMware services: Virtual machine monitor done Virtual ethernet done Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0 done Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet1 (background) done
I thought vmnet1 is up and running (at least above output indicates this) but when I run ifconfig command:
# /sbin/ifconfig -a
There was no vmnet1 interface at all. This is one of production system and now things are complicated. Oh, boy I hate stupid developer(s) they will do anything to setup and run their development environment.
Anyways one of our senior UNIX admin pointed out me to use vmnet-netifup command :D. It is use to configure a virtual networking i.e. VMWARE network interfaces. The syntax is easy:
# vmnet-netifup -d /var/run/vmnet1.pid /dev/vmnet1 vmnet1
Where,
- -d /var/run/vmnet1.pid : PID file for daemon mode
- /dev/vmnet1 : Device file
- vmnet1: Interface name (it can be eth1)
Assign an IP address:
# ifconfig vmnet xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx up
It worked like a charm. It saved me from restoring Debian updates as well as reinstalling VMWARE.
Want to stay up to date with the latest Linux tips, news and announcements? Subscribe to our free e-mail newsletter or RSS feed to get all updates.
You can Email this page to a friend.
You may also be interested in other helpful articles:
- Setup VMWARE Host as router for Solaris, Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows XP Guest OS
- How to: Upgrade VMWARE Server under Linux
- Connect VMWARE Server using Webbased Management Interface at 8333 port
- Start and stop VMWARE VPS / virtual machine guest operating system from command line
- Configure your Linux system for different network environments at an office and a home
Discussion on This Article:
Leave a Reply
We encourage your comments, and suggestions. But please stay on topic, be polite, and avoid spam. Thank you very much for stopping by our site!
Tags: critical_files, libc, linux_kernel, Networking, upgrading_system, vmware_workstation



I use the command you give above to set up a v-net between 2 computers under linux, but when I use ping in one of them to another, it got something wrong. Why?
vmnet-netifup and ifconfig, there is no error.