Parallels Desktop Networking FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide

Will a fixed IP address get you going?

I use my MacBook Pro at home and at work. The network at home and at work are essentially the same from the MacBook's perspective. At both places the network is wireless and the connections should happen automatically using DHCP, as they do on the MAC OS X side but not with Parallels.

Parallels DHCP only works at one location, not the other, for me. I haven't been able to figure out why the difference. But rather than hassle around trying things out, I just configured Windows XP under Parallels to use a FIXED IP address rather than a Dynamic address, and everything works just fine.

This DHCP anomoly "problem" I've had has been around since the release of Parallels. I was hoping the beta would allow DHCP to work at both locations but it didn't.

If you don't know how to configure a fixed IP address, this can get you started. I may miss a step or two but it should serve as a cookbook to set up a fixed IP address. (There are other ways, this is just one way, and I apologize if it isn't the most elegant).

In Windows XP
- Click on START and select CONTROL PANEL

-Double click on NETWORK CONNECTIONS
-Click on PROPERTIES
-Scroll down and select INTERNET PROTOCOL (TCP/IP) connection, click on PROPERTIES
-Change from "automatically" to "Use the follwing address:"

Now here is where you need help from your network administrator, and if that is you, you need the knowledge to select an unused IP address that works on your network.

If you are the network administrator on your home network here is one approach to pick an IP address: Under the BLUE APPLE (upper left corner of your screen) select LOCATION / NETWORK PREFERENCES.....

Select your AIRPORT connection (or built in ethernet if you are hardwired)
Click on CONFIGURE
Click on TCP/IP

You should be able to see your Mac's IP address, mask and router address. Write these down. 99.9% of the time your mask will be 255.255.255.0 On my home network my IP address is 10.6.18.10, yours could start with a 10. or 12 .or 192. or whatever. Change the LAST number to something you are pretty darn sure isn't being used by another device on your netowrk. In my case I'll select 10.6.18.70 and use that for my Parallels virtual machine IP address.

So go back into Parallels and enter your new IP address. Enter the same mask as the mask your Mac is using. Enter the same router address as the router you Mac is using. So be sure the ONLY address you differ on for Windows/Parallels is the IP address and that only varies on the rightmost number.

You also need a DNS server address so Windows can figure out the IP address when you use names instead of numbers to get to the internet. If you don't know you DNS server address (and there usually isn't any reason to know this address) here is one way to find out the DNS server your Mac is using to resolve names into addresses. Launch NETWORK UTILITY which you will find in your UTILITIES folder inside your APPLICATIONS folder.

Click on the Lookup tab at the top

Enter an address to look up, like "www.apple.com". Make sure you are looking for ANY/ALL INFORMATION by selecting this choice in the "Select the information to lookup:" box.

At the end of the result window you will see a "Query time" followed by the SERVER address. This is your DNS server. Use this same address for the DNS server entry in Windows. Then close these properties window and wait a while for Windows to redo the network stuff. On my machine I have to wait a couple of minutes for Windows to change the network connection and get everything settled down.

Back in Windows, looking at your network connection for "Parallels Network Adapter" it should change from limited connection to "connected"

You should now be able to connect to the internet. However, if you move to another network, you have to repeat this process to have a unique IP address, and have the correct router address on the second network.

I'm sure I've missed a thing or two or not made something clear, but maybe others will help clarify this approach.

Hope that gets those of you that can't connect at least working until the DHCP failing on some networks "mystery" gets solved.
 
pderby, you've got me there! Brilliant. Thanks so much.

After following your instructions, I still couldn't connect to the net on Parallels XP but I was really close because every thing else on my network could be accessed from Parallels XP including the wireless router. The only thing I couldn't access from Parallels XP was the ADSL modem.

Then this last bit of the jigsaw came in on another thread:

akac said:
Here is what I've found for myself. I bet anything that your issue is DNS. If you're using DHCP one thing i noticed is that for whatever reason the guest OS running in Parallels does not get the DHCP info for DNS so while I get an IP address (in either network config) I can't get to any network UNTIL I manually put in my router's IP address in the DNS section of XP or Win2k. Then it all works perfectly.
Click to expand...

That's what I hadn't done in Parallels' XP - I hadn't entered my modem's IP address under Network Connections/Local Area Connection Properties/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)/Properties/Default gateway.

Once done, Parallels XP was straight on to the internet, at last.

Again, thanks so much!
 
Just me with a minor problem???
OS X Internet Sharing: Bluetooth (EDGE) -> En2
Win XP: DHCP - no firewalls
Ping from console: OK both to a domain and an address
-> no way to surf the web nor to work with Outlook
Connection Setings in Win XP -> Automatic detect LAN

It worked until I installed MacDrive 6 but I'n not sure about this detail. Maybe the problem is in Beta 1862
 
Launch Parallels, but don't start the VM just yet.

Look at the network connection in the properties view (the screen with the VM config info). Change it to Default Adapter - so it should now say "Bridged Ethernet, Default Adapter"

We're doing this so Parallels will use whichever adapter the Mac host is using - if you're connected to wireless access point, the Mac will have made that the default adapter, if you're jacked into an ethernet port, then it becomes the default. We're letting the Mac decide for Parallels.

Start your VM

Test for Internet connectivity by launching your browser. If it works, great - if not, continue.

In Windows (assuming XP)click the Start menu, go to the control panel. Double-click the icon "Network Settings".

Double-click "Local Area Connection" and click the Properties button. A window titled Local Area Connection Properties will pop up. Scroll through the list and highlight entry "Internet Protocol TCP/IP". Click the Properties button just below that.

Make sure both of the following options are set:

Obtain IP address automatically
Obtain DNS server address automatically

This will configure Windows to use DHCP, or Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. This is a user-friendly way for your router to assign an IP address and a gateway to your computer, so you don't have to figure it out on your own.

If necessary, click Apply and OK. Wait up to 10-15 seconds and then test Internet connectivity. If it works, great, if not (you shouldn't have to do this), shut down Windows XP normally (don't just kill the VM or Parallels) and restart it. and try Internet Explorer again.

If after all that it doesn't work, something weird is going on with the router (not enough DHCP slots available) or something else is borked.
 
Truely bridge to AirPort by virtualizing a WiFi interface

serv said:
. Bridged to AirPort Adapter
This mode works as if MacOSX were configured to have one more IP address and that address being handled by your VM. Note that wireless security (WEP/WPA) is handled by MacOSX, no additional configuration is needed in guest OS.​
Due to limitations of 802.11 standard which is implemented by AirPort it’s not possible to spoof hardware address in this configuration. Ethernet frames sent from the VM have Mac AirPort hardware address on them.​

. Host-Only Network
...
Click to expand...

Parallels is great but the networking(host<-->guest) seems some weak - comparing with vmware. Many limitations are introduced by "pseudo" AirPort-Bridging, such as DHCP compatibility, PPPoE, etc.

Is it impossible to truely bridge to AirPort just like bridging to Ethernet?

I studied Atheros driver code(from Atheros) and believe it is possible to spoof MAC address - virtualize a WiFi interface. But I'm not sure whether there are some different implementation in OS X and may introduce this limitation, and whether it is possible to spoof MAC address in other WiFi adapter.
I googled and found VirtualWiFi tool . This is a tool from MS research, works on WinXP. It can virtualize multiple WiFi cards and can connect to multiple AP or PC(Ad-hoc). It works on many comercial WiFi cards. It's really a useful tool but one thing I have not confirmed is: can the multiple virtualized cards connect to one and the same AP? I think it's not a big matter to implement it.

I eagerly expect Parallels can enchace the networking function, especially implement a similar tool to provide true AirPort-bridging.
 
Networking again not working...

I installed a new windows update today, and again today I can no longer see outside my mac.

Here's what's happening.

Before installing a windows update said connection was working fine (otherwise I couldn't exaclty download a windows update). When the update was completed I could no longer access the internet. I rebooted windows & chose bridged connection with the active mode (ethernet). I cannot see outside my mac.

I have a valid IP address per the dhcp server for my network. I can ping my mac's IP address, I cannot ping another computer's IP. My mac can ping the computer in question that Parallels cannot see. When I run IPConfig, I get the following, all of which are consistant with my network:

IP: 10.11.5.37
SM: 255.255.240.0
Gateway: 10.11.0.1

If I run IPConfig on another PC on my network I get the following:

IP: 10.11.5.66
SM: 255.255.240.0
Gateway: 10.11.0.1

My mac has symiler network settings...

Anybody have any idea why this would just up and stop working, while everything seems to be funcitoning perfecly well??? Again, all of 10 minutes ago networking was working fine and had been working fine for a few weeks... Networking is working fine on every other computer I have access to from my desk (5 total, including my MacBook)...
 
Multiple MAC Addresses Not Allowed

Our campus bookstore (at USC) just started selling Parallels in the box, so I grabbed a copy yesterday. Networking worked great for me at home, however, on-campus today I tried it and found that it likely won't work at all because of one thing: multiple MAC addresses.

For security (stopping rogue networks attached to the university's network), the university does not allow more than one MAC address per ethernet port. If the router sees more than one, the port gets shut down. It isn't a problem of DHCP or IP conflicts -- it's the hardware address.

I have used VirtualPC on our network without any problems, so I'm presuming there's something they did that Parallels doesn't do.

I read the documentation (!) and saw that in Bridged mode, Parallels requires a unique MAC address for each VM. Is there any workaround for this? I tried setting my VM's address to the same as my host machine, but that just killed network for both. I can't do too much mucking around, because getting my port blocked is really aggravating.
 
Hi jeepish,

I had the same problem, try to set parallels to use host-only networking, then set-up your Mac to share its internet connection with Paralells' virtual network card.

I hope it works.
Regards,
Peter
 
bpeter said:
I had the same problem, try to set parallels to use host-only networking, then set-up your Mac to share its internet connection with Paralells' virtual network card.
Click to expand...

Hi Peter,

Thanks!! That did the trick!

Jeep
 
Access Internet through Host MacOSX Internet Connection

Hello,

I have XP Pro SP2 installed to a VM configured to Bridged Ethernet.
As the guest Machine is a MacBook Pro, I have to switch network locations very often - this is easy with the OSX location manager, but hard in Windows...

Is it possible to have Win access the Internet using the OSX internet connection as a proxy? This way, I would'nt have to change anything in Windows when moving with the Laptop.

I tried to use the ICS feature in the System Preferences, but it did not work - maybe someone has some step-by-step instructions?

I still would like Windows to be visible to the outside network so that other machines can send data to it.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Stephan
 
Last edited:
Host Only greyed out

bpeter said:
Hi jeepish,
I had the same problem, try to set parallels to use host-only networking, then set-up your Mac to share its internet connection with Paralells' virtual network card.
Click to expand...

After reading the lead post in this thread I decided that this is what I need to do. I use Parallels with XP primarily to debug websites in IE. I use my MBP as the webserver. The problem is, that on the property page I can't select Host Only networking, because it's greyed out.

Why would that be and how can I get it to become active again?

I tried with the VM turned off, nothing. Tried Quitting and Launching Parallels, nothing. Tried creating a new VM, nothing. Host Only is always greyed out.

Any suggestions?
 
I have a very simple problem.

I had the parallels guest host adapter listed in my System Preferences > Network. I accidentally deleted it. I've tried everything to add it back in but I can't.

How can I get the guest host adapter back into my network preferences under Mac OS X?
 
Restoring Parallels Host-Guest Adapter

If you accidentally deleted your Parallels Host-Guest Adapter, I have seen posts that claim uninstalling and then reinstalling Parallels will restore the setting. Use the "uninstall" tool on the Parallels Install disk or disk image to do this. If uninstall/reinstall doesn't work then you can give this a try:

Launch Terminal and type in: ifconfig

scan down the results and see if you have something like this:

en2: flags=8963<UP,BROADCAST,SMART,RUNNING,PROMISC,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet6 fe80::201:23ff:fe45:6789%en2 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x8
inet 10.37.129.2 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.37.129.255
ether 00:01:23:45:67:89
media: autoselect status: active
supported media: autoselect

If you do have an en2: entry, then go in System Preferences

Click on NETWORK

From Show: select "Network Port Configurations" for the drop down menu

You should see your configured ports on your machine. To add a port, click on "New..."

In the name: box enter "Parallels Host-Guest Adapter"
For Port: Select "Ethernet Adapter (en2)"
Click OK
Make sure the check box is selected under the "On" column for your parallels port
CLick on Apply Now

That should do it.

Whether or not this will work I don't want to test. Parallels runs fine on my MacBook Pro and I don't want to remove, then restore this port as a test and end up loosing Parallels due to some other setting somewhere that I don't know about. If someone from the Parallels support team could verify and comment on this approach, it would be appreciated.
 
OT: ipfw question

When I start my system (MacBook Pro) and enter 'sudo ipfw list', I get the following

00010 divert 8668 ip from any to any via en0
01000 divert 8888 udp from me 1024-65535 to any dst-port 1024-65535
01001 divert 8888 udp from any 1024-65535 to me dst-port 1024-65535
65535 allow ip from any to any
​

The first entry is from Internet sharing. If I disable it, that entry goes away.

I do not understand where the second and third lines are coming from. I thought that they had something to do with Missing Sync, but they deny it.

While these entries are in place, I can't use the built-in OS X firewall. I can clear it with ipfw and then use the firewall, but I'd really like to know where it is coming from.

Any advice on how to track down where these are happening? My /var/log/ipfw.log is always 0 bytes in length. I thought it might be in an rc file so I tried a 'grep -ir ipfw /private/*` but didn't find much.

TIA

John
 
Interesting problem with networking

The deal is as thus:

I have networking in the general since, I can get on my linksys router on my internal network.

I cannot, however get to any website except anything on google.com (gmail included), any attempt to load any other website ends in a IE "Page cannot be displayed" message. The DNS resolves and it hangs on "website found waiting for reply"

I have checked DNS settings and I have the same DNS servers as my mac.
I can ping any website and I get a reply, it just will not display.
I copied firefox over and the same issue occurs.

The basics in list form.
- Computer: Macpro
- Was using the trial and upgraded to paid, reinstalled in between, same problem.
- using bridged networking
- cannot get any website but google and google related sites.
- can ping any any website but cannot load them.
- tried in firefox and have the same issues.
- tried a repair to no avail

I am seriously stumped here and I have no idea whats going on. Any info would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Peter
 
Hey all,

We've made a special build that addresses this MacPro Internet problem. You can download it from here.

As usual, your feedback about this fix is highly appreciated. The fixes will be included into future public RC2.

Best regards,
Tim
 
Tim Surgent said:
Hey all,

We've made a special build that addresses this MacPro Internet problem. You can download it from here.

As usual, your feedback about this fix is highly appreciated. The fixes will be included into future public RC2.

Best regards,
Tim
Click to expand...


Well, yea that did it, so far downloading Updates and I got to a multitude of websites, you guys rock. Thanks, thats quite awesome. Youg guys deserve a weekend or a nap or something :) .
Thanks again.
Peter
 
A slightly different network problem

My problem doesn't seem to have been address in this thread yet.

My network consists of multiple Macs and an occassional PC plus two network printers and a jukebox, all plugged into a router. Most of the devices are wired except for the jukebox and one Mac, which are wireless. The router is plugged into a DSL modem and that to the outsite world. All the real machines are able to communicate with each other and the internet just fine. The problem lies with my virtual machine.

The VM is a Windows XP flavor. It can communicate with everything over the LAN just fine (except for the printers which I can't configure until I can download the required drivers). That communication includes complete access to the router and modem, i.e., I can enter their respective IP addresses in a browser and access their configuration set-ups. But I can't get past the modem out to the internet.

Does anyone have any ideas as to how to fix this? Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
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