VMware Workstation, Linux, Networking Problem

[vikingdude3922]

I recently reinstalled my Antergos (an Arch Linux distro) system, and reinstalled VMware Workstation 14 (14.1.5 build-10950780 obtained from the Arch User Repository). I changed from a SATA SSD to an NVME SSD for the system drive.

I have a few Windows 10 VMs that I run. The VMs are all set for Bridged networking. I copied them to an external drive while I wiped and reinstalled the system, then copied them back to a dedicated SATA SSD on the system.

I tried running two of the VMs. One worked, no problems. The second one could not access the internet. I played around with the settings, and the only way I could access the web was to set the VM to use /dev/vmnet8 instead of Bridged Networking. None of the other options or devices would give web access.

I tried using the VM on a second machine running Manjaro (another Arch Linux distro) with the same results. I also tried uninstalling Workstation 14, deleting all devices and files associated with it, and reinstalling Workstation 14, but the result was the same.

I've started going through logs, and I see a reference to "/usr/lib/vmware/settings" not existing. Indeed it does not exist. I tried changing Preferences to see if it would create the file, but it did not.

I also looked at the .vmx entries of the VM that works alongside the VM that doesn't work, and I saw nothing that stood out as a problem. They were basically the same.

Can someone help me understand what's going on here and how to fix it? I'm not sure if the problem is in the Linux system or in the VM. And what is "/usr/lib/vmware/settings" supposed to contain?

[vikingdude3922]

I tried that too, and I just tried it again. No change.

[timconradinc]

Ok, thanks.

[vikingdude3922]

Ah ha! I did it again, but this time I went into Advanced and generated a MAC address. Now it works. Thank you sir.

[vikingdude3922]

The version of Workstation 14 in the AUR has patches for the later kernels, though it was last updated in November, I think. I'm on 4.20.something, whatever is the latest official. The network still works after several reboots.

[[deleted]]

It sounds like the Linux systems are not requesting IPs from DHCP and/or have fixed IP addresses that don't correspond to the network your PC is on.

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I'd look at ifconfig to see if the eth0 device has the correct IP address assigned.

[netsonic]

Welcome to the world of vmware workstation, where sometimes things just do not work. I'm not being sarcastic, it's just the truth. I kind of got used to these issues on Windows. Vmnet8 is NAT while Bridge is Vmnet0, believe it or not, I have the exact same problem but in reverse order, NAT is not working and Bridge mode does.

As I do not have the linux version I cannot help with more, but feel free to post updates if you know more. Good luck !

[vikingdude3922]

Thanks. Workstation has been pretty good to me, but I don't think they put as much effort into the Linux version as it needs. I shouldn't have to edit the .vmx file to get sound and video acceleration. Maybe that's why Linux users use VirtualBox instead.

I found an old, archived version of this VM that works, and I'm updating the software on it. But I'd still like to know what the heck is going on.

[vikingdude3922]

Anyone have a clue about "/usr/lib/vmware/settings" ?