Hi,
I have been using Virtual PC and Virtual Server for a while, and I decided to try out VMWare Server. I am a little confused by the workings of the network bridging, so I wonder if somebody could offer me some advice.
With Virtual PC, the virtual 'guest' computer transparently became part of my LAN. I did not have to mess with the firewall settings (ZoneAlarm) on the host PC; indeed, just as if I had added a physical PC to my LAN, the host firewall prevented the guest OS from 'seeing' or pinging the host (unless I explicitly added the guest's IP address to the firewall's 'allow' list on the host).
This is precisely the effect I want. (Ultimately I plan to run a virtual web server, so I want the host OS completely isolated from the guest.)
Unfortunately I have been unable to achieve the same effect on VMWare. The guest PC can't see my LAN whatsoever unless I add its IP address to the firewall's 'allow' list on the host. Sure enough, if I do allow the guest to talk to the host, LAN and internet access start working on the guest. But... this means the guest can now ping the host, which I don't want.
What I want is for the guest to be a fully-functioning member of my LAN, but for it to be completely isolated from the host PC, as though it were a totally separate machine. Please can somebody advise how I can achieve the effect I want?
I have a gut feeling this should be very simple, as VMWare seems to have much more advanced virtual networking capabilities than VPC/VS. Thanks in advance!