User`s guide

Configuring a Virtual Machine 228
Networking in a Virtual Machine
Parallels Desktop allows you to use three types of networking in your virtual machines:
 Shared Networking (p. 228). This type of networking allows the virtual machine to use the
current network connections of your physical computer.
 Bridged Ethernet (p. 230). This type of networking allows the virtual machine to use one of
the physical computer's network adapters, which makes it appear as a separate computer on
the network the physical computer belongs to.
 Host-only networking (p. 231). This type of networking allows the virtual machine to access
only the physical computer and other virtual machines residing on it.
By default, the virtual machine uses Shared Networking, because configuring it requires
minimal effort from the users. The Bridged Ethernet networking mode is more complex, and
you may need to contact your system administrator to set it up properly.
Detailed information on these types of networking and the way to configure them is provided in
the following subsections.
Shared Networking
By default, all virtual machines created using the Express Windows and Typical modes are set to
work in the Shared Networking mode. In this mode your virtual machine can access other
computers on your local network and the Internet by using the IP address of the physical
computer. The virtual machine itself does not have its own IP address on the network. This
mode allows you to specify port forwarding rules (p. 60) for the virtual machines running on
your Mac, which can be especially useful when running HTTP, FTP, or other types of servers in
virtual machines.