6.7

8 (Optional) Select how to assign the MAC address from the drop-down menu.
n
Select Automatic to assign a MAC address automatically.
n
Select Manual to enter manually the MAC address that you want.
9 Click OK.
Parallel and Serial Port Configuration
Parallel and serial ports are interfaces for connecting peripherals to the virtual machine. The virtual serial
port can connect to a physical serial port or to a file on the host computer. You can also use it to establish
a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection between a virtual machine and an
application on the host computer. You can add parallel and serial ports and change the parallel and serial
port configuration. Hardware version 11 and later versions allow you to configure virtual machines in such
a way that serial and parallel ports are absent from the virtual chipset altogether.
Using Serial Ports with vSphere Virtual Machines
You can set up virtual serial port connections for vSphere virtual machines in several ways. The
connection method that you select depends on the task that you need to accomplish.
You can set up virtual serial ports to send data in the following ways.
Physical serial port on
the host
Sets the virtual machine to use a physical serial port on the host computer.
This method lets you use an external modem or a hand-held device in a
virtual machine.
Output to file Sends output from the virtual serial port to a file on the host computer. This
method lets you capture the data that a program running in the virtual
machine sends to the virtual serial port.
Connect to a named
pipe
Sets a direct connection between two virtual machines or a connection
between a virtual machine and an application on the host computer. With
this method, two virtual machines or a virtual machine and a process on the
host can communicate as if they were physical machines connected by a
serial cable. For example, use this option for remote debugging of a virtual
machine.
Connect over the
network
Enables a serial connection to and from a virtual machine's serial port over
the network. The Virtual Serial Port Concentrator (vSPC) aggregates traffic
from multiple serial ports onto one management console. vSPC behavior is
similar to physical serial port concentrators. Using a vSPC also allows
network connections to a virtual machine's serial ports to migrate
seamlessly when you use vMotion to migrate the virtual machine. For
requirements and steps to configure the Avocent ACS v6000 virtual serial
port concentrator, see http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1022303.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
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