Before we start deploying VMs from the template we created, I want to go through setting up a private network as I do not want these VMs to have access to my home network.  Basically you have three options for creating your network.  I know you have more than that, but we aren’t going to go into the advanced networking configurations in this post.

NAT

In this configuration the host will act as a router that hides the virtual machine behind it. The VM will have access to the network through the default connection of the host. To other devices on the network all traffic will appear to be coming from the host. This means that although a VM will be able to access network resources and the Internet, it will not be able to offer resources to the network.

Host Only

This option can be used when you do not want the virtual machine to see the rest of the network or the internet

Bridged

This option “bridges” the virtual network to the physical network. This means that the virtual machine will appear to the network as an identifiable separate machine. It will ask the local DHCP server for its IP address and will appear in the DHCP leases of that DHCP server as a separate machine with a unique MAC address.

Setting up my private network

For my setup I am using the Host-only option.  First open the virtual network editor.

As you will see there are a few networks setup for you by default.

Click on “Add Network” and add “VMnet2”.

I am going to change the default IP/Mask to give me a range of IPs to work with.

That’s it!  Now my private network is setup and now I can start deploying some VMs!

Thanks for reading!