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During the setup of Ubuntu 25.04 on VMware Workstation, several common networking issues were encountered when configuring bridged networking.
This note documents the problems and their solutions in detail.

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1. Initial Situation

• After installation, the VM network defaults to NAT mode, with an IP in the 172.x.x.x range.
• This allows Internet access, but all traffic goes through the host. The VM cannot be directly reached from other devices on the LAN.

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2. Issue 1: Missing VMnet0 (Bridged Network)

• Opening the Virtual Network Editor only showed:
  • VMnet1 (Host-only)
  • VMnet8 (NAT)
• VMnet0 (bridged network) was missing.

Solution

1. In the Virtual Network Editor, click Add Network (E).
2. Select VMnet0 and set it to Bridged mode.
3. In Bridged to (G):, avoid “Automatic” and instead manually bind VMnet0 to the physical adapter:
   • If the host uses Wi-Fi → choose the wireless adapter (Realtek / Intel Wireless).
   • If the host uses Ethernet → choose the wired Ethernet adapter.

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3. Issue 2: VM Does Not Receive LAN IP

• Even after enabling bridged networking, ip a still showed a NAT IP (172.17.x.x).
• Cause: VMnet0 was not correctly bound to the physical NIC.

Solution

1. In Virtual Network Editor, manually bind VMnet0 to the correct NIC (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
2. Inside the VM, request a new DHCP lease: sudo dhclient -4 ens33
3. The VM should then receive a LAN IP, such as 192.168.1.63.

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4. Issue 3: Other PCs Cannot Ping the VM

• The VM can reach the Internet and ping other LAN devices.
• But other LAN PCs cannot ping the VM.
• Checking ARP tables shows the VM’s IP maps to the host’s Wi-Fi MAC, not the VM’s MAC.
• This is a Wi-Fi bridging limitation: wireless NICs often do not allow VMs to use separate MAC addresses.

Solution Options

Option A: Use Wired Ethernet (most stable)

• Plug in a LAN cable and bridge VMnet0 to the Ethernet adapter.
• The VM becomes a fully independent LAN node, accessible from other devices.

Option B: Edit VMX Configuration

• Edit the VM’s .vmx file and add: ethernet0.noPromisc = "FALSE" ethernet0.noForgedTransmit = "FALSE" ethernet0.noMACOverride = "FALSE"
• Save and restart the VM.
• ⚠️ Note: Not all Wi-Fi adapters support promiscuous mode. Success depends on hardware.

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5. Verification Steps

• Inside Ubuntu VM: ip a Confirm the VM has an IP in the same LAN subnet (e.g., 192.168.1.x).
• Test Internet connectivity: ping -4 google.com
• Test LAN access from another PC: ping <VM-IP> If reachable → bridged networking works.
  If unreachable → likely a Wi-Fi bridging limitation.

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6. Summary

• NAT mode: Internet access works, but LAN cannot reach the VM.
• Bridged mode (VMnet0): The VM should act as a LAN node, but Wi-Fi bridging often fails.
• Solutions:
  • Wired bridge (Ethernet) → most stable.
  • Wi-Fi + VMX config tweaks → may work, hardware dependent.