Virtual Networks

Virtual networks are special essences that exist between the network adapters of a Parallels physical server and its virtual machines network adapters. Virtual networks help to avoid various problems with virtual machines network connectivity that may appear after you migrate a virtual machine from one Parallels physical server to another. There are three types of virtual networks created by default:

• Shared
• Host-Only
• Default (Bridged)

Shared virtual network

Only one Shared virtual network can be created on a Parallels physical server. If the virtual machine network adapter is connected to the Shared virtual network, the Network Address Translation (NAT) feature will be enabled for the virtual machine. In this case, the virtual machine will share whatever network connection is currently used by the Parallels physical server.

The virtual machine connected to the Shared virtual network uses the IP address of the Parallels physical server to connect to the Internet. To allow external connections to the virtual machine from the Internet, you should add a port forwarding rule .

For more information about Shared virtual network settings, refer to Shared Virtual Network Settings .

Host-Only virtual network

You can create several Host-Only virtual networks on a Parallels physical server. A virtual machine connected to the Host-Only virtual network can connect to the Parallels physical server and virtual machines connected to this Host-Only network. If you have, for example, two Host-Only virtual networks, the virtual machines connected to the first Host-Only virtual network will be able to connect to each other and to the Parallels physical server but they will not be able to connect to the virtual machines connected to the second Host-Only virtual network.

For more information about Host-Only virtual network settings, refer to Host-Only Virtual Network Settings .

Default (Bridged) virtual network

You can create several Default (Bridged) virtual networks on a Parallels physical server. A virtual machine connected to the Default (Bridged) virtual network will be able to connect to the local network and Internet through one of the network adapters or ethernet interfaces available to the Parallels physical server. In this case, the virtual machine is treated as a stand-alone computer on the network and should be configured in the same way as a real one.

For more information about Default (Bridged) virtual network settings, refer to Default Virtual Network Settings .