Parallels Desktop | User's Guide

Option

Description

Source

Use this menu to choose one of the following network types for the virtual machine network adapter:

• Shared Network. Select this option to enable the Network Address Translation (NAT) feature for the virtual machine. In this case, your virtual machine will share whatever network connection is currently used by your Mac.
• Bridged Network. Select this option to allow the virtual machine to access the local network and Internet through one of the network adapters installed on your Mac. 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. You can choose the physical adapter where the virtual machine adapter will be bridged in the list below the Bridged Network option.
• Host-Only Network. Select this option to allow the virtual machine to connect to your Mac and the virtual machines residing on it and to make it invisible outside the Mac. If this option is selected, the virtual machine cannot connect to the Internet.

MAC

In the MAC field, you can change the MAC address currently assigned to the virtual machine. MAC addresses are automatically generated during the virtual machine creation. However, you can modify the default MAC address by typing another value in the MAC field or clicking the Generate button. When entering a new MAC address, make sure that it is unique within your network. This option is for advanced users only.

Type

This menu is available only on Mac computers with an Intel processor. You can use it to change the type of the network interface card. It is not recommended that you change the default setting unless you're told to do so by the Parallels support team. This option is for advanced users only.

On Mac computers with the Apple M1 chip, virtual machines are configured to use the Virtio network adapter.