Network Preferences

The Network pane of Parallels Desktop Preferences allows you to configure a number of network-related settings for Parallels Desktop and your virtual machines.

You can configure the range of IP addresses to be assigned to your virtual machines when they are operating in the shared and host-only networking modes.

To edit the host-only networking settings:

1. Select Host-only networking in the Connection type list.
2. Select Show in System Preferences if you want the Parallels host-only networking adapter to appear in the network preferences of your Mac.
3. Select the Enable DHCP Server option to enable the Parallels DHCP server. This server will automatically assign IP addresses to your virtual machines operating in the host-only networking mode from the IP addresses range defined in the appropriate fields below this option.
4. If necessary, configure the start and end IP addresses in the Start address and End address fields and specify the network mask in the Subnet mask field.

   For more information on configuring the host-only networking parameters, refer to Host-Only Networking .

To edit the shared networking settings:

1. Select Shared networking in the Connection type list.
2. Select Show in System Preferences if you want the Parallels shared networking adapter to appear in the network preferences of your Mac.
3. Select the Enable DHCP Server option to enable the Parallels DHCP server. This server will automatically assign IP addresses to your virtual machines operating in the shared networking mode from the IP addresses range defined in the appropriate fields below this option.
4. If necessary, configure the start and end IP addresses in the Start address and End address fields and specify the network mask in the Subnet mask field.

   For more information about configuring shared networking, refer to Shared Networking .

The Start address and End address values determine the first and the last IP addresses with the first address usually assigned to the DHCP server itself. The second address is usually given to the host OS. Other addresses are assigned to virtual machines. The scope of IP addresses defined should belong to the same subnet.

Port Forwarding in Shared Networking

Normally, virtual machines set to operate in the shared networking mode cannot be accessed from external computers. The port forwarding functionality allows computers on your local and other networks to transfer data to any of your virtual machines that use the shared networking mode. The data sent to a specific port on your Mac will be redirected to a specific port of your virtual machine according to a port-forwarding rule.

To add a new port forwarding rule:

1. Click the Add button below Port forwarding list .
2. In the displayed window, do the following:
   • In the Port Type field, specify the port type you want to use for establishing network connections. You can choose between the TCP or UDP port types.
   • In the Incoming Port field, provide the port number on your Mac you want to use for data transfer.
   • In the IP Address field, indicate your virtual machine's IP address.
   • In the Destination Port field, type the virtual machine's port the data will be transferred to.

   

3. Click OK to add the rule.

When the rule is added, use the following IP address combination for external connections to your virtual machine: <you Mac's IP address>:<Source port> .

To edit an existing port forwarding rule, select it in the Port forwarding list table, click the Edit button , and modify the necessary parameters in the displayed window.

To remove a port forwarding rule, select it in the Port forwarding list table and click the Remove button .

Restoring default settings

The Restore Defaults button enables you to restore the default settings for all options available in this pane.

Locking Parallels Desktop Preferences

If you want to prevent Parallels Desktop Preferences from further unauthorized changes, click the Lock icon at the bottom of the window. The next time anybody wants to change the settings in any pane of Parallels Desktop Preferences, an administrator's password will be required.