I use VMware Player to run a virtualized server for troubleshooting purposes. Because I travel from site to site, I've disabled my laptop's wired connection and use wireless to connect to the network at each site. The Guest OS is configured to use NAT since there's no need for the VM to connect to the network directly. In addition, the Guest OS has been configured to use DHCP since each site uses a different subnet which prevents me from assigning a static IP address.
I recently noticed that it takes several minutes for the Guest OS to connect to the network which is causing several services to fail since they require network connectivity. I've already checked for hidden devices in the Guest OS (there are none) but have been unable to resolve the issue. Listed below are the specs for the host and guest.
Host:
Windows XP SP3
VMware Player 4.0.1
1394 Connection (disabled)
Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller (disabled)
VMware Network Adapter VMnet1
VMware Network Adapter VMnet8
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
Guest:
Windows Server 2003 R2
Intel Pro/1000 MT Network Connection
VMX File
ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "nat"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0C:29:5A:FE:6B"
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"
ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "17"
Desired Outcome:
Use the host's wireless connection to provide connectivity for the Guest OS and reduce the amount of time it takes for the Guest OS to connect to the network.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.