Arch Linux

Frynio

Member

Registered: 2016-08-24

Posts: 13

Wifi on Virtual Machine

Hi, quick question. I've gone through this whole Wireless network configuration page on wiki but I did not quite find an answer to question (its late night here in Poland though) if it is possible to use WiFi on Arch, when its installed on a Virtual Machine (VMware) without external USB Adapter (I know this problem from Kali Linux). So, is there a way to do it?

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 19,774

Re: Wifi on Virtual Machine

In general, a guest machine does not have access to the physical devices of the host computer.  If the host the computer has a wifi interface, that is great.  But -- the guest does not get to use it.  The guest machine has a "Virtual" wired NIC that is not physical.  That "interface" communicates with VMWare running on the host.  VMWare then either bridges that virtual network to the host's NIC, or can provide NAT forwarding from the "Virtual" network to the real network.  It does not matter if that host network is wired or wireless. If it is wireless, the host handles all the association.  NAT and Bridging happen at a higher level.

In the case of a USB Wireless NIC, if the host is not using it and it is mapped to the guest, then yes -- the guest may use it.

Just have the host connect to the wifi, and have the guest use its "wired" "virtual" network and have VMWare perform NAT forwarding.

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine. -- Alan Turing
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way