|
Commandline-guide
to virtual network settings and more ...
by Joakim Schicht
This document is primarily targeted at VMware Workstation 6.5.1,
but will also in most cases apply to version 6.0.x, as well as server
edition.
Content
How to install/uninstall (all) services for VMware Workstation.
How to configure vmware virtual network adapters (vmnetX).
How to configure vmware virtual network settings.
Extensive analysis of vnetlib.exe and vnetlib.dll.
6 tools described
vnetlib.exe is included in Workstation, VMserver and VMplayer installs.
net.exe Windows-builtin
sc.exe - Windows-builtin
netsh.exe - Windows-builtin
devcon.exe is a command-line device manager tool from Microsoft.
drv_ctl.exe is a tool available here
VNETLIB - "VMware network install library executable"
Background
Vnetlib is the invisible engine working in the backgrounds of the gui
tools like vmware.exe, vmnetcfg.exe and the installer. Vnetlib can install
and uninstall almost all the services, as well as configuring the virtual
networking. This little powerful tool can evidentally aid alot in repairing
broken installations. And best of all - it's command line.
Following a string dump of vnetlib.exe the first string that caught my
attention was:
"vnetlib: this utility is not intended to be run as a standalone application"
.
But obviously it's possible to use it as such anyway.
This tool has never been documented by VMware!
Requirements
For taking advantage of its full potential make sure all the necessary
files (inf, cat, sys, dll, exe) are located according to this registry
entry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\VMware, Inc.\VMware Workstation]
"InstallPath"="This_path_can_be_anywhere"
Namely 4 services are fully dependant on this entry: adapter, authd,
bridge and vmkbd.
WMI must also be enabled if vnetlib should be able to interact with bridge.
A workaround is described in the vmnetbridge section.
Vnetlib will also require that %SystemRoot% is writeable, because it copies
the files found in the path mentioned above and into 3 specific folders:
%SystemRoot%\inf, %SystemRoot%\system32 and %SystemRoot%\system32\drivers.
This requirement only applies when installing the services.
If %SystemRoot% is read-only as is the case with certain Preinstallation
Environments, then look at the alternative way of installing theses services,
described later in this document.
First a list of all the services that vnetlib is able to interact
with:
Vnetlib internal service name Windows service
description Windows
service name
| vmparport
|
VMware
Paralell Port Driver |
vmparport |
| userif |
VMware
Network Application Interface |
vmnetuserif |
| dhcp |
Dhcp
Service for virtual networks |
vmnetdhcp |
| nat |
Network
address translation for virtual networks |
vmware
nat service |
| bridge |
VMware
Bridge Protocol |
vmnetbridge |
| vmkbd |
VMware
Keyboard Driver |
vmkbd |
| vmx86 |
VMware
Virtualization Driver |
vmx86 |
| vmci |
VMware
vmci Driver |
vmci |
| hcmon |
VMware
USB Driver |
hcmon |
| usb |
VMware
USB Client Driver |
vmusb |
| vmmem |
VMware
Memory Driver |
vmmemct |
| vmcpu |
VMware
CPU Driver |
vmdesched-driver |
| authd |
VMware
Authorization Service |
vmauthdservice |
| serverd |
VMware
Registration Service |
vmserverdwin32 |
| adapter
|
VMware
Virtual Ethernet Adapter Driver |
vmnetadapter |
The commandline switches described in this article are:
"vnetlib.exe -- install"
"vnetlib.exe -- uninstall"
"vnetlib.exe -- reinstall"
"vnetlib.exe -- start"
"vnetlib.exe -- stop"
"vnetlib.exe -- update"
"vnetlib.exe -- set"
"vnetlib.exe -- add"
"vnetlib.exe -- remove"
"vnetlib.exe -- enable"
"vnetlib.exe -- disable"
"vnetlib.exe -- import"
"vnetlib.exe -- export"
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The "-- install" will take these parameters:
Parameter Command
line
| authd |
vnetlib.exe
-- install authd |
| bridge |
vnetlib.exe
-- install bridge |
| dhcp
|
vnetlib.exe
-- install dhcp |
| hcmon |
vnetlib.exe
-- install hcmon |
| nat |
vnetlib.exe
-- install nat |
| serverd |
vnetlib.exe
-- install serverd |
| usb
*must use rundll32 |
vnetlib.exe
-- install usb |
| userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- install userif |
| vmci |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmci |
| vmcpu |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmcpu |
| vmkbd |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmkbd |
| vmmem |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmmem |
| vmparport |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmparport |
| vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- install vmx86 |
Additionally there are some special parameters for -- install:
| devices
- will install 5 services; adapter, bridge, dhcp, nat,
userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- install devices |
| host - will
install 3 services; hcmon, vmparport, vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- install host |
The "-- uninstall" will take these parameters:
Parameter
Command line
| authd |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall authd |
| bridge
|
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall bridge |
| dhcp |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall dhcp |
| hcmon |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall hcmon |
| nat
|
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall nat |
| serverd |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall serverd |
| usb |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall usb |
| userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall userif |
| vmci |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmci |
| vmcpu |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmcpu |
| vmkbd
*require a reboot |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmkbd |
| vmmem |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmmem |
| vmparport |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmparport |
| vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall vmx86 |
Additionally there are some special parameters for -- uninstall:
| legacy - will
uninstall 3 services; bridge, dhcp, nat
|
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall legacy |
| all
- will uninstall 4 services; bridge, dhcp, nat, userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall all |
| host
- will uninstall 3 services; hcmon, vmparport, vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall host |
| adapter/aggressive
- will uninstall 5 services; adapter, bridge, dhcp,
nat, userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall adapter |
Starting & Stopping Services:
Parameter
Command line for starting service
Command line for stopping service
| authd |
vnetlib.exe
-- start authd |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop authd |
| bridge |
vnetlib.exe
-- start bridge |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop bridge |
| dhcp |
vnetlib.exe
-- start dhcp |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop dhcp |
| hcmon |
vnetlib.exe
-- start hcmon |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop hcmon |
| nat |
vnetlib.exe
-- start nat |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop nat |
| serverd |
vnetlib.exe
-- start serverd |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop serverd |
| userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- start userif |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop userif |
| vmci |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmci |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmci |
| vmcpu |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmcpu |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmcpu |
| vmkbd |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmcpu |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmcpu |
| vmmem |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmmem |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmmem |
| vmparport |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmparport |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmparport |
| vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- start vmx86 |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop vmx86 |
Reinstalling services:
Parameter
Command line
| all |
vnetlib.exe
-- reinstall all |
| host |
vnetlib.exe
-- reinstall host |
| network |
vnetlib.exe
-- reinstall network |
| drivers/adapters |
vnetlib.exe
-- reinstall adapters |
*Not recommended, use uninstall/install instead.
Updating the settings:
Parameter
Command line
| adapter |
vnetlib.exe
-- update adapter |
| all |
vnetlib.exe
-- update all |
| dhcp |
vnetlib.exe
-- update dhcp |
| nat |
vnetlib.exe
-- update nat |
Modifying adapters:
| Remove
adapter vmnet6 |
vnetlib.exe
-- remove adapter vmnet6 |
| Add
adapter vmnet9 |
vnetlib.exe
-- add adapter vmnet9 |
| Enable
adapter vmnet5 |
vnetlib.exe
-- enable adapter vmnet5 |
| Disable
adapter vmnet3 |
vnetlib.exe
-- disable adapter vmnet3 |
*Will take vmnet0/vmnet1/vmnet2/vmnet3/vmnet4/vmnet5/vmnet6/vmnet7/vmnet8/vmnet9
Changing configuration in adapter:
| Set subnet mask
of vmnet8 |
vnetlib.exe
-- set vnet vmnet5 mask 255.255.255.0 |
| Set
IP adress of vmnet5 |
vnetlib.exe
-- set adapter vmnet5 addr 10.10.10.2 |
Example reconfiguration of adapter vmnet8:
| vnetlib.exe
-- stop nat |
| vnetlib.exe
-- stop dhcp |
| vnetlib.exe
-- set vnet vmnet8 mask 255.255.255.0 |
| vnetlib.exe
-- set adapter vmnet8 addr 10.11.12.2 |
| vnetlib.exe
-- update dhcp vmnet8 |
| vnetlib.exe
-- update nat vmnet8 |
| vnetlib.exe
-- update adapter vmnet8 |
| vnetlib.exe
-- start dhcp |
| vnetlib.exe
-- start nat |
vnetlib.exe -- stop nat
vnetlib.exe -- stop dhcp
vnetlib.exe -- set vnet vmnet8 mask 255.255.255.0
vnetlib.exe -- set adapter vmnet8 addr 10.11.12.2
vnetlib.exe -- update dhcp vmnet8
vnetlib.exe -- update nat vmnet8
vnetlib.exe -- update adapter vmnet8
vnetlib.exe -- start dhcp
vnetlib.exe -- start nat
Backup & Restore of settings:
| Make
a backup of current setting in all your configured vmnets |
vnetlib.exe
-- export backup-file-name |
| Restore
vmnet-settings from a backup |
vnetlib.exe
-- import backup-file-name |
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Notes on some of the services:
vmusb:
Installing with vnetlib.exe seems broken. Actually vnetlib will never
throw you any error messages of any kind telling you if something did
not go as planned, but for vmusb even the log tells you it went ok.
vminst.log:
inst : 02/21/09 17:29:20 I1:VNL_InstallUSB: installing USB inf: 'C:\Programfiler\VMware\VMware
Workstation\vmusb.inf'
inst : 02/21/09 17:29:22 I1:ParseCommand: operation: successful
But no vmusb service installed in registry and no driver files copied
either. Workaround is using rundll32.exe.
Executing this will NOT work;
| rundll32
setupapi,InstallHinfSection _Install1.NT 128 "drive\full path\vmusb.inf |
But this WILL WORK;
| rundll32
setupapi,InstallHinfSection _Install1.NT 128 drive\full path\vmusb.inf |
*Important to NOT have any quotation marks around the last parameter, even
though spaces are in the path.
Note:
I see usb is not listed as a service that vnetlib will take as parameter
for the -- start switch, so it might not be possible to get it working
through vnetlib.exe.
"vnetlib -- uninstall usb" is working perfect though.
I believe the activation of the service is handled internally inside the
player and workstation binary (guessing).
vmnetadapter:
Executing this will NOT work:
| vnetlib.exe
-- install adapter |
*Instead vmnetadapter must be installed standalone with rundll32.exe.
Installing VMnetAdapter1:
| rundll32
setupapi,InstallHinfSection VMnetAdapter1.Install 128 C:\path\netadapter.inf |
*Important to NOT have any quotation marks around the last parameter, even
though spaces are in the path.
Note:
Uninstalling adapter or driver with a subsequent install of driver/devices
will require a reboot.
It is then necessary to issue a "vnetlib -- update all" to get vmnetadapter
visible again after the reboot.
vmnetbridge:
A second way to install bridging is with rundll32:
| rundll32
setupapi,InstallHinfSection VMnetBridge.Install 128 c:\path\netbridge.inf |
If executed in same dir as inf file then:
| rundll32
setupapi,InstallHinfSection VMnetBridge.Install 128 %CD%\netbridge.inf |
"vnetlib -- install bridge" is equal to "vnetlib -- bridge
install"
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vnetlib.dll related findings:
The dynamic link library of vnetlib have lots of exported functions
that can be called directly by for example rundll32.exe.
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_SetSuppressDriverPrompt |
*Will write this to registry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMnetLib\VMnetConfig]
"SuppressPrompts"=dword:00000000
Setting this value to 1 will effectively suppress the warnings for unsigned
drivers (emulate a click on "Continue Anyway"), that will be thrown at
you if playing with modified inf files.
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_RemoveAllNetworkDevices |
is
equivalent to |
vnetlib.exe
-- remove adapter all |
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_StopDHCP |
is
equivalent to |
vnetlib.exe
-- stop dhcp |
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_StartDHCP |
is
equivalent to |
vnetlib.exe
-- start dhcp |
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_UninstallDHCP |
is
equivalent to |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall dhcp |
| rundll32
vnetlib.dll,VNL_UninstallNAT |
is
equivalent to |
vnetlib.exe
-- uninstall nat |
Complete list:
| VNL_StartBridge |
VNL_StopBridge |
| VNL_StartDHCP |
VNL_StopDHCP |
| VNL_StartHcmon |
VNL_StopHcmon |
| VNL_StartNAT |
VNL_StopNAT |
| VNL_StartUserIf |
VNL_StopUserIf |
| VNL_StartVMCI |
VNL_StopVMCI |
| VNL_StartVmkbd |
VNL_StopVmkbd |
| VNL_StartVmparport |
VNL_StopVmparport |
| VNL_StartVMX86 |
VNL_StopVMX86 |
*I am sure the remaining uninstall related functions can be figured out
Note WMI:
For full support for all the commands you must have wmi running on the
system. Vnetlib.exe will still work without it, but interacting with "bridge"
does not work then. That can still be solved if vmnetbridge is installed
with rundll32.exe as described above.
Bug or Feature?
There is something wrong in the way vnetlib.exe checks the parameters
supplied. It appears that it will accept a whole lot more than suggested
above. In fact, it will only do some limited checks to see if the parameter
is close enough to the original/intended. This will vary depending on
how many parameters that have similar looking names. In some cases it
will only check for the first letter and in some cases also the total
number of characters for that parameter.
Example:
"dhcp" will be accepted as "d" "dh" "de"
"all" will be accepted as "ali" and "-- install all" = "-- install authd"
"serverd" will be accepted as "status"
"adapter" will be accepted as "anabolics", but also "aggressive" and "aggressively"
"devices" will be accepted as "drivers" "default" and "donjuan", but not
as "devicess". Still not sure what it is supposed to be for this one.
"nat" will be accepted as "n" "net"
"bridge" will be accepted as "b" "br" "bbb" "brittt"
"legacy" will be accepted as "looser", but not as "loooser"
"userif" will only accept "userif"
and so on...
"vnetlib -- set vnet vmnet3 addr 10.10.10.10" == "vnetlib -- set vnnn
vmnet3 addr 10.10.10.10"
"vnetlib -- set adapter vmnet3 addr 10.10.10.10" == "vnetlib -- set analsex
vmnet3 addr 10.10.10.10"
"vnetlib -- update anabolics vmnet3" == "vnetlib -- update adapter vmnet3"
"vnetlib -- update vnnn vmnet3" == "vnetlib -- update vnet vmnet3"
"vnetlib -- remove adapter vmnet3" == "vnetlib -- remove a vmnet3" ==
"vnetlib -- remove aaaaaaa vmnet3",,,,but "vnetlib -- remove v vmnet3"
and "vnetlib -- remove aaaaaaaa vmnet3" will not work
If there is a pattern in this that makes sense and is logically justified,
then let me know.
Yes it made me VERY confused in the beginning.
Other commands found:
| vnetlib.exe
-- set installpath drive\directory |
*will set this registry entry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.\VMnetlib]
"InstallPath"="C:\\LODR\\ws651"
The actual meaning of this key is unknown to me.
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TODO - what is not yet resolved:
- Install usb directly with vnetlib.
- Figure out the usage of possible commands like; team, unteam, garp,
ungarp, connect, disconnect..
Read-only %SystemRoot%:
In such a case we need to install the services and interact with the
binaries in a slightly different way.
We can then use these 5 tools:
net.exe - Windows-builtin
sc.exe - Windows-builtin
devcon.exe - is a command-line device manager tool from Microsoft.
drv_ctl.exe - is a tool available here (http://alter.org.ua/en/soft/win/drv_inst/
) here
netsh.exe - Windows-builtin
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Starting and stopping services with net.exe uses the windows
service name (see table at the top).
Example usage net.exe:
| net
start vmx86 |
|
| net
start VMAuthdService |
|
| net
start VMnetBridge |
|
| net
start VMnetuserif |
|
| net
start VMnetAdapter |
|
| net
start vmserverdWin32 |
|
| net
start hcmon |
|
| net
start VMnetDHCP |
|
| net
start "VMware NAT Service |
|
| net
start vmparport |
|
| net
start vmount2 |
VMware
Virtual Mount Manager Extended (version 6.0.x) |
| net
start vstor2-p2v30 |
|
| net
start vstor2-ws60 |
|
| net
start vpxd |
VMware
VirtualCenter Server service |
Services from executables can be installed with sc.exe.
Example usage sc.exe:
| sc.exe
create VMnetDHCP binpath= "M:\LODR\ws651\vmnetdhcp.exe" depend= VMnetuserif
DisplayName= "VMware DHCP Service" |
| sc.exe
create ufad-ws60 binpath= ""M:\LODR\ws651\vmware-ufad.exe" -d "M:\LODR\ws651\\"
-s ufad-p2v.xml" DisplayName= "VMware Agent Service" |
Services with accompanying drivers can also be installed to alternative/non-default
locations with drv_ctl.exe.
Example usage drv_ctl.exe:
| drv_ctl.exe
--inst-nostart vmx86 "R:\vm\vmware\vmx86.sys" |
| drv_ctl.exe
--inst-nostart vstor2-ws60 "R:\vm\vmware\vstor2-ws60.sys" |
Devcon.exe can also enable/disable the network adapters.
| Temporarily
disable/enable vmnet1 |
devcon.exe
disable @root\vmware\0000 |
|
devcon.exe
enable @root\vmware\0000 |
| Temporarily
disable/enable vmnet8 |
devcon.exe
disable @root\vmware\0001 |
|
devcon.exe
enable @root\vmware\0001 |
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Sample configurations of vmnet1 and vmnet8 with netsh.exe:
| netsh.exe
interface ip set address name="VMware Network Adapter VMnet1"
source=static addr=192.168.100.1 mask=255.255.255.0 |
| netsh.exe
interface ip set dns name="VMware Network Adapter VMnet1" source=static
addr=none register=PRIMARY |
| netsh.exe
interface ip set wins name="VMware Network Adapter VMnet1" source=static
addr=none |
| |
| netsh.exe
interface ip set address name="VMware Network Adapter VMnet8"
source=static addr=10.10.10.100 mask=255.255.255.0 |
| netsh.exe
interface ip set dns name="VMware Network Adapter VMnet8" source=static
addr=none register=PRIMARY |
| netsh.exe
interface ip set wins name= "VMware Network Adapter VMnet8" source=
static addr= none |
Extra bonus snippets for Workstation 6.0.x:
VMware Virtual Image Editing
| vmount2.exe
-service |
| vmount2.exe
/RegServer |
| regsvr32.exe
/s vielib.dll |
| vmount2.exe
/UnregServer |
| "sc.exe
create vstor2 binpath= "C:\Programfiler\Fellesfiler\VMware\VMware
Virtual Image Editing\vstor2.sys" DisplayName= "Vstor2 Virtual
Storage Driver"" |
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