Networking - MacVisor Docs

Each VM has a primary network interface and can have additional interfaces. MacVisor gives every NIC a stable MAC address and connects it through one of three modes.

Network modes

Mode	Use it for
NAT	Simple internet access through the Mac
Bridged	Put the VM directly on a selected physical network interface
Custom vmnet	Attach to a named shared or host-only MacVisor network

Named shared networks provide a private segment with host-mediated external access. Host-only networks isolate VMs and the host from external networks. Advanced custom-network settings include IPv4/IPv6 behavior, DHCP reservations, DNS proxying, network-level port forwarding, and a firewall policy — see Custom networks and Network firewall.

How NAT, bridged, and named host-only/shared networks connect VMs and the Mac.

Advanced capability map

Capability	Scope	What MacVisor controls
Named shared network	Per segment	Private vmnet segment, optional uplink, NAT44/NAT66, DHCP, DNS proxy, IPv6 RA, and MTU
Named host-only network	Per segment	Host-and-VM-only segment with DHCP and IPv6 RA; external NAT and DNS proxy stay off
VLAN bridge	Host interface	Creates an 802.1Q interface with a tag from 1–4094, then exposes it to VM NICs and shared-network uplinks
Address reservation	Per guest NIC	Keeps a stable IPv4 address by binding a network address to the NIC's MAC
Port forwarding	Per network or VM	TCP/UDP vmnet NAT rules for a shared network, or live TCP guest-agent tunnels for one VM
Firewall	Per custom network	Host-enforced IPv4 pf policy with inbound/outbound defaults and ordered protocol, CIDR, and port rules

The host can therefore own addressing and policy without configuration inside every guest. Not every control applies to every mode; the mode/service matrix in Custom networks shows the exact boundary.

Bridging

Choose a physical interface when the guest must appear directly on your LAN. Network policy outside the Mac (DHCP, switch configuration, Wi-Fi restrictions, and firewalls) still applies.

For segmented lab networks, create an 802.1Q VLAN interface from Networks → New VLAN Interface…. It then appears as a bridged host interface that a VM NIC can use directly, or that a shared custom network can take as its uplink.

MacVisor creates a tagged VLAN interface on a selected physical parent, then makes it available for direct VM bridging or as a shared-network uplink.

Port forwarding

Forward a host TCP port to a guest port when you want a stable local endpoint such as SSH:

vz ports add <vm> --host-port 2222 --guest-port 22 --name SSH
ssh -p 2222 localhost

The guest agent provides the tunnel used by per-VM port forwarding. Bind to 127.0.0.1 unless other machines genuinely need access.

MacVisor has two kinds of forward, and they suit different situations:

	Per-VM forward	Network forward
Path	Guest agent over vsock	vmnet NAT on a custom network
Needs guest tools	Yes	No
Changes while running	Yes, applies immediately	No — fixed while the network is in use
Target	The VM itself	An address inside the segment

Guest address discovery

With guest tools connected, MacVisor can report live interface names and IPv4/IPv6 addresses:

vz ip <vm>

Without the agent, address discovery can be less complete and depends on the selected network path.