Help Requested - A tale of three network configuration use cases

Hi all,

I'm trying to get my VMWare Fusion 4 networking to behave consistently in three different environments without needing to reconfigure guest machines every time I switch between environments.  I'm hoping that what I'm trying to do is actually possible, because I do have to switch between these three use cases on a pretty regular basis.  On my own, I've had reasonable luck getting two of the three to work at a time, but never all three in a consistent way.

Any help is greatly appreciated, as this has been an issue for me for quite some time.

Thanks!

Environment:

Host:

MacBook Air, OSX 10.8.3

VMWare Fusion 4.1.4

Network adapters: wireless only

Connects to VM1's servers

DHCP address when connected, no active adapters when wireless is off

Could potentially be on any subnet, but needs a route to VM1 at all times

VM1:

FreeBSD 8.0

Static IP: 10.0.0.8

Runs various server software (Apache, Samba, etc.)

VM2:

Windows 7

DHCP IP (could be changed to static if that makes life easier)

Connects to VM1's servers

Needs to be on the 10.0.0.x subnet so it can talk to VM1

Home network:

10.0.0.x subnet

DHCP available

Various other client machines with a mix of static and DHCP addresses

Use case 1 - On the plane

For this use case, no network is available.  WiFi is turned off, so the Host reports that it has no active network adapters at all.

I'd like to set VM1 and VM2 to "Host Only".

When in this mode VM2 should get an address assigned via VMWare's DHCP.  Both Host and VM2 should be able to connect to VM1.

Use case 2 -  On a foreign network

For this use case, the Host is attached to some other network, like a work or public WiFi.  The Host subnet will be a non-10.0.0.x subnet.

I'd like to set VM1 and VM2 to "NAT".

When in this mode VM2 should get an address assigned via VMWare's DHCP.  Both Host and VM2 should be able to connect to VM1.  Host, VM1, and VM2 should be able to connect to the outside internet.

Use case 3 - At home

For this use case, the Host is attached to my home network, which is also on the 10.0.0.x subnet.

I'd like to set VM1 and VM2 to "Bridged".

When in this mode VM2 should get an address assigned via my Home network's DHCP.  Both Host and VM2 should be able to connect to VM1.  Host, VM1, and VM2 should be able to connect to the outside internet.  Additionally, other machines on my Home network should be able to connect to VM1.

Message was edited by: xaroth (editing the title to make it clearer that I'm requesting assistance)