Upgrading a VMware Workstation virtual machine (VM) network adapter from 1GbE to 10GbE

Upgrading a VMware Workstation virtual machine (VM) network adapter from 1GbE to 10GbE involves editing the VM's configuration file to change the virtual network adapter type from the default (or ) to . VMXNET3 is a paravirtualized network interface designed for high performance, with support for features like multi-queue and jumbo frames. [1, 2]

Note: Your virtual machine's network performance will still be limited by the speed of your host machine's physical network interface and other hardware components, such as CPU and storage. This change simply allows the virtual hardware to support higher speeds if the underlying physical hardware is capable. [3]

Step 1: Shut down the virtual machine

Before making any changes to a VM's configuration file, you must shut it down completely. Suspending the VM is not enough.

1. Open VMware Workstation.
2. Select the virtual machine you want to modify.
3. Power off the VM by clicking VM > Power > Power Off.

Step 2: Locate the VM's .vmx file

The file is the primary configuration file for your virtual machine.

1. In VMware Workstation, right-click the virtual machine and select Settings.
2. On the Hardware tab, click Network Adapter.
3. In the "Network connection" section, take note of the network adapter's connection type (e.g., NAT, Bridged, or a specific custom VMnet).
4. Navigate to the VM's folder on your host machine's file system. The path is displayed on the Options tab under "Working directory".
5. Locate the file in this directory. [4, 5]

Step 3: Edit the .vmx file

You will need a plain text editor, like Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on macOS, to edit the file.

1. Right-click the file and select "Open with" to open it in your preferred text editor.
2. Find the line that defines your network adapter's virtual device type. It will look something like this:
3. refers to the first network adapter. If you have multiple NICs, they will be numbered sequentially (e.g., , , etc.).
4. Change the value for to . The final line should look like this: [6]

Step 4: Add VMXNET3 link speed configuration (Optional, for advanced tuning)

While the adapter defaults to 10Gbps, you can explicitly set or confirm this value within the file. This is more common in vSphere environments but can be applied here for clarity.

1. Add the following line directly after the line:

Step 5: Save and close the .vmx file

After making the changes, save the file and close the text editor.

Step 6: Start the VM and install VMware Tools

The guest operating system needs the correct driver for the new adapter. VMware Tools provides this and other performance drivers.

1. Open VMware Workstation and power on the modified VM.
2. If VMware Tools is not already installed or is outdated, the OS may not recognize the new network adapter.
3. Install or update VMware Tools from within the VM. In VMware Workstation, click VM > Install VMware Tools and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. After installing VMware Tools, reboot the guest operating system.

Step 7: Verify the network speed inside the guest OS

Once the VM has restarted, you can check the reported link speed from within the guest OS.

For Windows guests:

1. Open the Network and Sharing Center.
2. Click on the active network connection.
3. The "Speed" listed will now show "10.0 Gbps."

For Linux guests:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Run the command, replacing with your network interface name:
3. Look for the "Speed" entry in the output, which should report .

Example of .vmx file modifications

Here is a full section showing the before and after configuration.

Before:

After:

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/vm-network-adapters-e1000-vs-vmxnet2-enhanced-vs-vmxnet3

[2] https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/321259/choosing-a-network-adapter-for-your-virt.html

[3] https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/368812/how-to-change-the-vmxnet3-link-speed-of.html

[4] https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/339371/using-the-virtual-network-editor-in-vmwa.html

[5] https://support.umbrella.com/hc/en-us/articles/231266208-How-to-Modify-a-VA-in-VMWare-to-use-VMXNET3-adapters-instead-of-E1000

[6] https://superuser.com/questions/221365/how-can-i-find-modify-the-type-of-my-virtual-network-adapter-installed-with-vmwa