`vmware-iso`: Error detecting host IP: Could not find `vmnetdhcp` conf file:` /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf`

[Michael Hill]

Overview of the Issue

I am trying to build a VM using bridged networking. I was previously using whatever the default was set to, and then changed to bridged to test something. When set to bridged, every build fails immediately with:

2022/08/08 09:51:37 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Located networkmapper configuration file using Fusion6: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/networking
2022/08/08 09:51:37 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: HostIP discovered device matching bridged: vmnet0
2022-08-08T09:51:37-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.srt_ubuntu20_small: Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf
2022-08-08T09:51:37-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.srt_ubuntu20_small: Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf
2022/08/08 09:51:37 machine readable: error-count []string{"1"}
2022/08/08 09:51:37 machine readable: vmware-iso.srt_ubuntu20_small,error []string{"Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf"}

Reproduction Steps

I'm not exactly sure. All I've done is run a vmware-iso build a few times unsuccessfully, and then changed network to bridged and try to run it again.

Plugin and Packer version

Packer v1.8.3
git github.com/ethanmdavidson/git ">= 0.3.2"

Simplified Packer Buildfile

Packer Buildfile

data "git-commit" "cwd_head" {}

local "execute_command" {
  expression = "echo '${var.ssh-password}' | {{.Vars}} sudo -S -E bash '{{.Path}}'"
  sensitive  = true
}


source "vmware-iso" "ubuntu20_small" {
  # E.g. 'ubu-build-20220803113100-b5ee72a3'
  vm_name   = "ubu-build-${regex_replace(timestamp(), ".*(T|:|-).*", "")}-${split("-", uuidv4())[0]}"
  cpus      = 2
  memory    = 8192
  disk_size = 122880
  network   = "bridged"

  ssh_username           = "user"
  ssh_password           = var.ssh-password
  ssh_port               = "20022"
  ssh_pty                = true
  ssh_handshake_attempts = "40"
  ssh_timeout            = "20m"
  boot_wait              = "5s"
  boot_command = [
    "<enter><enter><f6><esc><wait> ",
    "autoinstall ds=nocloud-net;s=http://{{ .HTTPIP }}:{{ .HTTPPort }}/",
    "<enter>"
  ]
  guest_os_type        = "ubuntu64Guest"
  http_directory       = "subiquity/http"
  shutdown_command     = "echo '${var.ssh-password}' | sudo -S shutdown -P now"

  iso_url       = "file:///Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso"
  iso_checksum  = "28ccdb56450e643bad03bb7bcf7507ce3d8d90e8bf09e38f6bd9ac298a98eaad"

}


build {
  sources = [
    "source.vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small"
  ]
}

Operating system and Environment details

macOS 12.5 (Intel x86_64).
VMware Fusion Professional Version 12.2.4 (20071091)

Log Fragments and crash.log files

Packer Debug Logs

2022/08/08 09:46:36 [INFO] Packer version: 1.8.3 [go1.17.11 darwin amd64]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] discovering plugins in /usr/local/bin
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] discovering plugins in /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [DEBUG] Discovered plugin: git = /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64
2022/08/08 09:46:36 found external [commit repository tree] datasource from git plugin
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] discovering plugins in .
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/me/.cache/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] listing potential installations for "github.com/ethanmdavidson/git" that match ">= 0.3.2". plugingetter.ListInstallationsOptions{FromFolders:[]string{"/usr/local/bin/packer", ".", "/Users/me/.config/packer/plugins"}, BinaryInstallationOptions:plugingetter.BinaryInstallationOptions{APIVersionMajor:"5", APIVersionMinor:"0", OS:"darwin", ARCH:"amd64", Ext:"", Checksummers:[]plugingetter.Checksummer{plugingetter.Checksummer{Type:"sha256", Hash:(*sha256.digest)(0xc0009ce780)}}}}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Found the following "github.com/ethanmdavidson/git" installations: [{/Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 v0.3.2}]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 found external [commit repository tree] datasource from git plugin
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-cluster, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-datacenter, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-server, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for ssh-password, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for iso-url, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-datastore, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-network, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-user, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] validateValue: not active for vsphere-password, so skipping
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Starting external plugin /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 start datasource commit
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting plugin: /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 []string{"/Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64", "start", "datasource", "commit"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Received unix RPC address for /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64: addr is /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin418670440
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 plugin: 2022/08/08 09:46:36 Plugin address: unix /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin418670440
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 plugin: 2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 plugin: 2022/08/08 09:46:36 Serving a plugin connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64 plugin: 2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] starting datasource commit
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Starting internal plugin packer-builder-vmware-iso
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting plugin: /usr/local/bin/packer []string{"/usr/local/bin/packer", "plugin", "packer-builder-vmware-iso"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /usr/local/bin/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [INFO] Packer version: 1.8.3 [go1.17.11 darwin amd64]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/me/.cache/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: args: []string{"packer-builder-vmware-iso"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Plugin address: unix /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin633914082
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Waiting for connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Received unix RPC address for /usr/local/bin/packer: addr is /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin633914082
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Starting internal plugin packer-provisioner-file
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting plugin: /usr/local/bin/packer []string{"/usr/local/bin/packer", "plugin", "packer-provisioner-file"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /usr/local/bin/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: [INFO] Packer version: 1.8.3 [go1.17.11 darwin amd64]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/me/.cache/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: args: []string{"packer-provisioner-file"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: Plugin address: unix /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin998893557
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: Waiting for connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Received unix RPC address for /usr/local/bin/packer: addr is /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin998893557
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-file plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Starting internal plugin packer-provisioner-shell
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting plugin: /usr/local/bin/packer []string{"/usr/local/bin/packer", "plugin", "packer-provisioner-shell"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /usr/local/bin/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Packer version: 1.8.3 [go1.17.11 darwin amd64]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/me/.cache/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: args: []string{"packer-provisioner-shell"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Received unix RPC address for /usr/local/bin/packer: addr is /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin1683256834
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Plugin address: unix /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin1683256834
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Waiting for connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [TRACE] Starting internal plugin packer-provisioner-shell
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting plugin: /usr/local/bin/packer []string{"/usr/local/bin/packer", "plugin", "packer-provisioner-shell"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting for RPC address for: /usr/local/bin/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Packer version: 1.8.3 [go1.17.11 darwin amd64]
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var not set; checking the default config file path
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] PACKER_CONFIG env var set; attempting to open config file: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [WARN] Config file doesn't exist: /Users/me/.packerconfig
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: [INFO] Setting cache directory: /Users/me/.cache/packer
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: args: []string{"packer-provisioner-shell"}
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Received unix RPC address for /usr/local/bin/packer: addr is /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin3213835639
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Plugin address: unix /var/folders/bj/d20cbn1d31dc9hxb2q06qf5m0000gn/T/packer-plugin3213835639
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Waiting for connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-provisioner-shell plugin: Serving a plugin connection...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Build debug mode: false
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Force build: false
2022/08/08 09:46:36 On error:
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Waiting on builds to complete...
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Starting build run: vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small
2022/08/08 09:46:36 Running builder:
2022/08/08 09:46:36 [INFO] (telemetry) Starting builder vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small
vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: output will be in this color.

2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Detected VMware version: 12
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Testing against vmware driver *common.Fusion6Driver, Success: true
2022-08-08T09:46:36-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Retrieving ISO
2022/08/08 09:46:36 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Acquiring lock for: file:///Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso?checksum=sha256%3A28ccdb56450e643bad03bb7bcf7507ce3d8d90e8bf09e38f6bd9ac298a98eaad (/Users/me/.cache/packer/47de2d7266acde194681de2a24f5d76b43b452ca.iso.lock)
2022-08-08T09:46:36-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Trying file:///Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso
2022-08-08T09:46:36-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Trying file:///Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso?checksum=sha256%3A28ccdb56450e643bad03bb7bcf7507ce3d8d90e8bf09e38f6bd9ac298a98eaad
2022/08/08 09:46:39 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Leaving retrieve loop for ISO
2022-08-08T09:46:39-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: file:///Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso?checksum=sha256%3A28ccdb56450e643bad03bb7bcf7507ce3d8d90e8bf09e38f6bd9ac298a98eaad => /Users/me/Downloads/ubuntu-20.04.4-live-server-amd64.iso
2022-08-08T09:46:39-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Configuring output and export directories...
2022/08/08 09:46:39 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: No floppy files specified. Floppy disk will not be made.
2022/08/08 09:46:39 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: No CD files specified. CD disk will not be made.
2022-08-08T09:46:39-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Creating required virtual machine disks
2022/08/08 09:46:39 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: [INFO] Creating disk with Path: output-ubuntu20_small/disk.vmdk and Size: 122880M
2022/08/08 09:46:39 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Executing: /Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmware-vdiskmanager -c -s 122880M -a lsilogic -t 1 output-ubuntu20_small/disk.vmdk
2022-08-08T09:46:40-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Building and writing VMX file
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: stdout: Creating disk 'output-ubuntu20_small/disk.vmdk'
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Virtual disk creation successful.
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: stderr:
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Located networkmapper configuration file using Fusion6: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/networking
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Writing VMX to: output-ubuntu20_small/srt-ubu-build--1f121eb7.vmx
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Configuring VMX...
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Writing VMX to: output-ubuntu20_small/srt-ubu-build--1f121eb7.vmx
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Suppressing messages in VMX
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: Located networkmapper configuration file using Fusion6: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/networking
2022/08/08 09:46:40 packer-builder-vmware-iso plugin: HostIP discovered device matching bridged: vmnet0
2022-08-08T09:46:40-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf
2022-08-08T09:46:40-07:00: ==> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Deleting output directory...
2022/08/08 09:46:40 [INFO] (telemetry) ending vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small
==> Wait completed after 3 seconds 385 milliseconds
2022/08/08 09:46:40 machine readable: error-count []string{"1"}
==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
2022/08/08 09:46:40 machine readable: vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small,error []string{"Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf"}
==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
2022-08-08T09:46:40-07:00: Build 'vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small' errored after 3 seconds 385 milliseconds: Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf

2022/08/08 09:46:40 [INFO] (telemetry) Finalizing.
==> Wait completed after 3 seconds 385 milliseconds

==> Some builds didn't complete successfully and had errors:
--> vmware-iso.ubuntu20_small: Error detecting host IP: Could not find vmnetdhcp conf file: /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf

==> Builds finished but no artifacts were created.
2022/08/08 09:46:41 waiting for all plugin processes to complete...
2022/08/08 09:46:41 /Users/me/.config/packer/plugins/github.com/ethanmdavidson/git/packer-plugin-git_v0.3.2_x5.0_darwin_amd64: plugin process exited
2022/08/08 09:46:41 /usr/local/bin/packer: plugin process exited
2022/08/08 09:46:41 /usr/local/bin/packer: plugin process exited
2022/08/08 09:46:41 /usr/local/bin/packer: plugin process exited
2022/08/08 09:46:41 /usr/local/bin/packer: plugin process exited

Additional Context

• I found a few closed issues that seem to be the same issue, however, none of them had solutions or workarounds that work for me. (Note: these are both in hashicorp/packer and not this plugin's repo, but they are a few years old, so I wasn't sure if that was before this plugin was maybe split from the core packer project? Please let me know if I need to resubmit there).
  • hashicorp/packer#6745
  • hashicorp/packer#5882
• While I don't have /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet0/dhcpd.conf, I do have /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet1/dhcpd.conf and /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/vmnet8/dhcpd.conf. Unsure why these are incorrectly labeled? My next attempt is going to be after I recursively link vmnet8 to vmnet0. No idea if that will work, but we'll see!

[Michael Hill]

More info:

• Linking vmnet8 to vmnet0 didn't work.
• Fully reinstalling VMware Fusion doesn't change anything. Still only has 1 and 8, no 0.

This seems like something is possibly hard-coded to vmnet0 somewhere and is now out-of-date?

[Rodney Beede]

vmnet0 is linked to the bridged adapter, but if you try to view it in the VMware Virtual Network Editor it will not appear unless you have admin privileges.

[Rodney Beede]

I have a similar issue with vmware workstation 16.2.5 on Windows and packer 1.9.4.

Error detecting host IP: Unable to find host IP from devices [vmnet0], last error: No host declarations containing vmnet0 found

[Rodney Beede]

Possibly related?

hashicorp/packer#4091

[Rodney Beede]

I do have luck if I comment out
# network = "bridged"

and use instead:

  vmx_data = {
	"ethernet0.connectionType" = "bridged"
  }