Bridging on XP host > bridged adapters disappear in dropdowr

[bbo]

Hello,
I have problems with my virtualbox 4.6.x >> I can't use the bridged networking, so my guest (ubuntu natty) cannot communicate with my host (win xp). I have built the bridge (virtualbox host only-network + one of my network adapters) but when I select bridged network, then the bridged interface (my wireless network adapter) disappears from the drop-down menu in Network setting of virtualbox... Does someone have experience with virtualbox and bridging...?
I read the virtualbox-Doculentation, chapter 12 - Troubleshooting:
"The maximum allowed filter count was reached on the host. In this case, the MSI log would mention the 0x8004a029 error code returned on NetFlt network component install:

VBoxNetCfgWinInstallComponent: Install failed, hr (0x8004a029)

You can try to increase the maximum filter count in the Windows registry at the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\MaxNumFilters

The maximum number allowed is 14. After a reboot, try to re-install VirtualBox."
I don't find this registry entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\MaxNumFilters... It appears to be missing. Does it mean that I have this limitations too, when it's missing?
Does someone have experience with it. In troubleshooting forums everyone advises to increase it from 8 to 14, or when it is missing, you can create it and set it on 14. But I fear editing registries since every editing causes then booting problems... Has someone already edited this registry and what kind of results braught it?
Thanks in advance!

[BillG]

You do not bridge the host only adapter to anything within the host OS. If you are using bridged networking you do not even need the host only adapter. You can disable it if you like.

When you select bridged adapter in the vm settings you should see your host NIC as an option to select. If you choose this option, the NIC in the vm is bridged to the physical NIC. This has nothing to do with bridging connections in the Windows host.

Is your host on a network? Does the network have a DHCP server? If it does not you will need to manually configure the guest with an IP in the same subnet as the host.

[bbo]

Hi BillG,
I did it as you describe. I deleted the bridge on the host, and then I reinstalled the vbox (4.6.x). I ran it as admin. I imported my .vdi. Selected bridged network, in the dropdown selected my NIC.
Then I started the guest. I am behind a router which has DHCP service and gives me automatic IP, so my guest receives the right IP address too. For example:
My host:
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82566MC Gigabit Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1C-25-93-9A-76
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.106.15
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.106.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.106.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 195.238.84.2
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, May 16, 2011 1:19:21 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, May 16, 2011 1:29:21 PM

My guest:
bbo@boyko:~$ ifconfig
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:27:a0:e5:1a
inet addr:192.168.106.28 Bcast:192.168.106.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::a00fea0:e51a/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:14 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:66 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:4988 (4.9 KB) TX bytes:10546 (10.5 KB)

In /etc/resolv.conf is the entry 195.238.84.2.

But when I ping yahoo.com, then I receive output like follows:
bbo@boyko:~$ ping yahoo.com
ping: unknown host yahoo.com

or

bbo@boyko:~$ ping 67.195.160.76
PING 67.195.160.76 (67.195.160.76) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
--- 67.195.160.76 ping statistics ---
19 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 18089ms

Can you halp again? Something is missing...

[BillG]

That is odd. If your vm is getting its config from DHCP on the physical network, the network bridge must be working. The vm should behave just like any other machine on the LAN. Can you ping the gateway router? Have you rebooted the guest OS?

[bbo]

Hello,
I think this can be the reason: http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=39015
I have the same issue. The Mac-Address seems to be not correctly identified. But I thaught when I change to network settings and regenerate it it could be solved then. But as I see it is perhaps a general problem with vb 4.x... I have 2 possibilities - to wait for a hot-fix from vb or to downgrade and test it again...

[bbo]

I cannot ping my gateway nor my host:
bbo@boyko:~$ ping 192.168.0.1
PING 192.168.0.1 (192.168.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
9 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 8029ms

bbo@boyko:~$ ping 192.168.0.175
PING 192.168.0.175 (192.168.0.175) 56(84) bytes of data.
^C
--- 192.168.0.175 ping statistics ---
7 packets transmitted, 0 received, 100% packet loss, time 6024ms

[BillG]

Something is obviously screwed up in the virtual networking. I would shut down the guest and do a re-install or repair install of VirtualBox.

[bbo]

I reinstalled and repaired it many times. I did also downgrade on 3.x and 2.x but unfortunately the bridge didn't its job correctly. I get the correct IP-address, mask, and DNS... Maybe my computer is restricted through the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\MaxNumFilters, because bridge worked last year, since I had full privilleges on the comp. But recently my employer created restricted users for the employees. Perhaps he restricted some other resources. And now I know my admin-password, and vbox bridge doesn't function any more. There is something wrong with it. As administrator the bridge doesn't function correctly too.

[BillG]

If you are on a company network you will need to talk to your network admin. There are lots of ways to prevent unauthorized machines from joining the network, and your vm is one of those as far as the network is concerned.