Two servers talking to each other on the same network

[JasonLJames]

Sorry for my second post of the day.

I now have two Windows 2019 servers and I'd like to add the second to the domain controller (first).

Navigating Google to try and find a set of complete instructions is proving fruitless so I've turned to the forum again.

Both machine a setup and run independently.

When I try and add a second adapter in VB as a Host-Only-Adapter, having already created a VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter in the global setting of VB I get the following error when trying to start my VM.

Does anyone have any good tutorials that perhaps also cover Windows DNS setting so that once the two machines are on the same network, and hopefully also talking to the Internet, the second server can join the domain of the first?

Thanks in advance,

J.

[scottgus1]

Try the ideas in this topic: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=94568

[jorgensen]

Not sure what are trying to accomplish.
If you want several guest servers with separate DHCP, DNS etc. settings, create a NAT Network for each server.
Then the host and servers will have its own IP subnet, and with gateway and route settings you can control access.

[JasonLJames]

I trying to set up a small test network of several servers in the same domain and therefore LAN / subnet so I can join member servers to the DC and then experiment with configuring GPs, OUs, Roles, Features & PowerShell.

Therefore, in the first instance trying to get all machines on the same LAN with the ability to ping each other and with running DNS & DHCP (on the server not VB) is my first priority.

Any suggestions where I should start?

I'm just about to uninstall and then re-install VB as per the previous answer too.

[scottgus1]

Any suggestions where I should start?

Did the topic I posted help any?

[JasonLJames]

I uninstalled VB and then kept Adapter 1 as NAT and added a second as NAT Network.

Then once the guest OS was running statically assigned the IP in the range offered by the NAT Network.

Doing this I was able to ping each guest OS from the other.

I've now basked those two guests and am building two more to see if it was a fluke or repeatable. I also wanted to change the machine names before creating the domain and adding the second machine to it.

All looking good so far so thanks for the list of options.

In case anyone else needs it the following link was useful too: https://www.nakivo.com/blog/virtualbox- ... ing-guide/

[BillG]

I would not use the NAT setting for domain-joined machines. Domain machines need to use the local (domain) DNS service only for the domain to operate successfully. NAT cannot do this, whether you are using physical or virtual machines and networks.

I find that the best way to run a domain of vms in VirtualBox is to use the internal virtual network. You can then configure your domain exactly as you would configure several physical machines connected to the same switch. The domain controller provides DNS (and DHCP if you want) to its members.

If you want the domain members to have Internet access, you configure that exactly as you would on a physical network. You set up a (virtual) router to link the domain network to the Internet. You can use Windows server running RRAS or you can use a third party appliance such as pfSense as your router. To allow the DC to resolve "foreign" URLs for itself and its clients, set a forwarder to an external DNS service in the DNS server of the DC. Do not give the clients (or the DC) any DNS addresses except the DC's IP, not even as secondaries.

This is all to do with Windows domains, not VirtualBox. As you will gather from the above, the rules are exactly the same for both physical and virtual setups. You can even have a domain which has physical and virtual machines in it, but in that case you need to use bridged mode to get them in the same network.

[JasonLJames]

Bill, I updated the network to your suggestions and all seems good so far. The domain is till good and the two devices ping each other. I'm going to do some DNS and DHCP research tonight and try and get those services running correctly.

Keep you posted.

J.