Remote Desktop disrupts bridged networking

[Tom7]

I have a Windows 7 machine hosting an Ubuntu 14.04 guest. The guest is configured with bridged networking and I access the guest console through the host's KVM.

I have another machine running Ubuntu 14.04 which I use to access both the host and guest machines. But when I connect to the Windows 7 host by the Windows Remote Desktop protocol, the guest loses its bridged network connection. To regain it, I have to go and log on to the host (Windows 7) console. I then get network connection to the guest back until next time I connect by RDP.

Is there some way to avoid this?

[scottgus1]

My experience with Windows Remote Desktop is that it is heavily integrated to the log-in process, which at times has disrupted Virtualbox guests, since guests started through the Virtualbox GUI run under the logged-on user.

As a guess, I'd try running the guest as a service (see viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4762) if you really have to remote into the host using Window Remote Desktop. Running as a service makes the guest boot up without having to be logged in on the host, so it runs invisibly, and you can log out of the host without affecting the guest. Then you can use whatever remote desktop arrangement you normally use to view the guest on the host as well.

You could also use another remote-in product, like UltraVNC (I use that one) to get to your host. UltraVNC does not interfere with GUI-run guests, in my experience.

[Tom7]

Running as a service using VBoxVmService makes no difference. I've got the VM starting at boot through the service and can ping it / SSH to it etc, but as soon as I connect to the host by RDP, the guest loses connectivity.

I rather suspect that the centrally-imposed firewall policy is going to scotch any idea of UltraVNC or similar things, too.