Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

I'm really lost as to what's happening here so I hope someone can help me out.

Today, I closed two properly running VM's, one Linux, one Windows, transferred their VDI's to another drive on the same PC using the proper process, i.e. detaching and the reattaching, and suddenly, I'm having issues with the Linux guest. I'm not saying the transfer is the culprit, I'm just mentioning it because it's the only thing that actually changed - I have neither touched Virtualbox (recently), nor have I done any changes whatsoever in the guest OS. My host OS, Win10Pro, indeed was updated a couple of days ago but the Linux guest was running fine after that.

What's happening is that my Linux guest suddenly cannot seem to make any connection with another machine while the VM is configured to use a bridged network adapter. As soon as I change this to NAT, it's all fine. Which makes me think there is nothing wrong with the guest OS configuration, the guest OS log files are not showing any errors either. Mind you, the Windows guest works just fine with the bridged adapter so it can be deduced that there is no problem with the router or network, too.

I tried several things. As I haven't deleted the transferred VDI yet, I just re-attached the old one to the VM and booted it up - the issue remains the same which is why I believe it's not related to the transfer. I also manually set a fixed IP on the guest system and tried to ping any other system in the vicinity, including the host system, but to no avail.

As a last resort, I updated Virtualbox to the latest test build but the issue remains.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

Update: I downgraded VBox to 5.1.31. The problem just disappeared.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

I clearly celebrated too early.. a day has passed, the VM was being kept open all the time, and it's no longer connected.

Here is the content of the vbox config file:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<!--
** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE.
** If you make changes to this file while any VirtualBox related application
** is running, your changes will be overwritten later, without taking effect.
** Use VBoxManage or the VirtualBox Manager GUI to make changes.
-->
<VirtualBox xmlns="http://www.virtualbox.org/" version="1.15-windows">
  <Machine uuid="{99b0a98e-734e-4401-a986-39d95eb7253f}" name="Arch Linux" OSType="ArchLinux_64" snapshotFolder="Snapshots" lastStateChange="2017-12-06T14:19:40Z">
    <MediaRegistry>
      <HardDisks>
        <HardDisk uuid="{be27a179-84ab-4474-b91c-e463ac6e5e95}" location="ArchLinux.vdi" format="VDI" type="Normal"/>
      </HardDisks>
    </MediaRegistry>
    <ExtraData>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastCloseAction" value="PowerOff"/>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/LastNormalWindowPosition" value="373,316,1024,829"/>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/RestrictedRuntimeDevicesMenuActions" value="HardDrives"/>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/RestrictedRuntimeMachineMenuActions" value="SaveState,PowerOff"/>
      <ExtraDataItem name="GUI/StatusBar/IndicatorOrder" value="HardDisks,OpticalDisks,FloppyDisks,Network,USB,SharedFolders,Display,VideoCapture,Features,Mouse,Keyboard"/>
    </ExtraData>
    <Hardware>
      <CPU>
        <PAE enabled="false"/>
        <LongMode enabled="true"/>
        <HardwareVirtExLargePages enabled="true"/>
      </CPU>
      <Memory RAMSize="768"/>
      <HID Pointing="USBTablet"/>
      <Paravirt provider="Default"/>
      <Display VRAMSize="16"/>
      <RemoteDisplay enabled="false"/>
      <BIOS>
        <IOAPIC enabled="true"/>
      </BIOS>
      <USB>
        <Controllers>
          <Controller name="OHCI" type="OHCI"/>
          <Controller name="EHCI" type="EHCI"/>
        </Controllers>
      </USB>
      <Network>
        <Adapter slot="0" enabled="true" MACAddress="080027979C21" cable="true" promiscuousModePolicy="AllowAll" type="82540EM">
          <DisabledModes>
            <InternalNetwork name="intnet"/>
            <NATNetwork name="NatNetwork"/>
          </DisabledModes>
          <BridgedInterface name="Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection"/>
        </Adapter>
        <Adapter slot="1" MACAddress="0800278883B2" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="2" MACAddress="0800271B7E8A" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="3" MACAddress="0800273A37D6" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="4" MACAddress="0800279AD629" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="5" MACAddress="0800275E01BC" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="6" MACAddress="080027ED33D9" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
        <Adapter slot="7" MACAddress="080027FB466E" cable="true" type="82540EM"/>
      </Network>
      <LPT>
        <Port slot="1" enabled="false" IOBase="0x378" IRQ="7"/>
      </LPT>
      <AudioAdapter codec="AD1980" driver="DirectSound" enabled="true"/>
      <RTC localOrUTC="UTC"/>
      <GuestProperties>
        <GuestProperty name="/VirtualBox/HostInfo/GUI/LanguageID" value="C" timestamp="1510246625185386900" flags=""/>
      </GuestProperties>
    </Hardware>
    <StorageControllers>
      <StorageController name="IDE" type="PIIX4" PortCount="2" useHostIOCache="true" Bootable="true">
        <AttachedDevice passthrough="false" type="DVD" hotpluggable="false" port="1" device="0"/>
      </StorageController>
      <StorageController name="SATA" type="AHCI" PortCount="1" useHostIOCache="false" Bootable="true" IDE0MasterEmulationPort="0" IDE0SlaveEmulationPort="1" IDE1MasterEmulationPort="2" IDE1SlaveEmulationPort="3">
        <AttachedDevice type="HardDisk" hotpluggable="false" port="0" device="0">
          <Image uuid="{be27a179-84ab-4474-b91c-e463ac6e5e95}"/>
        </AttachedDevice>
      </StorageController>
    </StorageControllers>
  </Machine>
</VirtualBox>
Any help will be much appreciated.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by mpack »

vic-t wrote: Today, I closed two properly running VM's, one Linux, one Windows, transferred their VDI's to another drive on the same PC using the proper process, i.e. detaching and the reattaching
I'm not sure what made you think that was the proper process. Detaching a disk from the wrong VM can cause irreparable damage to the VM.

Why did you want to move the VDI at all? If the goal was to move it to a drive with more space then you move the entire VM, not mess with bits of it.

Howto: Move a VM.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

I don't think I made a mistake in the move, maybe I just didn't describe it in enough detail..

First, I copied the whole VM folder to the new destination (yes, for space reasons). I then detached the VDI in the old location, and reattached the one from the new location.

I'm realizing just now that this means it still takes the vbox config from the old location.. but I still don't think that explains the errors. Anyway, will now register the vbox from the new location to make sure the move was proper.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

Just to confirm, I removed the VM and reintroduced it using the vbox file from the new destination, i.e. the full copied VM folder with the vbox, vbox-prev, vdi etc. The issue remains.
Martin
Volunteer
Posts: 2560
Joined: 30. May 2007, 18:05
Primary OS: Fedora other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: XP, Win7, Win10, Linux, OS/2

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by Martin »

Did you verify that the moved VM is configured to the correct brdiged network adapter on the target system?
Also a local firewall on the target system could be blocking the bridged connection.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

Thanks for your input, Martin. The host remained the same, so there was nothing to change. But yes, I double checked the adapter settings several times. There is also no local firewall.

I uninstalled Virtualbox entirely, downgraded to version 5.1.26. For the time being, everything works fine again.

I think it's safe to say that this is not an issue with the guest OS configuration. Unless Windows 10 is somehow interfering with VirtualBox's network bridge, the issue seems to be with VirtualBox itself.

As I mentioned in the beginning, Windows guest OS's don't seem to have this issue, only my (Arch) Linux VM's are affected.
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by Perryg »

You would need to look at dmesg and syslog among other log files of the guest to tell what the reason is/was. AFAIK just moving the guest to a different location ( if done properly ) would not effect the way VirtualBox sees the guest ( other than permission issues of the new location ).

As a side note, I have on very rare occasions seen that the host sometimes needs to be rebooted to actually release the network connection ( usually the association of the Mac address ) to allow change. Arp should give you that test information though.

Oh and if the guest was not completely shut down ( not in a saved state ) when moved these kind of things can also happen.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

PerryG, there wasn't a permission problem for sure. And the VM's I moved were all properly shut down and not in a saved state. Your side note is interesting though - I did not reboot my host. That actually would have been the next thing on my list to try.

I checked the syslog/journal before posting here, of course. No problems there, all services started, network interfaces up and running. Just no connection. I'm certain it's not an issue with guest configuration, supported by the fact that the exact same network configuration used to work for more than 2 years now without any issues.

VM still working flawlessly under VBox 5.1.26 as of now.
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by Perryg »

I never pointed out that the guest was the cause, just that it may show what is really happening. Your setup may be assisting in the cause though as I can't remember the last time ( if any ) I saw a network issue when moving the guest within the same host. Oh and don't forget the router. I have heard about some that were flaky with virtual guests, usually fixed with a power cycle.
vic-t
Posts: 11
Joined: 14. Dec 2016, 21:43

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by vic-t »

No, I got that but I really couldn't find anything out of the ordinary in the logs. Not that I'm the greatest expert on the topic.

I failed to mention that before downgrading VirtualBox, I tried it again with NAT instead of bridged and it didn't work any longer. Which would rule out the router as the culprit. But I'll keep the power cycle option in mind as one more thing to try in the future.

Unfortunately, the VM holds production data and it has to work. Since it does now, I'm not going to touch it. But I'm planning to move the applications and data to another system soon and could then make some tests, i.e. upgrade VBox to the newest version again and see if these troubleshooting steps would solve the issue I experienced today.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Bridged network not working with Linux guest

Post by socratis »

vic-t wrote:I downgraded VBox to 5.1.31. The problem just disappeared.
vic-t wrote:downgraded to version 5.1.26. For the time being, everything works fine again.
vic-t wrote:VM still working flawlessly under VBox 5.1.26 as of now.
Unfortunately, you didn't mention which VirtualBox version you downgraded *from*. There was a nasty bug introduced in 5.2.0 where all the Bridged connections in Windows hosts would not work. See the discussion "[Fixed] Bridged networking 5.2.0 issues (#17186)" and the related ticket #17186: Bridged over WiFi networking: no IP assigned on Win hosts, with a variety of guests/WiFi cards.
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