Virtual Box 6.1 creates multiple network adapters on Windows host

[aragornii]

EDIT: Sorry for the huge image, I should have probably used the [img] BBCode.

Hi all, I'm writing since I'm experimenting a weird behavior when I use Virtual Box 6.1 on Windows 11 host. Basically it seems VB creates multiple network adapters. Initially I though that this was happening every time I have been updating Virtual Box to a new version but today I realized that ii happens when starting a VM too.

For instance, yesterday I disabled all the extra network adapters created leaving only 'VirtualBox Host-Only Network' active but today when I started the VM a new 'Ethernet 6' was created, as you can see in the image below.

vb_screenshot

vb1.png (94.46 KiB) Viewed 4666 times

Is this an intended behavior?

Thank you!

[scottgus1]

Sorry for the huge image, I should have probably used the [img] BBCode.

[IMG] tags only work for items you have previously uploaded through Upload Attachment. See your forum User Control Panel, Manage Attachments. To my knowledge, [IMG] does not change scale of the image either. You can scale your images before uploading if you wish. 4K images are big, and a 50% reduction often works well.

Multiple Host-Only networks can arise from two different sources:

• Virtualbox is set to make them, see the main Virtualbox window, File menu, Host Network Manager.
• Windows makes them during a major Feature Update (like 20H1 to 21H2, etc, that kind of major update). Windows is known to copy network adapters at times, which happens to the virtual Host-Only adapters.

Check Virtualbox's Host Network Manager. If there's only your desired Host-Only's there, then Windows is copying adapters. This has been mentioned in the forum before. I don't remember how to get rid of the copies. You could try a web-search, or a forum guru will perhaps drop by and inform us both.

[aragornii]

Thanks scottgus1 fo the advice on [IMG] tags, I hope the image will render better now.

I checked Host Network Manager in Virtual Box and I can see this:

host

vb2.png (34.16 KiB) Viewed 4650 times

Where the first adapter (169.254.72.43) corresponds to the newly created 'Ethernet 6' adapter, visible in my previous message, and the second adapter (192.168.56.1) should correspond, if I'm not wrong, to the first adapter that has been created (the one named 'Virtual Box Host-Only Network' in the previous message image) when I first installed Virtual Box on this laptop.

I haven't received any major Windows update between yesterday and today. I have updated Virtual Box yesterday but 'Ethernet 6' adapter showed up after the updated when I started my VM this morning.

Thanks again for the help!

[BillG]

Windows is very good at creating copies of network adapters. I have had more that 20 copies of by Wi-fi adapter and more than 60 have been mentioned in Windows newsgroups. (I think that was for the default adapter in Hyper-V. It gets recreated on reboot if you delete it).

You can delete them from Device Manager. Go to the View tab and enable Show hidden devices. You might be surprised by what you find.

[aragornii]

Thanks for the reply BillG! Yes, I have several copies but I'm not sure which ones I can safely delete in the Device Manager. I assume the only one I need is the one with 169.254.72.43 IP address, right?

Also, Show hidden devices has unveiled a whole new world to me!

[scottgus1]

delete them from Device Manager. Go to the View tab and enable Show hidden devices. You might be surprised by what you find.

Thanks, Bill! This is going in my notes!