I've run out of ideas

[georgew]

It's time to throw in the towel and ask for some help. This one has got me stumped.

This is going to be long-winded, but I wanted to include everything I tried so far. Here is my setup, what I am trying to accomplish, and the things that I have tried.

Setup:

Windows XP Host and Guest. The host is connected to a Linksys router that is providing DHCP addresses in the 192.168.1subnet 255.255.255.0 range.

What I am trying to accomplish:

The Guest needs to be able to connect to both the internet, and the Host computer drives. The guest is running an application that is providing connectivity to outside users, and serving up data from the host and other PC's on the network.

What I have tried:

Straight out of the box VirtualBox install (NAT):

This works fine connecting to the internet, however, since the NAT sets the IP address in the 10.0.2.x IP range, the guest can't communicate with the host of other PC's on my network. I tried setting the Guest to a static IP address in the 192.168.1.x range and lost all network communications.

Host Interface:

I created a host interface adapter using the default wording. This created 2 Vbox TAP adapters on the host. One with the name I entered when doing the settings and another one with a generic name. The Host interface adapters are allowed to get it's IP number automatically and the Vbax TAP adapter that I named gets one in the range of 192.254.x.x, subnet 255.255.0.0. The other adapter does not show when I run ipconfig.

The Guest is allowed to get an IP number automatically and gets one in the range of 192.254.x.x, subnet 255.255.0.0. The guest PC was unable to connect to the the network, and was unable to ping the host PC.

Next I changed the IP address of the VBOX TAP adapter on the host to a static IP in the range 192.168.1.x. Both VBOX TAP adapters changed to the same IP number when I changed one of them. I was unable to connect to the internet or ping the Host with static or automatic IP.

Internal Network:

With automatic IP on the Guest I got an ip number in the 192.254.x.x range. I set up a static IP number in the 192.168.1.x range. It neither case was I able to access the internet or ping the host.

So of all of the processes I tried, only with NAT in it's default state was I able to do anything, and that was to access the internet.

Any help or suggestion would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Sasquatch]

Internal Networking is for Guest communication only, no outside world is known (not even the Host). See the manual for that option.

NAT can be done. If you know what port numbers are used to connect to your specific service, you can port forward them according to the Manual.

Host Interface networking is perhaps the best option depending on the service you are running. You have to bridge one VBox NIC to your physical NIC. Note that wifi adapters won't work. For the best idea, remove all the virtual adapters and start from scratch with them, only add one NIC (with any name you want). It should create only one interface. Bridge that one to your physical NIC and the Guest should obtain an IP from the Router.

[jwhitney1979]

Hi,

I've been browsing around here trying to figure out why my bridge wasn't working, and I saw the reply here saying that a wireless network adapter on the host won't work on a bridge.

My set-up: Vista Host, Fedora Guest
Host Interface, bridged.

My host networking is fine (all my apps can use the network) but my guest thinks the network cable is unplugged. Is this a Vista issue?

Thanks!

[Sasquatch]

Did you make sure that the checkbox is ticked? You can check that in the VM settings, but if you already have the VM running, right click on the two computer icons in the status bar.

[jwhitney1979]

I did, the checkbox is checked.... Also. I'm no longer on a wireless card on the host, and I still don't see a network connection in the guest... strangeness.