Guest <--> Host Networking Stops Working After VPN Connect

[bjw122]

I'm having a networking issue that should be solvable with a little help.

The Particulars:
VirtualBox 4.1.2
Host OS: Windows 7
Guest OS: Oracle Linux 6

Two network adapters defined for the guest:
1.] NAT (port forwarding is not set up, I use this interface for outgoing requests -- e.g. web).
2.] Host-only

When I boot the guest OS I see that eth1 gets an IP of 10.0.2.15 and eth2 gets an IP of 192.168.56.101. I can successfully view web content from the guest. I can successfully use PuTTy from the host to connect to 192.168.56.101. All of the networking is working just the way I want it. And then. . .I connect to my Company's network using the Cisco VPN client. As soon as I do that the network communication between host and guest stops working for me. What changes can I make (or what troubleshooting steps can I take) to enable me to be VPN'ed in to my Company while maintaining network connectivity between my guest OS and my host OS?

I have read about the different "networking modes" supported by VirtualBox in the manual, and I've done some Googling around to try to find a solution but I'm coming up dry. I'll keep searching for an answer since it seems like this should be a semi-common problem.

Thank you very much for your time.

[BillG]

That sort of thing is common if you only have one NIC in the host (because of the way a VPN client works). It should not be a problem if you have a separate host-only interface. Are you sure that it isn't just a Windows security problem? Has Windows set the host only network to public?

[bjw122]

Hi Bill -

It looks like you are right. In the Windows 7 "Network and Sharing Center" the “Virtualbox Host-Only Network” shows up as a “Unidentified network". I saw the same condition explained here (http://www.brokenwire.net/bw/Various/12 ... -windows-7), with a suggested fix. I'll give it a try.

[bjw122]

Following the directions at the URL given in my last post to get the “Virtualbox Host-Only Network” to be recognized (as a non-public network) did not work.

However, following the directions here http://systemmangler.com/post/474592471 ... rk-the-fix I was able to get the “Virtualbox Host-Only Network” identified as a "Work network". Unfortunately, while I can still connect to the VB guest when not VPN'ed in, as soon as I VPN in to my Company's network GUEST <--> HOST networking still stops working. Any other ideas on what I might try?

I've gone from this:

Before Following Directions @ systemmangler.com

VPN.jpg (112.96 KiB) Viewed 3595 times

to this:

After Following Directions @ systemmangler.com

Capture.JPG (54.28 KiB) Viewed 3595 times

[BillG]

It should work fine now that the network is private. Check the IP addresses and the firewall settings on both host and guest.