Creating a working virtual network

[srworks14]

Hi everyone I will summarize what I'm wanting to do for help with getting some certifications.

Create a virtual network that contains a windows server 2003, xp, and ubuntu. The server has to act like a router (routing and remote access) for the workstations to get to the internet as well as hand out the IP address configuration for the virtual network via DHCP. I can get all of the machines installed and properly working. Where I'm stuck is what do I need to do in order for the xp and ubuntu machines to access the server and have internet service, without picking up the wrong ip address. Thanks in advance.

[Perryg]

The easiest and for most the best way to use and test Windows domains in VirtualBox
Setup Windows Domain in VirtualBox

[srworks14]

Thanks for the quick response. From what I'm seeing I will not have internet connection correct? I need to have all the clients receive internet connection through the server and acquire their ip address locally. Maybe I'm missing something from that description though.

[Perryg]

Your DC will provide what you need. You only need to provide the DC an interface to the Internet via ICS, pFsense, or setup a Linux OS with iptables to do your routing. The rest is setting up the net for your domain. Your ICS is emulating a router.

[srworks14]

Will I need to have multiple adapters, one for the local network, and the other to provide the internet?

[Sasquatch]

Only on the router VM. The rest has just one: internal network. The router VM has internal network for the other Guests and NAT or bridged for internet access.

[srworks14]

Can the server 2003 act as both the routing VM as well as being the dc? Isn't it controlled via the adapter only? I'm not seeing the reason why I would need to add another VM when my server can have multiple NIC's. Again, I'm just trying to wrap my head around it. In my eyes it could go something like ISP>HomeNet(Router)>VM(Server2003&Router)W/2 NIC's>XP Host>Ubuntu Host. Let me know if I'm completely off here.

[Perryg]

You can actually allow the DC to do this with RRAS but it can actually confuse you more than just using another guest to act as a router.

[BillG]

My advice would be, do not even think about running a DC as a router. The only exception is Small Business Server, which is built to run that way (but is pretty restricted in other ways).

There are multiple problems with running a multihomed DC. Google will give you about 100,000 hits.

[BillG]

Your problems don't really have much to do with VirtualBox. Perry has given you all the info you need. Perhaps you should have a look at the Microsoft documentation or browse some Windows server forums.

The way you configure Active Directory does not change just because you are using virtual machines. You still need to understand how AD uses DNS and why it doesn't work if you use the default settings in your Internet router (which work fine for a workgroup).

[srworks14]

Well I appreciate perry's help. I obviously don't understand everything I need to know otherwise I wouldn't be asking, but I do agree that I probably should read a little more on how everything works as a whole. Thanks for your time as well Bill

[BillG]

The good news is that it does work. I have had AD domains in internal networks under VirtualBox for years. You just need to realize that AD is different and allow for those differences.