virtualbox.org

Host: Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
Virtualbox: Version 5.0.14 r105127

Guest: WIndows 8.1 Pro 64 bit
Guest additions: 5.0.14

Fresh install of guest OS. Default network adapter Intel PRO/1000 MT desktop. Bridged to host WiFi card. Start guest, open network and sharing centre, watch it flick slowly between "Unidentified Network" and "Network 2". It settles on "Network 2" for only around 2 seconds and then back to unidentified. I have briefly seen windows tell me I have an internet connection but that lasts maybe only 1 second.

Exactly the same setup but Bridge the guest network adapter to the host Ethernet port, then cable direct to router: Full, immediate internet access.

Win XP guest using the PCnet FAST III default adapter works fine bridged to host WiFi card with immediate internet connection available and a DHCP IP address from the physical router.

Last night I changed an identical Win 8.1 guest from NAT to Bridged mode, bridging with the WiFi card and all was well. Now I can sometimes gain an IP from the router (This seems to coincide with Windows changing from Unidentified network to Network 2) and I've even seen 2 IPv4 addresses on the adapter properties.

Any ideas, cos I'm now out! The fact the XP guest works suggests it's not a host firewall/routing issue (I assume the bridged guest bypasses the host firewall? The XP guest working suggests it's not the WiFi card on the host. I find myself at a loss.

Yes, that's correct. Bridged networking is not guaranteed to work with a wireless NIC. See section 6.5 of the user manual.

Thank you for a swift response.

6.5 doesn't exactly say that it's not guaranteed, only that it works differently?

I'd be more happy to accept a "tough luck" final answer if it didn't a) work flawlessly on the XP guest and b) work flawlessly 2 nights ago on the original win 8.1 guest. Does the XP guest not at least prove that the WiFi card can work with Vbox bridging, or am I over simplifying things?

Cabling isn't really an option, due to router position. It starts to get daft but I could maybe bridge to the ethernet, cable that to a travel router I have and have the travel router connect to the WiFi. Talk about too many links in the chain though!

Could I extract drivers for the other network cards and try the PCnet FAST III that works with XP, or is my problem not with the virtual NIC itself? I'm beyond my networking knowledge with virtual NICs changing packets on the host NIC.

fineWhine wrote:Could I extract drivers for the other network cards and try the PCnet FAST III that works with XP, or is my problem not with the virtual NIC itself?

Your problem has to do with how VirtualBox interfaces to your host, not how it interfaces to your guest - which is where the various simulated NIC interfaces appear.

This makes me question all the more: how does it work with the XP guest and previously with the 8.1 guest if the problem lies with the host machine (which has stayed the same)?

OK, don't want to open another thread.

Another way of achieving what I want to do is to run the guest NIC in NAT mode (internet works fine) and connect to a VPN using a TAP adaptor. This also works fine, until I connect the host machine to a VPN itself and then it all goes awry.

The guest will connect to its VPN server (this is different from the hsot VPN server - different locations), gain the appropriate IP address and can connect to the admin page of the VPN server/router but it hangs permanently when attempting to recover a webpage. No timeout, no DNS probe, just a white page forever and ever.

No doubt a routing issue and beyond my personal scope - is this an easy fix?

So to be clear the steps would go like this:

Boot host machine. Connect host machine to VPN#1. Open Guest machine. Connect guest to VPN#2. Browse internet on guest as though physically in location of VPN#2, browse host machine as if physically in location of VPN#1.

You certainly need the two VPNs to be using different NICs in the host. You achieve that through the properties of the NICs in the host OS.

On the NIC which you want the vm to use, clear all the check boxes except VirtualBox NDIS6 bridged networking adapter. The vm now has exclusive use of that adapter. On the NIC which you want the host to use, clear that same box so that the vm cannot use it. I have my system running that way. The vms use Ethernet and the host uses Wifi.

You can now experiment with your setup on one machine without affecting the other. You should be able to find a solution with the vm using Wifi and the host Ethernet or vice versa.

Thank you Bill, that's a most informative post. Sadly, it's impractical for me to use the wired ethernet for this setup.

I still don't understand why the XP guest plays ball when bridged with the host WiFi card but Win 8.1 guest no longer will. Looks like it's back to XP whilst I mull things over further.

Then I think that you are wasting your time. The chances of running two VPN connections through one physical NIC (Wifi or Ethernet) are very low indeed.

Sorry, to be clear(er?): if I bridge the VM to the host WiFi card on the XP guest, I can have two VPNs going to different places. I don't know if that is supposed to happen but that's what's going on. It's not "VPN inside VPN" though, which it would be with NAT (and thus require two physical adapters on the host as you explained).

I just wanted to do that with the win8.1 guest - bridge to the WiFi and then connect to VPN. But I don't get an internet connection (although I swear I did the other evening).