VIRTUALBOX
Get to grips with virtual networks
Harness the power of VirtualBox networks to create self-contained virtual networks within your own computer. Stuart Burns reveals all.
OUR EXPERT
Stuart Burns is a Fortune 500 network administor specialising in virtualization at scale. When not doing that he can be found experimenting.
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There’s no reason why several networks can’t exist at the same time, as long as the networks don’t clash. The only item required is ensuring the DHCP range doesn’t clash and routing is configured. Rather than recreate it all from scratch, use virtualbox to clone the pfsense network.
Out of the box, VirtualBox does a decent job of networking for general-purpose, short-lived VMs. It’s capable of much more, though, including being able to create internet-routable test lab networks – even several test labs. They can all talk to each other and enable the owner to manage everything within that test network that you may not be able to manage on your locked-down ISP router, including selfmanaged DHCP, DNS, TFTP and more. Create a new, separate virtual network to experiment in is the answer. It can be used, destroyed and rebuilt as the reader sees fit, without breaking anything internet-related for other members of the household.
By default, when a virtual machine is created in VirtualBox it uses a NAT’d connection. This simply means the computer upon which the VM runs on is managing its connection on the VM’s behalf, in what is in effect a network bubble with internet access. The downside is that other computers on your main network won’t be able to talk to any VM you create on your computer with out-of-the-box NAT.