If you’re ever required to run several OSes concurrently the virtual machine (VM) is among the best alternatives. It’s affordable, offers excellent performance, and with the thousands of free websites it’s fairly easy to install regardless of your experience using hypervisors and VMs. But what happens if you wish to connect between two or even more VMs? It’s a good thing that VirtualBox provides many networking options to suit many different configurations which can be set up by a couple of clicks.
How Does Networking Between Multiple VMs Work?
Connecting several VMs is quite similar to the way you connect several real computers in a real network. Yet, VirtualBox has as many as eight different networking options for every need you may have.
This is a brief overview of the various options for networking that you can access in VirtualBox.
- Not connected: This mode simply removes your VM to the network. That means there will be no network or consequently, no internet connectivity to the host, or others virtual machines.
- Generic Driver The network mode lets you share the standard network interface of the host machine with your selected VM which means that the specific VM has an individual network controller, and is isolated from other physical networks. Then, you can download drivers to the general network interface with an extension package, however they’re typically included with VirtualBox in any case.
- Network Address Translation: The network address translation (NAT) establishes an exclusive link between the machine hosting the host as well as the VM for which you choose this option. It’s an isolation network, which means that only the machine except the host and the VM can communicate with one another. The VM can also make use of its host’s Internet connection while in that network-mode.
- NAT Network It’s similar to the NAT but it adds all of the VMs that you have created in VirtualBox into the network, instead. This means that your host machine as well as all of your VMs are placed on an isolated network, where they are able to communicate and make use of the host’s broadband connection to access the Internet.
- Bridged Adaptor In this configuration every VM is considered an independent device on your network. That means the host machine, any VMs that you have, as well as any other devices in your network can communicate with one another without hassle. Naturally, this signifies that all your VMs are connected online.
- Host-only adapter: With this option your VMs as well as the host machine are all connected , but are physically separated to the network in general. This is the most secure amount of security for your VMs but the drawback being limited networking capabilities. This option could also be known as Host-only network in some old Versions of VirtualBox.
- Internal Network The Internal Network is an intranet among several VMs. In this mode it’s the VMs are separate with the hosts machine and have an individual network. Remember it’s the sole network mode available in VirtualBox in which the VMs do not have access to the internet.
- Cloud Network: This is an experiment in VirtualBox network mode, which was launched along with VirtualBox 7.0.6 at the beginning of January in 2023. It allows the locally-based VM connection to an internet subnet in the cloud remotely that makes it available over the internet, and other scenarios for enterprise use.
You may have noticed that some of these networks appear similar particularly the Bridge, NAT and Host-only modes. But, remember that even though they appear identical, they also have minor variations and distinctions in the overall connectivity and networking capabilities.
Which Virtual Machine Network Mode Should You Choose?
The network mode you select will depend on what the requirements are for to your VM network. If you’re seeking to make your VMs accessible to the local networks, the Bridged Adaptor works perfectly because it requires no further configuration and will immediately enable your VMs to be accessible to any device connected to your network.
However when you have several other devices in your network and require security creating an an NAT network or using a Host-only adaptor is the best option. If you’re looking for airtight security between your VMs, or you need to establish the an air-gapped system to conduct an security testing scenario or other scenario, an internal Network will be the best way to take.
We suggest starting by using starting with the bridged Adaptor mode, and later proceeding to one of the other network modes based on your individual needs.
How to Network Two Virtual Machines Using Virtual Box
You should be able to guess from the above, connecting two VMs is it’s a matter of choosing the correct network mode based on your particular requirements in VM settings and then setting up the VM just like an actual machine.
Here’s how you can configure your virtual machines for networking with Network mode. mode NAT Network mode.
- Launch your VirtualBox Network Manager by going to the file > Tools > Network Manager. You can also utilize Ctrl + H keyboard shortcut. key combination Ctrl and H keyboard shortcut.
- Navigate to the NAT Network tab, and then hit “Create” in the upper right of the page to create a brand new network. Enter the necessary details below, including the name of the network as well as the IPv4 prefix. Make sure that the enable for DHCP option is selected.
- Select to the Apply button to save your network.
- Then, go into your VM settings, select to open the Network tab and, within the Attached to dropdown, choose Network. Network.
- Choose the NAT network we just set up within the Name dropdown.
- Select “OK” for saving your preferences.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 in the number of VMs as you’d like to connect to your network for NAT, and you’re ready to go. When you next start any of these VMs or if they’ve already booted , you’ll be connected to the latest network, and will be able to be in contact with the other VMs that are on that network.
Networking Is Easy With VirtualBox
Networking several VMs can be a breeze once you become familiar with the many possibilities of networking that VirtualBox offers. Setup of the virtual network can be done in just few clicks.
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