• eth0 is the official nic of my ubuntu 12.04-server
• eth1 is the "local=yes" port of bridge 'br1'
• eth1/br1 have no ip address
• all VirtualBox guest machines use br1(/eth1)
• all real and virtual machines are on the same subnet
• one end of (almost) all network cables is plugged into a Netgear FS726T Smart Switch
• It works well. Everyone is reaching Samba (on eth0), each other's shared folders, printer, NAS and Internet.

Prior to VirtualBox it was VMware Server who bridged all guest traffic to eth1. And prior to that, just one network adapter for everything. It was hell. All it took was a backup, an up/download from NAS, either from or to the host or a guest, and the mail server, some remote desktops, VNC, Citrix or PuTTY session dropped out.

I see no storm raging but... Nonetheless, what network options should I use or avoid to prevent bad and evil traffic patterns?

Hmmm, i have never encountered a drop out when using the same network port.

My setup currently uses eth1 < br1 for all guests & the host.

The guests being: (KVM guests)

• Samba Server
• Mail Server
• Web Server
• Win7 TV Server (this really uses your network bandwidth)
• GIT Server

With these running, when ever I watch TV & transfer files. There is no delay noticeable in any other server process.

Using, Realtek Gigabit Network card. A D-Link Gigabit Switch and a D-Link Gigabit Router. < Nothing too professional. But i can reach the full Gigabit transfer speed, and when i do no noticeable delay.

(all servers running CentOS)

So i see no difficulty running it all on one network port except if you would have loads of users running at once. (i do use the Network manager though, even for the bridge. People say it doesnt work, but i notice no downside so i never bothered to turn it off)