New to virtualization and networking in general.

I have the following scenario.

I have a router to which I have connected 3 physical computers. On one of my computers, running Windows 7 Professional, I have VirtualBox with an Ubuntu 14.04 Linux machine (I think it's called an appliance?).

I have 2 questions. My first question is as follows. On the physical network, how does Ubuntu Linux show up related to the other computers? Is it just like having a separate computer on the network? regardless that it is in a vm?

My second question is related to the first question? If I setup VirtualBox on one of my other physical computers and add another Ubuntu Linux? Then on the network, would both Ubuntu's show what physical computer they are connecting onto the network from?

These two questions are beginner network questions and I'm trying to learn more about security and anonimity at the same time. To support my question, can someone maybe point out some command prompt commands I can run to verify how to determine these things myself? Either in Windows 7 or if I can determine all this from inside the vm, then some Ubuntu Linux commands that can give me details about my question?

Thank you, in advance!

Hi,

So in the case that you have described: your windows 7 box running virtual box is now your hypervisor or host computer. The host computer contains guest computers or your virtual machines. Once your virtual machines are installed with an operating system they then act as separate machines on your network just like a physical machine.

Depending on how you configure the guest networking you will get different results.

You can configure bridged networking, NAT, and host-only networking for virtual machines. You can also use the virtual networking components to create sophisticated custom virtual networks.

Bridged Networking:
Bridged networking connects a virtual machine to a network by using the network adapter on the host system. If the host system is on a network, bridged networking is often the easiest way to give the virtual machine access to that network.
When you install Workstation on a Windows or Linux host system, a bridged network (VMnet0) is set up for you.

NAT Networking:
With NAT, a virtual machine does not have its own IP address on the external network. Instead, a separate private network is set up on the host system. In the default configuration, a virtual machine gets an address on this private network from the virtual DHCP server. The virtual machine and the host system share a single network identity that is not visible on the external network.
When you install Workstation on a Windows or Linux host system, a NAT network (VMnet8) is set up for you. When you use the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual machine and select the typical configuration type, the wizard configures the virtual machine to use the default NAT network.
You can have only one NAT network.

Host-Only Networking:
Host-only networking creates a network that is completely contained within the host computer. Host-only networking provides a network connection between the virtual machine and the host system by using a virtual network adapter that is visible on the host operating system.
When you install Workstation on a Windows or Linux host system, a host-only network (VMnet1) is set up for you.

Custom Networking Configurations:
With the Workstation virtual networking components, you can create sophisticated virtual networks. The virtual networks can be connected to one or more external networks, or they can run entirely on the host system. You can use the virtual network editor to configure multiple network cards in the host system and create multiple virtual networks.

Hope this helps.

3 members found this post helpful.

It helps greatly! I'm trying to digest as much as possible.

I came up with another related question. Linux Servers. Does it make sense to run Ubuntu Server in a Virtual Machine? or even though it might work, but since it is a server itself, you should not? What if on one physical machine I have a server guest and on another physical machine I have let's say 2 workstations (Just for learning purposes). If I have fast enough hosts, are these kinds of setups sensible? Or should servers always be hosts?

You can run server as a virtual guest or workstation. I would go with server.