Learning about the way you can customise your network while using virtualization can prove to be very useful. We have already looked at this topic and in this article, you will get even more important information.
Bridged Networking
One of the most common questing people setting up a new virtual machine ponder over is how they are going to connect their new machine to the internet?
The idea is quite simple and straight forward though. You just simply connect to the Internet by connecting to a real network. Lot of times you want your virtual machines to connect to the Internet just like a real physical machine. In order to accomplish this, you simply just create a bridge between your virtual machines and the host. But this is only available if the virtual machine have this option in the first place.
A virtual machine with bridged networking option will invariably allow it connect to the same network as of the host machine. This is lot like the virtual machine having its own cable and connecting it to the network. Bridged network is one of the most simple way to connect your virtual machine to the internet. But of course in order to establish such connection successfully the host machine need to have the Internet connected.
The following is one of the scenario where bridged networking shines so well. A client or customer is having difficulties or error on trying to access one of our company’s website and its contents. To see what is going on, we can simply clone the client’s OS and browser and set up a bridged connection. This case, the virtual machine’s NIC would act as though it is physical NIC on the same network. All of the virtual NICs are able to comprehend DHCP information just like one of the real NIC. Also note that, by default a bridged network is typically set when you install a virtual machine.
Virtual Switches
If you have four computers in the house or SOHO (Small Office/ Home Office) wouldn’t you connect all of them to a switch, given a scenario where wired one shines the most than struggle to get the WiFi?
Typically for a real network, multiple computers are connected together via a switch. All of the output of those computers come into one box, switch.
Amazingly, all of these virtual machines have switches as well. They are the virtual switches. The way these hypervisors would set up these switches depends on the hypervisors. Generally most of the hypervisors like oracle’s Virtual Box for instance, do this automatically without having to setup anything.
No networking
This is also one of the last and least network option which is available to most of the virtual machines out there. Having to setup a virtual machine does not necessarily mean you need them connected to the internet.