# Problem with bridge in VirtualBox



## overmind (Jun 13, 2011)

I have a VirtualBox installed on a Mac (asa OSX host) and there I have two FreeBSD machines, one as a bridge and the other simulates a workstation behind that bridge. The bridge from virtual FreeBSD is not working. Just out of curiosity I've configured the same layout and configurations on a real network and it works, so the problem is with VirtualBox.

Doing some tests it seems that a ping from the bridge to the workstation behind the bridge makes the workstation answer with an arp reply but I see no traffic back to the bridge. I could give you more details about my configurations but it's standard, as in FreeBSD's handbook.

This question is more of: is it reliable to simulate a layer2/3 network on VirtualBox with full functionality? Is there any catch to configuring VirtualBox other than from GUI? I want to know if somebody else here had the same problem as me, and what you did to solve it.


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## Zare (Jun 13, 2011)

> This question is more of: it is reliable to simulate a layer2/3 network on VirtualBox with full functionalty? Is there any catch to configuring VirtualBox other that from GUI?



There are some limits within the NAT approach, but the network bridge mode works as advertised. Bridging any number of virtual guests to host's network interface will ensure layer 2 connectivity between guests, host and any other device that's visible to host over layer 2.


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