Windows 10 As Multiplicity Secondary via Virtual Box on Linux Host - Primary on Windows 10 PC Cannot See It

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Basj,
Stardock Community Assistant

I got Multiplicity to work on the laptop by changing the VirtualBox Network setting for the Windows 10 VM to Bridged Adapter which uses my Linux laptop's IP address (192.168.7.243). In fact, Multiplicity on the Primary PC found the laptop on it's own via scanning.

Cool.  

At first, briefly, Multiplicity even worked when I slipped the cursor down into the Linux host, but now I'm not able to repeat that...

You need to have the VM issued IPs from the same source as the host box as I suspect the host is issuing the IP to the VM from its own created subnet.  Some help from 'Steve' (ChatGPT)

To have a Virtual Machine (VM) use the same subnet as the host and obtain a DHCP address, you'll need to configure the network settings of your VM to use "bridged networking." Here's how you can do it depending on your virtualization platform:

1. VMware Workstation/Player:

• Step 1: Open VMware Workstation/Player.
• Step 2: Power off the VM if it's running.
• Step 3: Right-click on the VM and select "Settings."
• Step 4: In the VM settings, click on the "Network Adapter."
• Step 5: Select the "Bridged" option under Network connection.
• Step 6: Click "OK" to save the settings and start the VM.

With "Bridged" networking, the VM will be connected to the same network as the host, and it will obtain a DHCP address from the same DHCP server that your host uses.

2. VirtualBox:

• Step 1: Open Oracle VM VirtualBox.
• Step 2: Power off the VM if it's running.
• Step 3: Right-click on the VM and select "Settings."
• Step 4: Go to the "Network" section.
• Step 5: In the "Attached to" dropdown, select "Bridged Adapter."
• Step 6: Choose the network interface on your host machine that you want to bridge with (e.g., your Ethernet or Wi-Fi adapter).
• Step 7: Click "OK" to save the settings and start the VM.

The VM will now use the same network as the host, allowing it to get a DHCP address from the same server.

3. Hyper-V:

• Step 1: Open Hyper-V Manager.
• Step 2: Power off the VM if it's running.
• Step 3: Select the VM and click "Settings."
• Step 4: In the "Network Adapter" settings, ensure the VM is connected to a "Virtual Switch" that is set up as an "External" switch.
• Step 5: If you don't have an "External" switch, you can create one by going to the "Virtual Switch Manager," selecting "External," and choosing the network adapter of the host.

The VM will then use the same external network as the host, obtaining an IP address from the DHCP server on that network.

4. KVM/QEMU:

• Step 1: Ensure that you have bridge-utils installed on your host.
• Step 2: Create a network bridge on your host that includes the physical network interface.
• Step 3: Configure your VM to use the bridge as its network interface.

Here's a basic example to create a bridge and attach a physical interface:

Then, in your VM's configuration, use br0 as the network interface for the VM.

By setting up bridged networking, your VM will appear as a peer on the same network as your host, receiving an IP address from the same DHCP server.

f your host is running Linux and you want your Windows VM to be on the same subnet as your Linux host, obtaining an IP address via DHCP, you can follow these steps:

2. Create a Network Bridge on Linux Host:

First, you'll need to create a network bridge on your Linux host. This allows the VM to use the same network interface as the host.

Step 1: Install the necessary utilities:

Step 2: Create a network bridge:

Step 3: Add your physical network interface (e.g., eth0) to the bridge:

Step 4: Configure the bridge interface to obtain an IP address via DHCP:

• Edit your network interfaces configuration file (e.g., /etc/network/interfaces or /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml depending on your distribution):

For systems using ifupdown (e.g., Debian/Ubuntu with /etc/network/interfaces):

For systems using netplan (e.g., newer Ubuntu versions):

Step 5: Apply the configuration:

3. Configure the Windows VM to Use the Bridge:

Once the bridge is set up on your Linux host, you can configure your Windows VM to use it.

For QEMU/KVM:

Step 1: Edit your VM’s XML configuration (if you're using virsh):

Step 2: Change the network interface section to use the bridge:

Step 3: Save and exit.

Step 4: Start your VM:

For VirtualBox:

Step 1: Open VirtualBox and select your Windows VM.

Step 2: Go to "Settings" -> "Network."

Step 3: Change the "Attached to" setting to "Bridged Adapter" and select the br0 interface.

Step 4: Start your VM.

4. Configure Windows Networking:

Once your Windows VM starts, it should automatically obtain an IP address via DHCP from the same subnet as your Linux host. If it doesn't, you can manually release and renew the IP address inside the Windows VM:

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 2: Run the following commands:

This setup will allow your Windows VM to be on the same network as your Linux host, using the same DHCP server to obtain an IP address.

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager

Thank you for the detailed instructions.

You are most welcome.

Did that resolve your issue?

Sean Drohan
Stardock Product Lifecycle Manager