Build an advanced networking test lab

Credit: www.virtualbox.org

Previously we’ve looked at networking basics to help build a virtual test lab using VirtualBox. In the last article (LXF280) we cover some of the more advanced features and networking in general, some outside of VirtualBox. One example is wired networking and segmentation beyond VirtualBox, but within a home lab. Home labs tend to sprawl well beyond one single box due to resource constraints (a 64GB laptop is not cheap!)

As it’s been a little while it’ll be best to recap a little, it’s important to understand the types of networking available in VirtualBox and how they can be used in home labs. So far we’ve only used two types of networking that VirtualBox provides:

Bridged (connected to local network as though it’s any other computer on the local network). It has the same communication capabilities as other resources on the local network. It’ll function as any other network device on it, including DHCP and such-like.

Internal, as the name suggests, is essentially a standalone isolated network, hence we had to use a router to enable that internal network to communicate with other networks. In our previous article we covered how to use pfSense as a router, with one foot in the local network (Bridged) and one in the isolated LAN, configuring all the traffic to be allowed through, with an appropriate route specified (a recap on routes can be found further in the article).

NAT (Network Address Translation) essentially creates an isolated network, but one that can forward traffic to the outside world (so, for example, it can see and utilise an internet connection. NAT comes with benefits and drawbacks…