VirtualBox inside Windows

ZenMasta · Mar 25, 2011, 5:20 PM

At my office I have 2 computers in our utility closet (where all our phone lines and electricity come in).
Computer 1 runs windows and our phone system with a VirtualBox appliance for ubuntu file server.
Computer 2 is our trusty old p2 with 128mb ram running pfsense.

In the interest of reducing clutter I thought maybe I could eliminate the 2nd computer all together and run pfsense in another VirtualBox appliance on the first computer.

The only thing that comes to mind is that since windows is the host machine it couldn't obtain an ip until the vms run. But since it will be on 24/7 this would only really be a minor issue if at all, once in a blue moon. The computer has 1 nic presently but I would be adding 2 other nics to the computer for pfsense.

Any thoughts about this?

Cry Havok · Mar 25, 2011, 6:21 PM

You'll find a number of threads discussing people's views on that. Personally I'm against it, particularly if you care about the security of your network, but review the other threads and make your own mind up ;)

DigitalJer · Mar 31, 2011, 10:23 PM

I am also looking into something similar in order to make my rack at home more green.

You'll need a managed switch and a dedicated NIC in the host box. VLAN your WAN to the dedicated NIC.

And yeah, security could be an issue. Do ur homework :)