Accessing networks from a virtual machine in Virtual Server

Accessing networks from a virtual machine

Virtual Server 2005 allows you to access network and Internet resources with several different networking options. The network or Internet resources available depend on the configuration of the network adapters used for the virtual machine. You can access internal networks, local computer networks, and external networks from any virtual machine.

Accessing a network and network resources requires that the operating system on the virtual machine be configured as a part of the network. For example, if you have a virtual machine running on a physical computer that is a member of an Active Directory® directory service domain, you must join the virtual machine to the Active Directory domain to access both the physical computer and any resources in the Active Directory domain. If the operating system on the virtual machine is appropriately configured, the network treats the virtual machine as a networked computer, so that the virtual machine is subject to the same policy settings as every other computer on the network.

Most Windows operating systems are configured by default to automatically obtain an IP address from the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. If a DHCP server is available on the network, you can configure a Windows operating system on a virtual machine either to use a static IP address or to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server. If a DHCP server is not available on the network, you must configure the guest operating system to use a static IP address. For more information about configuring the IP address, refer to the documentation for the guest operating system.