Virtual PC on a home network

SandLake

I am currently running 2 networks, for no particular reason just wanting to see how (or not) it works. One is connected to the internet and the other is only within the home. There is a need for some crossover so I was thinking of creating a virtual PC (with 2 network cards) on an internet connected PC that only had home network access and sharing a folder on the C drive between the host and virtual PC. Problem is what OS do I use, I don't have any spare windows so I am guessing it would be some form of Linux - any recomendations?

Fightsback

Much Linux experience ? If not be prepared for a bit of learning curve coming from windows but stick with it and you will learn a lot.

Take your pick of the Linux front, lots to choose from. Personally I would choose Debian (headless), Ubuntu Server or Opensuse (headless) however these are command line only, i.e. no gui but you can add a web interface to them if you really want to play around. You can always try the above but with the standard desktop versions until you become more comfortable with Linux. The advantage of headless is it gives you a much lower resource overhead on your server.

PS I'd suggest VirtualBox or VMware player instead of VirtualPC.

SandLake

I have a reasonable amount of Linux experience but not in setting it up - but then that is really what this is all about, a bit of a challenge. I'm just looking for a bit of pre-guidance to avoid at least some of the pitfalls! Thanks

esuhl

You might find Arch Linux quite interesting. You start with a minimalist text shell, and install and customise just the components you need.

The wiki on the Arch site guides you through everything, so as you build the OS, you learn how it all works bit-by-bit without being overwhelmed with a complex system and not knowing where to begin! On the down-side, it does take a while to set up the installation -- it's not like Ubuntu where you boot the install DVD and you're dropped straight into a GUI with random software pre-installed.

For file-sharing, Windows typically uses SMB (aka Samba), while Linux tends to use NFS (Network File System). So you can either install NFS on your Windows PCs or SMB on the Linux VM. Personally, I find NFS more reliable, but they both work.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NFS
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Samba

SandLake wrote: »

I have a reasonable amount of Linux experience but not in setting it up - but then that is really what this is all about, a bit of a challenge. I'm just looking for a bit of pre-guidance to avoid at least some of the pitfalls! Thanks

The Arch Beginners' Guide should help. If you want more concise details, have a look at the Installation Guide:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Beginners'_guide
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installation_guide

securityguy

Or you could buy a Mikrotik router for forty quid, which runs Linux under the hood but has a lot of interesting other functionality, and do the job properly.

jshm2

You can get Microsoft Virtual Machines and Virtual Server ISO's from their website for a trial period.

Just subscribe at MSDN.