Connecting virtual machines to separate physical networks

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You can attach each virtual machine running under the same instance of  Virtual Server to a separate physical network and also isolate the virtual machine network traffic from the host, as follows:

  1. On the network adapters (NICs) to which you will attach your virtual machines, unbind all services except the Virtual Machine Network Service. Instructions are below.
  2. On the NIC that you will use for the host, unbind the Virtual Machine Network Service.
  3. Connect each NIC to a separate physical network.
  4. Connect each NIC (except the one used by the host) to a separate virtual network.
  5. Connect each virtual machine to the appropriate virtual network.
  6. In the guest operating systems, configure the network settings, such as IP address, submask, gateway, DNS, etc.

To bind or unbind the Virtual Machine Network Service from a NIC:

  1. On the host computer, click "Start," click "Control Panel," and then click "Network Connections."
  2. Right-click the connection that uses the NIC you want to configure and click "Properties."
  3. On the "General" tab, select or clear the check box for the service to bind or unbind, and then click "OK."

Note: You can isolate virtual machine network traffic from the host at any time by unbinding Virtual Machine Network Services from the NIC used by the host. For more information about network isolation, see "Virtual network architecture" in the Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide.

For general information about configuring networks for virtual machines, see "Accessing virtual networks from a virtual machine" and "Creating a virtual network" in the Virtual Server 2005 Administrator's Guide.