For example my Ip address for ipfire is 192.168.134.1 and the dhcp range is 192.168.134.50 to 192.168.134.100. I try use another windows vm and set its address to 192.168.134.55 and I use a browser to open a page and type : https://192.168.134.1:444 but the ipfire page doesnt open and the error is to check proxy etc. Why is it so tedious?
Is there an alternative way to type commands after login as root?
Usually you should not need setting a IP Address manually on the clientvm. Sounds like there is no virtual connection between the green nic of the IPFire and the clientvm.
Yes you can access the webui via elinks (textbrowser) on the root console. But elinks is not easy to use.
Hi Arnie_F,
The documentation is quite brief in ipfire.
There are no assumptions made.
For example: assume we are installing on a laptop and using vm player or oracle virtualboix… Assume we are creating 2 virtual network adapters and setting both NAT…
The part about doing ipconfig on laptop is also missing… There will be 2 addresses we see…
The IP address for everyone is different.
That is why is difficult to troubleshoot using your documentation.
I have not been able to get to the web interface for the ipfire firewall. Anyone has any tips?
Rgds,
Patrick.
The green/blue/orange network will not work in NAT mode. You need a separate network virtual or bridged between the IPFire and the client.
NAT mode of the virtualizer mean that this nic is not accessible from outside the vm.
Hi Arne.F,
i don’t understand what you mean. Do you have steps I can follow?
Rgds,
Patrick.
I’m afraid you haven’t given us the basic information.
Which version of the installation are you discussing now?
Is the installation on the VM?
Have you searched the forum for topics about Virtualbox?
Rgds
Hello,
If you manually set the IP address to 192.168.134.55, did you also add the gateway and DNS to 192.168.134.1?
Otherwise leave the DHCP automatic and Ipfire will assign the correct values.
This wiki page describes setting up IPFire on a virtualbox system
https://wiki.ipfire.org/devel/bugzilla/workflow
EDIT: by moderator
https://wiki.ipfire.org/installation/virtual-box
I used this and it worked fine for me. The only difference I had was that I used vm’s also for the client machines on green, blue and orange.
I use this only for development evaluation and testing and not for production.
See the following wiki page about using virtual environments.
https://wiki.ipfire.org/hardware/virtual
If you use vmware for the Ipfire and Windows vm for tests you must create a “Lan segment” network card (green) and use it on the two vms for the green network.
Hi,
Ok I am using vmware player 17 and ipfire 2.27 core 180 iso file on windows 11 laptop.
Am aiming for just green and red interface only.
Rgds,
Patrick.
I’ll attempt to clarify the concept, as Arne is extremely busy. Keep in mind that Arne statements are accurate, mine might be incorrect. First, let’s establish the terminology.
We have a host machine running an operating system with direct access to the hardware; in this case, I assume it’s IPFire. Then, we have what is known as a Level 1 hypervisor, which can directly communicate with the host machine’s Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) interface. This is accomplished by installing Libvirt and QEMU add-ons in IPFire to create a VM which also runs IPFire. Lastly, we have Level 2 hypervisors, which don’t have direct access to the host’s kernel interface and require assistance from the kernel itself to operate a virtual environment. This can be achieved by installing only QEMU, which will function as a Type 2 hypervisor.
Regardless of whether you’re using a Type 1 or Type 2 hypervisor, you’ll need to choose between two different networking modes for your virtual machine (VM):
User-mode Networking (NAT): This mode employs Network Address Translation, which is managed by the host’s kernel, to provide network access to the VM. In this setup, if you have a VM (let’s call it VM1) with two zones—red and green —these zones will appear separate only during transit from the VM to the host. Once they reach the host, they’ll be translated to a single interface. For example, if VM1 tries to access an external server, all the traffic, regardless of the zone, will appear to originate from the host’s IP address.
It’s relatively easy to set up but limits the VM’s ability to receive incoming connections from outside the host. Only the host system can communicate directly with the VM.
+-------------+ +-------------------+ +---------------+
| Internet |<--->| Host System |<---->| VM1 |
| | | (IPFire with NAT) | | (Red & Green) |
+-------------+ +-------------------+ +---------------+
/\
|
|
\/
+-------+
| Green |
+-------+
+-------------+ +---------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
| Internet |<-->| Host's Red |<-->| Bridge1 (Red) |<-->| VM1's Red |
| | | Interface | | | | Interface |
+-------------+ +---------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
+-------------+ +---------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
|Local Network|<-->| Host's Green |<-->| Bridge2 (Green)|<-->| VM1's Green |
| | | Interface | | | | Interface |
+-------------+ +---------------+ +----------------+ +----------------+
These examples would also apply using IPFire in the guest and another OS machine in the host, as it is your case. Please follow up if you have additional questions or need further clarification.
