Use Windows as an Ethernet switch

SYC 21 Reputation points
2021-11-23T14:42:58.31+00:00

I've got a Windows 11 PC running several Hyper-V VMs. There are multiple NICs on the PC, one of which is connected to the router, and I would like to have another NIC to provide a wired connection to my LAN for my other devices, i. e., I would like to turn my PC into an Ethernet switch.

151846-img-20211123-234010.jpg

I don't want an extra layer of NAT, so ICS is not an option. Here are my attempts:

  1. Network Bridge, which seemed not compatible with Hyper-V and caused a green (because of Windows Insider) screen.
  2. Open vSwitch for Windows, with both LBFO Teaming (according to the OVS documentation) and SET (as LBFO is deprecated), with which I successfully added the two NICs into a bridge, but no packets are forwarded between the NICs.

I believe this could be achieved with vSwitches, as it is competely feasible on Linux, but I'm stuck. Your help is appreciated.

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A Windows technology providing a hypervisor-based virtualization solution enabling customers to consolidate workloads onto a single server.
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Windows 10 Network
Windows 10: A Microsoft operating system that runs on personal computers and tablets.Network: A group of devices that communicate either wirelessly or via a physical connection.
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Accepted answer
  1. Dave Patrick 426K Reputation points MVP
    2021-11-23T18:17:42.693+00:00

    A pfsense virtual router may be another option. Also note; that many consumer-grade network adapters do a poor job of hosting an external virtual switch so expect some slowness with whatever you end up doing.

    --please don't forget to upvote and Accept as answer if the reply is helpful--

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  1. Dave Patrick 426K Reputation points MVP
    2021-11-23T14:48:24.35+00:00

    You can simply add a new external vSwitch. When you create a new external vSwitch the internet protocols are removed from the adapter and the Hyper-V Extensible Switch protocol is added turning that physical port into a multi-port virtual switch.

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  2. Dave Patrick 426K Reputation points MVP
    2021-11-23T16:07:25.287+00:00

    Ok, well that has nothing much really to do with hyper-v. As to windows as a router to can create a new separate virtual machine for that purpose.
    https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000118763/configuring-windows-server-2012-r2-as-a-router

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  3. Limitless Technology 39,336 Reputation points
    2021-11-23T19:54:36.567+00:00

    Hello,

    I would recommend the next article that follow the process to create the NIC Teaming for a vm Host.

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nic-teaming/create-a-new-nic-team-on-a-host-computer-or-vm

    Hope this helps with your query,

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