Reverse Shared Network over parallels

[Thaenor]

Greetings,

this is a rather unsual question, hence I'm not sure where to ask. Also my Googling hasn't turned up many resutls... since I don't even know if this is possible...

So... straight to the point. I got a macbook running Parallels 9 a Windows 8 VM (for those gamming needs mac cannot satisfy XD).

Recently I got an alpha AWUS036H - a 802.11b long range usb adapter - to enhance the wifi signal.

issue #1: According to the manual the Alpha is only compatible with OSX 10.5 and 10.6 ... anyone in these foruns found some recent "drivers" (or .pckgs or whatevs) to make it compatible with Mavericks (or at least mountain Lion).

issue #2: Without much hopes of getting this to work with OSX I hooked it up with windows (directly, by plugging in the usb when windows is opened and choosing the windows OS to accept the adapter).
And it was a success. I can shut down the Parallels Network Adapter and Windows can still use the Alpha to connect to existing wiFi's.

The question: Is there a way to "reverse" the share in parallels network???
By which I mean, have the Windows VM "send it's network" to the OSX?

thanks in advance.

 

[macnjack]

Have you tried posting at the Parallels official forums or contacting tech support directly?

My initial thought is no it will not work. My understanding of how the network software layer works (as well as the shared device layer) is that it's one way from the VM through the host adapter. This is to prevent unauthorized access to the host from someone connecting to remotely to the VM.

I could very well be incorrect on this however.

 

[Thaenor]

Quite frankly... to the reach of my meager IT knowledge... and if I know my OSI layers correctly... this shouldn't be possible...

yet... I am able to connect the usb directly to the VM and use that has an external network drive of sorts... somehow...

I can have my mac connect simultaneously to two different wiFi's, one in native OS and the other in Windows VM, that already blows my mind...

so, what the hell.... why isn't anything possible.

 

[macnjack]

Just to clarify your question #1, the product you obtained only works on a 32-bit cpu, or in 32-bit mode of 10.7 or later. My google search showed many responses and explanations from the manufacturer that this product doesn't work on newer mac machines with 64-bit processors.

When you mention connecting to two different wifi's simultaneously, you mean using both the host machine's wifi for one and the usb card through the VM correct? I'm just clarifying because you can have independent ip's assigned but the VM by default uses the host machine's wifi and can only be connected to one router. I have never seen a network card connect to multiple routers simultaneously.

However, you can plug your computer in to a ethernet port, turn on wifi, and the VM and host can be routed through separate network cards. So host could be on your network while your VM is hooked through the neighbors wifi. 1 router per network card. And in your case, a 3rd Windows VM could be running through the usb card.

When you plug your usb card in and select the windows VM, it is no longer using the host machine's network adapter. it will use the VM's directly through the USB.

What Parallel's does is creates a software layer that allows certain components on the host machine to be shared with the VM. What you're asking for would require the VM to have that same software layer installed in reverse inside the VM. That isn't practical or possible (to my knowledge) based on how hardware is assigned to the host.

 

[Thaenor]

thanks for the clarification. But that is a little off topic towards what I want.

First of all - is there a way to emulate a 32 bit processor on OSX 10.9.3? Something a bit like wine perhaps... maybe some setting like the compatibility mode in Windows system's that allows you to run something "as an older OS"


And the second question - usually the native OS is the host. It shares the network to the VM, either assigning it the same IP or a different one, if I understood correctly.
Since the Alpha is directly connected to the VM, it can connect a router (let's assum the mac's onboard antena cannot reach this far away router) while the mac cannot.
Can I say "ok, I'll let my VM be my host"... making it work like a VPN of sorts.

This is what I'm thinking:

-OSX: *someone types google.com in safari
-VM: *the VM gets a data request from the native OS to retrieve data from http://www.google.com
-VM: *tells the Alpha antena what it wants (system call or whatevs)
-Alpha: *does the connection and return the data - directly to the VM because the usb thing is direct.
-VM: *sends that data "back" to native OS that reinterprets it as itself.

This would seem like a secure way to browser the net... it would be like using a proxy server... only that server is your own VM...

 

[macnjack]

thanks for the clarification. But that is a little off topic towards what I want.

1) First of all - is there a way to emulate a 32 bit processor on OSX 10.9.3? Something a bit like wine perhaps... maybe some setting like the compatibility mode in Windows system's that allows you to run something "as an older OS"

2) Can I say "ok, I'll let my VM be my host"... making it work like a VPN of sorts.

1)http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3773 - You have to boot using the 32-bit kernel. And I'm not positive it's possible in mavericks.

2) No you cannot. That's what I was trying to explain, admittedly slightly convoluted, about the host software layer. The Parallels software layer that allow sharing of the NIC is installed in Mac OS. What you want would require a reverse installation of that protocol inside the VM. Parallels is not capable of this.