Virtual Network Hub

Technical Specifications

Latest release	3.36 , 22 Mar 2022 , [Change Log, Previous Releases]
Supported networking	Ethernet, IPv4, IPv6, TCP, UDP.
Traffic transformation engine	Kernel-mode network driver.
Prerequisites	.NET 4.5.2, up-to-date root certificates (otherwise, startup may be delayed by up to 2 minutes).
Supported OSes	Windows 7*, 8, 8.1, 10, 11, Server 2008 R2*, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019, Server 2022. *For Windows 2008 R2 and 7, required Service Pack 1 + KB3033929 (SHA-2 digital signing) are required. *For Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2, KB2995730.
Recommended hardware	CPU 1GHz and above, modern graphics card.
Additional hardware required	None

Overview

Virtual Network Hub provides an easy way to connect computers and devices into one or more networks. It has the visual appearance of a hardware network hub, creating a familiar environment for users to apply their hardware settings to this virtual device. The Drag-and-Drop interface allows you to visually assemble a hub and fine-tune its settings for various networking tasks. Virtual Network Hub includes several popular features:

• WiFi Hotspot establishes a wireless network for other devices to connect to.
• Client for WiFi networks connects to other wireless networks.
• Wired networking supports direct/wired connections to network cards.
• Internal DHCP server provides dynamic IP addresses for connecting devices.
• Internal DHCP client requests dynamic IP addresses and configurations from other routers.

Typical configurations:

• WiFi Hotspot with a gateway to a wired network
• Wired network router
• Wired network router with dial-out wireless connections
• Wired network router with a wireless gateway

Virtual Network Hub

IMPORTANT: When used on a Virtual Machine, accidental changes to the rules can affect Remote Desktop (RDP) traffic and result in a user lockout. For instructions on how to restore RDP connectivity for a VM, see KB article Restoring Remote Desktop (RDP) connectivity to an Azure VM after a user lockout.

Virtual Network Hub has two main software components: the service and the user interface (UI). The service, which can run independently of the UI, monitors and automatically reconfigures the underlying network driver. The UI is used to manage the service's configuration and requires the service to be running.

The UI shows available adapters on the left and configurable networking hubs on the right. Each hub represents an isolated network segment. More than one hub can be added to the hub list. The order of hubs can be changed by dragging them or by clicking the hub-ordering toolbar buttons . The order of slots within a hub can also be changed by dragging them. However, the order does not make any difference from a network routing perspective.

Create a hub

To construct a hub, either select an existing hub with an empty slot or create a new hub with . Then, drag a network adapter from the list on the left onto an empty hub slot or the space behind the last assigned slot. This assigns the adapter to the existing slot or creates a new slot for the adapter. Alternatively, a network adapter can be assigned to a new slot in the selected hub by clicking the button for the network adapter.

All changes to hubs are applied automatically with a short delay, as configured in the UI settings .

A network adapter can be assigned to only a single hub slot. Each slot has its own configurable settings that define the functionality of the slot.

Hub slot settings

DHCP

• Default gateway - The slot acts as a client to another (uplink) router and requests a dynamic IP address. A Default Gateway slot is highlighted in the hub with a different color and labeled with the icon . Packets are sent through the default gateway when the destination IP is determined to be on a different network, based on the subnet mask of the hub's DHCP server.

• Internal DHCP server issues IP addresses - The hub's DHCP server provides dynamic IP addresses to devices connected to the slot. The range of IP addresses and other DHCP parameters can be configured in the hub settings .

Routing Smartness

• Smart - The slot receives only the traffic intended for the device connected to it. All other traffic passing between other slots of the hub is filtered out.

• Unfiltered - The slot receives all traffic without filtering. The traffic passing between other hub slots is visible to the device connected to this slot. This setting is often used for network monitoring and turns the slot into a port on a network switch.

Routing Exclusivity

Network adapters on the computer running Virtual Network Hub can be used not only by Virtual Network Hub itself but also by other programs.

• Exclusive - The network adapter associated with the slot is used exclusively by Virtual Network Hub. Other programs have access to the network adapter, but all their traffic passing through the associated network adapter is silently discarded.

• Non-exclusive - The network adapter associated with the slot can be used by all programs on the computer. All traffic from other programs passing through this slot is routed according to the hub settings.

DHCP client info

When a slot is designated as a default gateway, it acquires its IP address dynamically from the uplink router. The acquired IP can be viewed on the DHCP Client information tab.

WiFi Hotspot

A hub slot with an assigned wireless network adapter can act as a WiFi Hotspot. Only a single Hotspot is supported among all running hubs. Not every wireless network card supports WiFi Hotspot functionality. Only network cards with SoftAP mode explicitly stated in their specifications support it.

To enable WiFi Hotspot functionality, check the appropriate box and provide the settings for the Hotspot. The WiFi Hotspot slot is highlighted with a golden color. All additional parameters, including the DHCP server and slot exclusivity, are set automatically. The 'Connected peers' list is automatically refreshed to show the MAC addresses of the connected wireless devices. A device is considered connected after it provides the correct password and is fully ready to communicate.

Hub settings

Hub settings include configurations shared by all hub slots.

DHCP Server

Each hub has a single DHCP server instance. The hub's DHCP server provides IP addresses for all hub slots that are configured in their settings to provide dynamic IP addresses from the internal DHCP server.

• Subnet mask - Allows the hub to determine which IP addresses are outside the current sub-network and when to route packets to the default gateway slot.

• Starting and Ending IP addresses - Define the range of dynamic IP addresses issued to clients. This range should have at least two IP addresses. The highest IP address is taken by the DHCP server itself and is not issued to connected devices.

• Default lease duration - The default value is 24 hours. Leases of this duration are issued when connected clients do not request a specific lease duration. The leases are periodically extended by connected devices upon their requests. This value should not be too large, to avoid running out of IP address space when disconnecting devices do not explicitly release their IPs.

• Max lease duration - The maximum lease duration issued by the DHCP server when a DHCP client requests a lease duration that is too long.

• Domain name - A unique domain name that will be provided to DHCP clients. It is a textual name that clients use for resolving their own names and the names of neighboring devices when no other information is available.

• DNS servers - Additional DNS servers to be provided to the DHCP client. When a hub has a default gateway, the DNS servers from the default gateway are automatically provided to DHCP clients as the top DNS servers. If a hub does not have a default gateway, the DNS servers from the settings list are the only DNS servers provided to DHCP clients.

• Gateways - Default gateways to be provided to DHCP clients. When a hub has a default gateway slot, its IP is automatically provided to all DHCP clients as the top default gateway. However, if a hub does not have a default gateway slot, the Gateways from the settings list are the only gateways provided to DHCP clients.

DHCP Server Stats

DHCP server statistics can be seen on the DHCP Server Stats tab.

DHCP Client

A hub slot can be designated as a default gateway. This functionality includes a DHCP Client that obtains an IP address dynamically from the uplink router. DHCP Client settings define the identification that the default gateway slot (DHCP Client) will provide to the uplink router (or another DHCP server) to obtain the IP address.

Program-wide settings

Besides settings for hubs and slots, Virtual Network Hub has program-wide settings.

Default DHCP Server

The 'Default DHCP Server' settings simplify the configuration of DHCP servers for new hubs. These settings are copied to new hubs upon their creation.

User Interface

Various user interface settings can be adjusted to user preferences.

The user interface can be configured to minimize to the system tray area when an attempt is made to close it.

Network Adapter info

The status of each network adapter can be retrieved by clicking the icon on the network adapter.

Typical configuration examples

WiFi Hotspot with a gateway to a wired network

• Slot-0 (wired connection, gateway)
• Slot-1 (wireless connection, WiFi Hotspot)

Wired network router

• Slot-0 (wired connection, gateway)
• Slot-1 and Slot-2 (wired connection)

Wired network router with a dial-out wireless connection

• Slot-0 (wired connection, gateway)
• Slot-1 and Slot-2 (wired connection)
• Slot-3 (wireless connection, dial out)

Wired network router with a wireless gateway

• Slot-0 (wireless connection, gateway)
• Slot-1 and Slot-2 (wired connection)

 

Notes:
* Windows^® is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation.