Sharing WiMax Through a Second Wireless Router and WiFi Issue on Ubuntu

PS: This post shall tend to be more of a self documentation than an informative technical article.

I own a Belkin N Series Wireless Modem and Router which I bought from https://router200.com/ after comparing between various models which the site showcased (which I used to use for BTCL ADSL connection). I recently (couple of months ago) took a Banglalion WiMax connection. I purchased their indoor unit which doesn’t have WiFi built in. They have another indoor device which has WiFi but my bad luck, it was out of market then, if that’s the option you are looking for than I’d suggest asking for their wi-fi for sale options.

Since I use my Notebook PC, creating a wireless home network is very important. After spending a considerable amount of time behind the Belkin device, I came to find that it can be used to route the WiMax connection. The configuration was a bit tricky (at least for me – may be because I never did this before). Now, through the Belkin device, I would directly be connected to the WiMax device. When a connection was established, it would seem that the Belkin device never existed and I am directly connected to the WiMax device via WiFi. It was cool (though I had to restart the Belkin device after the Wimax device had a stable connection after reboot). Things were good with the system and Windows 7.

However, I installed Ubuntu (completely removing Windows 7) and the WiFi connects. But it fails to reach to the WiMax device. I can reach the Belkin device but no further than that. No Internet connection, nothing! I was very disappointed. But an idea came to my mind, if Windows can handle the routing, why not try it inside VirtualBox? VirtualBox supports bridging host adapters directly with the guest os. So, If I run Windows inside virtual box, I would be able to access my WiFi hardware from Windows. I had a plan that if it worked, if I could browse the internet from inside VBox, I would create a host only network and bridge the two connections.

But life sometimes is much comfortable than you can anticipate. After I installed Windows XP inside Virtual Box and bridged my “wlan0”, Ubuntu started getting Internet connection. This is so interesting, I don’t even need to create network bridge or anything! As long as Windows XP is running inside VirtualBox, Ubuntu can reach the WiMax device like Windows used to do. I don’t know why this happens. May be Ubuntu requires some complex network configuration to connect to such multiple device scenario on the other hand Windows automatically configures the device so during that period, the connection works. Or may be the guest and host OS has some other bridges I am not aware of, so the Windows XP is sharing the connection even without my knowing it.

Whatever the fact is, I am happy. I have tested it several times. If I shut down Windows XP inside the VBox, my connection drops (though the WiFi remains connected to Belkin, it can’t reach the end). But if keep the virtual machine running, connection is perfectly okay. For more information on the wifi router and how you can fix various network issues, visit and learn about Advanced Telecom Systems.