ubuntu server in a vm, can't connect to internet

Question

I'm attemtping to host my own development web server in a virtual box guest, Ubuntu Server. I would like this virtual machine to be accessible from not only my home network, but outside the LAN as well. As such, I've set up a static IP (so I can later forward ports to this static IP.) My virtual box settings have this vm only using one adapter -- in bridged mode.

Here's what my /etc/network/interfaces looks like:

iface eth0 inet static
address 10.0.1.203 /*this is outside the DHCP range*/
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 10.0.1.1
network 10.0.1.0
broadcast 10.0.1.255
dns-nameservers: 8.8.8.8 8.8.8.4

Here's what the output of ifconfig looks like: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2241201/locker/ubuntu.png

Here's ifconfig -a https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2241201/locker/Screen%20Shot%202012-09-07%20at%2012.20.32%20PM.png

Here's the output of lspci: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2241201/locker/Screen%20Shot%202012-09-07%20at%2012.25.23%20PM.png

and Here's my virtualbox settings: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2241201/locker/Screen%20Shot%202012-09-07%20at%2012.21.16%20PM.png

My Host is a mac mini, running OS X 10.7.

From within the guest, if I ping google.com:

$ ping google.com
# outputs 'ping: unknown host google.com' immediately

Why am I unable to access the web?

Answer 1

Based on the information provided, it looks as though the eth0 interface is offline. Per the Debian wiki on /etc/network/interfaces you need to add:

auto eth0

to the top of your configuration in order to bring the card online at boot.

To bring the interface online after boot time, you can issue the command:

ifconfig eth0 up

If you happen to prefer iproute2 to the standard tools, you can use the command:

ip link set eth0 up

During discussions with @jessh a bug with MAC OS and bridging Wifi was found posted at VirtualBox. This may be what was causing the issue, but it's unconfirmed thus far.