Can I access a virtual machine from my LAN

Mon Feb 17, 2014 2:42 pm

Running the Virtual Machine makes my computer run very sluggishly. I'd like to connect to it from another computer on the same LAN but I can't see the Virtual Machine IP addresses from my other computer. The Virtual Machine (Virtual Box) has two network adapters, which the instructions say should be set to NAT and Host-only Adapter respectively. What do I need to change them to in order to be able to see my virtual machine from another computer other than the one it is running in?

Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:35 pm

Ben,

You would need to set it to "bridged", but you will need to either have a DHCP server in your network or set the IP address for that virtual adapter manually.

Please let me know if this works for you.

Thanks,

Flavio

Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:51 pm

It is not clear how to do that. There are two adapters shown under Settings in Virtual Box. One is NAT and one is Host Only. I tried selecting Bridged instead of Host Only and then the client tools couldn't find it even on the local machine. I tried Bridged instead of NAT and my other computer on the LAN still couldn't find it.

Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:02 pm

You can change either one, but keep in mind that you will need to assign an IP address that is valid within your network (if you have a DHCP server, it may be automatically done for you).

After this, you will need to configure the client tools to hit this new IP address (alternatively you could add an A record in your DNS server that assigns a name to this IP address, and use that name to access the VM).

I hope this helps.

Flavio

Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:00 pm

Computers plugged into my LAN automatically get an IP address so I guess it has DHCP. However, I still can't reach the Virtual Box from another computer. It is unclear how I would assign an IP address to the Virtual Box when Bridged is selected because there is no field to enter it.

Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:05 pm

The IP address needs to be assigned to the guest Linux OS. A command that adds or lists an IP address is "ifconfig". Alternatively, "ip addr list" will show the existing IP addresses in that guest Linux OS. You will need to connect to the IP address that corresponds to the bridged interface.

Flavio