HAProxy running on VirtualBox headless fails with Windows firewall on

[ZillaG]

To overcome the NGINX 1024 connection issue on Windows, we've implemented a CentOS-based VrtualBox VM running HAProxy in headless mode to act as a load balancer among multiple NGINX services. When running in headless mode, we can't connect to our website running locally on the Windows machine (not the VirtualBox VM). When running in normal mode, we can. I've put VBoxHeadless.exe in the firewall to no avail. If I turn Windows firewall off, it works, but of course we don't want to do that. Anything else I can look for? Thanks.

[scottgus1]

When running in headless mode, we can't connect to our website running locally on the Windows machine (not the VirtualBox VM). When running in normal mode, we can.

This seems a puzzle. Why would the VM runner make a difference in network comms? It shouldn't.

If I turn Windows firewall off, it works

This means Firewall is interfering somehow, not the Virtualbox VM runner.

I've put VBoxHeadless.exe in the firewall

Shouldn't have to do this. Virtualbox just works with Windows Firewall, no tweaking needed. I suspect unnecessary firewall rules.

Without more info about what IP addresses and ports are being used, what network type the VM is using, what firewall rules have been added, etc., we wouldn't be able to guess accurately.

Right-click the VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/File Manager. Zip the VM's .vbox file (not the .vbox-prev file), and post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab. (Configure your host OS to show all extensions if the folder that opens does not show a .vbox file.)

In the Windows OS, open a Command Prompt and run ipconfig /all. Post the command output. Label which is which.

In the Linux OS, open a Terminal and run ifconfig or ip address. Post the command output.

In both host and VM OS's, ping 8.8.8.8. Post the command output. Label which is which.

[ZillaG]

Thanks for responding @scottgus1. The VM was being used so it took me awhile to get the info. I don't have the login info to the VBox VM, but will post the info you requested once I get it. But here's the rest.

On Windows host

Code: Select all

> ipconfig /all

Ethernet adapter Ethernet1:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : company.com
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : vmxnet3 Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-50-56-90-FB-A8
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.227.26.83(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.128
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, April 2, 2022 12:18:16 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, April 6, 2022 12:18:16 AM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.227.26.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.227.21.8
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 4.4.2.2
                                       8.8.4.4
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled


Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VirtualBox Host-Only Ether
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 0A-00-27-00-00-0E
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.56.1(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

> ping 8.8.8.8
Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=115
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=115
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=115
Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=15ms TTL=115

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 14ms, Maximum = 15ms, Average = 14ms