Networking issue - web server not reachable from host

[VRTL-6]

First of all, sorry for the inconvenience, I can't paste links
I have a webserver running inside a Ubuntu VM on localhost:4000

When I try to reach my webserver from Windows, I get this error:
i.imgur[DOT]com/72zy2KC.png

My webserver is working fine inside the Linux guest on 127.0.0.1:4000 (see picture)
I can't ping my Windows host (at 192.168.0.24), I can ping my router however (at 192.168.0.1)
i.imgur[DOT]com/tcwSWij.png

Windows can ping the virtual machine (192.169.0.10)
i.imgur[DOT]com/Qegez9V.png

My VirtualBox network tab
i.imgur[DOT]com/DDRpm6p.png

What I can add is, I am able to SSH into the VM. I also noticed if I completely disable Windows firewall the VM is able to ping the host, however the webserver is still unreachable from Windows side.
Other random thought, I can't tell if Guest Additions are working.

I don't know if this issue is outside the scope of this forum help. I'm terrible with networking in general so I am giving you as much info as I can so we can hopefully pin down the problem.

Any ideas?

[scottgus1]

Forum gurus won't go to third-party sites for logs and pictures that can be posted using the forum's Upload Attachment tab on the first day first post.

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I can't ping my Windows host
.....
if I completely disable Windows firewall the VM is able to ping the host

Windows Firewall defaults to block ping (ICMP echo request).This can be unblocked.

I can ping my router however (at 192.168.0.1)
....
Windows can ping the virtual machine (192.169.0.10)

I assume the .169 is a slip of the finger? If you can ping into or out of the guest, then the Virtualbox network is working, and some other OS or 3rd-party setting is blocking communication.

See Virtualbox Networks: In Pictures to check if you're using the correct network setting. It sounds like you're using Bridged since the guest appears to be getting the same IP address range as the host. However there is many a pebcak error possible with networking. In addition to the .vbox file zip above, please open a command prompt and run 'ipconfig /all' on the Windows host, and 'ip address' on the Linux guest, and post the command outputs.

[VRTL-6]

Windows Firewall defaults to block ping (ICMP echo request).This can be unblocked.

Ok, I did that. It fixed the ping issue but I still can't reach my webserver from the host.

I assume the .169 is a slip of the finger? If you can ping into or out of the guest, then the Virtualbox network is working, and some other OS or 3rd-party setting is blocking communication.

Yes, I mistyped. I'm almost positive no 3rd-party program is interfering with my communications. Maybe my browser?

In addition to the .vbox file zip above, please open a command prompt and run 'ipconfig /all' on the Windows host, and 'ip address' on the Linux guest, and post the command outputs.

Attached vbox.zip

Code: Select all

PS C:\Windows\system32> ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : T420
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . :
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Ethernet:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-21-CC-5D-E1-25
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 0A-00-27-00-00-13
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::e4d9:f4d5:fefe:b8%19(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.56.1(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 805961767
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-26-C1-FF-A1-00-21-CC-5D-E1-25
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
                                       fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 1:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : A0-88-B4-47-3A-05
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Local Area Connection* 2:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter #2
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : A2-88-B4-47-3A-04
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wi-Fi:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6205
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : A0-88-B4-47-3A-04
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.24(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, September 5, 2020 12:32:07 PM
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, September 6, 2020 8:18:46 PM
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 1.0.0.1
                                       1.1.1.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

I quickly glanced through the help link you sent and I noticed it mentions to not use the bridged adapter with my host wifi adapter (which I did). So I'm guessing that's my problem now. Do I have an alternative then? Because wifi works inside the VM, I guess I just can't communicate with my host properly through it?

Edit: Forgot to add ip address from Linux side

Code: Select all

vboxuser@ubuntu20 ~ $ ip address
1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
    inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
    inet6 ::1/128 scope host
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever
2: enp0s3: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc fq_codel state UP group default qlen 1000
    link/ether 08:00:27:52:51:a8 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
    inet 192.168.0.10/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global dynamic enp0s3
       valid_lft 85810sec preferred_lft 85810sec
    inet6 fe80::a00:27ff:fe52:51a8/64 scope link
       valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever

[BillG]

I suspect this has nothing at all to do with VirtualBox. As Scott said, if you can ping the webserver, networking is OK. It is probably a problem with firewall settings, or you have not configured the webserver to allow access from devices other than itself.

I would not worry about the bridged networking over WiFi. If you had that problem, you would have no connection. Usually it works perfectly or not at all.

[VRTL-6]

I suspect this has nothing at all to do with VirtualBox. As Scott said, if you can ping the webserver, networking is OK. It is probably a problem with firewall settings, or you have not configured the webserver to allow access from devices other than itself.

I would not worry about the bridged networking over WiFi. If you had that problem, you would have no connection. Usually it works perfectly or not at all.

You were right, this is actually a non-issue.
I just tried running an Apache server and it works as expected. So the problem is definitely on my end.

For reference I was working with a Jekyll website, no idea why it can be reached only from the guest, but I'm gonna figure it out.
Thanks for clearing things out for me, feel free to close this thread.

Edit:
If someone would happen to find this post on Google. I fixed my issue using the following command to run the server:

Code: Select all

bundler exec jekyll serve --host 0.0.0.0

I do not know if it's good practice to use 0.0.0.0, but for now it works until I find a better solution.

[scottgus1]

Thanks for posting your fix! Glad you're up and running.