Running a server in Parallels virtual machine. Is it possible for the host to access?

virtualization parallels
Robert A Henru picture Robert A Henru · Jun 4, 2010 · Viewed 10.2k times · Source

I am running a web server in my Windows 7 guest OS, while I want to access it from my Mac host OS. The web server is running and I can access it from my guest OS, but not from its host.

I'm using Parallels Desktop and I've tried to change the networking mode from shared, bridged, to host-only with no result.

This is for development sake, so I just need it to be at least accessible to my host OS. Is this actually possible with Parallels, or should I keep an eye on other VM engine?

Answer

Erik Mitchell picture Erik Mitchell · Jun 4, 2010

You want to put your guest into "bridged" networking mode. This will allow it to obtain an IP address on the same network as your host OS (from your router via DHCP or statically configured).

See this:

  • Shared Networking – the recommended type of networking for the VM. Your virtual machine will share whatever network connection is used by your Mac. You will be able to access the network from the VM as long your Mac OS X is connected to the network. The only limitation of this mode is that the VM is not visible from the external network

  • Bridged Networking – uses your network adapter. You should choose this mode if you want to access the VM from the external network. Please keep in mind that your network configuration should allow using DHCP to assign IP address for the VM, or you should obtain a static IP for the VM and set it in the guest OS.

Related questions

Windows Phone 7 emulator on a VM?

It seems that the Windows Phone 7 SDK doesn't support running inside a VM. On Parallels, the entire VM simply crashes when the emulator is starting up. Around the web, though, a few people have reported that they were able to …

Read More
How is Docker different from a virtual machine?

I keep rereading the Docker documentation to try to understand the difference between Docker and a full VM. How does it manage to provide a full filesystem, isolated networking environment, etc. without being as heavy? Why is deploying software to …

Read More
Can I run a 64-bit VMware image on a 32-bit machine?

Can I run a 64-bit VMware image on a 32-bit machine? I've googled this, but there doesn't seem to be a conclusive answer. I know that it would have to be completely emulated and would run like a dog - …

Read More