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networkingportvirtualboxforwardingnat

VirtualBox port forwarding not working with NAT adapter


I'm trying simple port forwarding with VirtualBox and it appears VirtualBox.exe is listening on the host to the port, but not actually forwarding the connection to the guest. I've tried on multiple ports, and I've restarted VirtualBox several times. Guest to host connectivity, on the other hand, is fine. Here's the info:

Host: Win7 x64
Guest: Win7 x64
VirtualBox version: VirtualBox 4.2.10
Firewalls: All firewalls on host and guest disabled.

Virtual Box > Machine Settings > Network
 Adapter 1: 
  Attached to: NAT
  Cable Connected : True
  Port Forwarding:
   Rule 1: TCP, HostIP=127.0.0.1, HostPort=8081, GuestIP=127.0.0.1, GuestPort=8081

On Host:
[VirtualBox.exe]  TCP    127.0.0.1:8081         IBM-6KT5OPCF76P:0      LISTENING

On Guest:
I never get the connection request on port 8081 or any others I've tried.

Any ideas? I'd like to avoid using VirtualBox's bridged adapter for multiple reasons. I was under the impression that NAT port forwarding was relatively straightforward with VirtualBox.

Thanks!


Solution

  • You've pointed guest ip in wrong manner it should be ip of guest (if you're statically assign ip address to guest) or leave it empty. Note you're pointed host ip as 127.0.0.1 it means that port you're forwarding will be accessible only from port (if it isn't what you're desired it should be empty as well).

    VBoxManage modifyvm "win" --natpf1 ",tcp,,8081,,8081"
    

    perhaps this is something you've wanted to do. (please look here for more details)