How to Expose Apps Inside VirtualBox's VM to the Internet on Windows 11

How to Expose Apps Inside VirtualBox's VM to the Internet on Windows 11

VirtualBox is a popular virtualization software that allows you to run different operating systems on your computer. It's a great tool for testing and development purposes. However, by default, apps running inside a VirtualBox virtual machine (VM) are not accessible from the internet. In this guide, we'll show you how to expose apps inside VirtualBox's VM to the internet on Windows 11.

Step 1: Set Up a Host-Only Network Adapter

The first step is to set up a host-only network adapter in VirtualBox. This will allow communication between the host machine (your Windows 11 computer) and the virtual machine.

1. Open VirtualBox and select the virtual machine you want to configure.
2. Click on "Settings" and go to the "Network" tab.
3. Under "Adapter 2," select "Host-Only Adapter" from the "Attached to" dropdown menu.
4. Click on the "Advanced" dropdown arrow and select "Promiscuous Mode."
5. Choose "Allow All" from the options.
6. Click "OK" to save the settings.

Step 2: Configure Network Settings in the Virtual Machine

Now that the host-only network adapter is set up, you need to configure the network settings inside the virtual machine.

1. Start the virtual machine and log in to the guest operating system.
2. Open the network settings of the virtual machine.
3. Assign a static IP address to the virtual machine's network adapter. Make sure the IP address is within the same subnet as the host-only network adapter on your Windows 11 computer.
4. Set the default gateway to the IP address of the host-only network adapter on your Windows 11 computer.
5. Save the network settings and restart the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

Step 3: Configure Port Forwarding in VirtualBox

Next, you need to configure port forwarding in VirtualBox to redirect incoming network traffic to the virtual machine.

1. Go back to the VirtualBox main window and select the virtual machine.
2. Click on "Settings" and go to the "Network" tab.
3. Under "Adapter 1," select "NAT" from the "Attached to" dropdown menu.
4. Click on the "Port Forwarding" button.
5. In the Port Forwarding Rules dialog, click on the "+" button to add a new rule.
6. Specify the desired port number (e.g., 80 for HTTP) in the "Host Port" field and the same port number in the "Guest Port" field.
7. Leave the "Host IP" field empty.
8. Click "OK" to save the port forwarding rule.

Step 4: Test Access to the App

Now that everything is set up, you can test access to the app running inside the virtual machine from your Windows 11 computer.

1. Start the virtual machine if it's not already running.
2. Open a web browser on your Windows 11 computer and enter "localhost:" in the address bar, replacing "" with the port number you specified in the port forwarding rule (e.g., "localhost:80" for HTTP).
3. If everything is configured correctly, you should see the app's interface or a response from the app.

Conclusion

By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can expose apps running inside VirtualBox's VM to the internet on Windows 11. This can be useful for testing web applications, accessing local servers, or any other scenario where you need to make your virtual machine's apps accessible from the internet. Remember to exercise caution and ensure proper security measures are in place when exposing apps to the internet.

References