How to make your virtual machine IP reachable over your network

I sometimes find myself needing my newly created virtual machines to have their IP reachable across my local network. Because I can’t ping my VM, I can’t seem to find its IP inside my local network. And I need it so I can do my work with it remotely, connecting via RDP, SSH, etc..

What you should know?

Most likely, this happened to you when using Oracle VM VirtualBox (and not VMWare Workstation Pro) and you’ve initially created your VM (virtual machine) using the default setup which it left your network adaptor set to NAT and that’s not good. Below, you’ll learn how to make your virtual machine IP reachable over your network.

Oracle VM VirtualBox

Solution

1. So, open Oracle VM VirtualBox.
2. Select your VM.
3. Go to “Settings“.

4. Go to “Network“.
5. Look for your appropiate network adapter (most likely “Adapter 1”) and choose “Bridged Adapter”.

6. Click “OK”.

That’s it. Now, reboot your VM and check your IP again. Below, the IP address of my VM after applying the solution.