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I built a Virtual Ubuntu 14.04 server on VMWare Player v7.1.2 build-2780323 (latest update), according to the process here, with no errors observed. According to docs, I should be able to open a browser to http://127.0.0.1 or http://localhost and see the Ubuntu status page.

When I tried using an up-to-date Chrome browser, I got this error: "This webpage is not available ... ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED". I also had the same result using MS IE and FireFox (both are at latest release level).

I have reviewed all items on this site related to "ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED", "unable to connect", and other related terms. I followed up many leads, none helped. I've also looked at all the available logs and don't see anything useful there, either.

So, any suggestions? I'd welcome additional paths to follow. I suspect there is something very simple and basic causing the problem, but I sure don't see it.

TIA for your inputs.

DVH

Community
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dvhirst
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  • The short of it is that localhost or 127.0.0.1 points to the computer it is entered upon and not the VM. Replace that with the VM's IP address. – chesedo Oct 29 '15 at 03:49
  • As usual, that is obvious, once the issue is thought through carefully, and NAT - port forwarding is a workable solution. – dvhirst Oct 29 '15 at 21:30

1 Answers1

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You need to forward the port to your virtual server. According to HowToGeek,

  1. Open the Manage Virtual Networks item.
  2. Click on the NAT tab, and click Edit.
  3. Click Port Forwarding.
  4. Enter your host port, and the IP address and port of the virtual server.

In the example, they forwarded port 8080 to port 80 on the virtual machine, which means that http://localhost:8080 would load your virtual server.

Source: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/vmware/allow-access-to-a-vmware-virtual-machinenat-from-another-computer/

SuperSluether
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  • The referenced source is outdated, but is a springboard to more recent posts that resulted in a solution. The key is that VMWare Player does not include the NAT configuration utility, so you must download the relevant VMWare Workstation trial version and extract the the NAT configuration utility. All other needed support files are already in place in the VMWare Player directory (under Program Files (x86). Once the utility is in place and set to run with admin privileges, the above process works as expected. – dvhirst Oct 29 '15 at 21:27
  • I apologize for the outdated source. HowToGeek is very outdated, but for the most part it's usually enough information to get going. I'm glad it helped you find more recent solutions. I'll try to find better info next time. – SuperSluether Oct 30 '15 at 00:26
  • noted, but not needed; I appreciate your pointer -- it was what I needed for the next step. – dvhirst Nov 11 '15 at 22:55