Basic Usage of Networking

Vagrant offers multiple options for how you are able to connect your guest machines to the network, but there is a standard usage pattern as well as some points common to all network configurations that are important to know.

Configuration

All networks are configured within your Vagrantfile using the config.vm.network method call. For example, the Vagrantfile below defines some port forwarding:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.network "forwarded_port", guest: 80, host: 8080
end

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.network "forwarded_port", guest: 80, host: 8080
end

Every network type has an identifier such as "forwarded_port" in the above example. Following this is a set of configuration arguments that can differ for each network type. In the case of forwarded ports, two numeric arguments are expected: the port on the guest followed by the port on the host that the guest port can be accessed by.

Multiple Networks

Multiple networks can be defined by having multiple config.vm.network calls within the Vagrantfile. The exact meaning of this can differ for each provider, but in general the order specifies the order in which the networks are enabled.

Enabling Networks

Networks are automatically configured and enabled after they've been defined in the Vagrantfile as part of the vagrant up or vagrant reload process.

Setting Hostname

A hostname may be defined for a Vagrant VM using the config.vm.hostname setting. By default, this will modify /etc/hosts, adding the hostname on a loopback interface that is not in use. For example:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.hostname = "myhost.local"
end

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.hostname = "myhost.local"
end

will add the entry 127.0.X.1 myhost myhost.local to /etc/hosts.

A public or private network with an assigned IP may be flagged for hostname. In this case, the hostname will be added to the flagged network. Note, that if there are multiple networks only one may be flagged for hostname. For example:

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.hostname = "myhost.local"
  config.vm.network "public_network", ip: "192.168.0.1", hostname: true
  config.vm.network "public_network", ip: "192.168.0.2"
end

Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  # ...
  config.vm.hostname = "myhost.local"
  config.vm.network "public_network", ip: "192.168.0.1", hostname: true
  config.vm.network "public_network", ip: "192.168.0.2"
end

will add the entry 192.168.0.1 myhost myhost.local to /etc/hosts.