How to Host a Website on an Ubuntu VM Using VMware and Nginx and get unstuck if it doesn't load (Step-by-Step Guide)

Source: Dev.to

Tech Stack

• Host OS: Windows 10/11
• Guest VM: Ubuntu Linux
• Virtualisation: VMware Workstation
• Web server: Nginx
• Remote access: SSH (from PowerShell)

Why I installed Nginx

I installed Nginx to:

• Practice hosting a web service on a Linux server
• Test networking between Windows (host) and Ubuntu VM (guest)
• Learn real‑world troubleshooting: firewall, ports, VM networking
• Build skills that directly transfer to AWS EC2 and DevOps work

Setup Overview

• Host OS: Windows
• VM: Ubuntu on VMware Workstation
• Access method: SSH from PowerShell
• Goal: Access a web page on the VM from a Windows browser

Step‑by‑step

1️⃣ Connect to Ubuntu VM via SSH (from PowerShell)

ssh alok@

2️⃣ Install and start Nginx on Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx

Verify Nginx is running:

sudo systemctl status nginx

Test locally on the VM:

curl http://localhost

✅ Nginx works inside the VM.

3️⃣ Find the VM’s IP address

hostname -I

Example output: 192.168.80.129

4️⃣ Try accessing from Windows browser

Open http://192.168.80.129 in Chrome.

❌ Issue: Page keeps loading → ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT

5️⃣ Check Ubuntu firewall (UFW)

sudo ufw status

Output showed:

• Port 22 (SSH) allowed
• Ports 3000, 5000, 8000 allowed
• Port 80 NOT allowed

Fix: Allow HTTP (port 80)

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw reload

Browser still timed out → firewall wasn’t the only issue.

6️⃣ Confirm Nginx itself is fine

sudo systemctl status nginx
curl http://localhost

Result: Nginx running and curl succeeds.
Conclusion: Application layer is fine; the problem lies in networking between Windows ↔ VM.

7️⃣ Verify VMware network mode

• VMware → VM Settings → Network Adapter
• Mode: NAT (already selected)

NAT wasn’t mis‑configured, but the NAT services might be broken.

8️⃣ Fix VMware NAT networking (host‑side)

On Windows:

1. Press Win + R, run services.msc.
2. Restart the following services:
   • VMware NAT Service
   • VMware DHCP Service

This restored the network path between Windows and the VM.

9️⃣ Test again from Windows

Open http://192.168.80.129 in Chrome.

✅ Nginx page loads successfully – problem solved! 🎉

Root‑Cause Summary

Troubleshooting Commands Used

On Ubuntu VM

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
sudo systemctl status nginx
curl http://localhost
hostname -I
sudo ufw status
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw reload

On Windows

ssh alok@
ping 

Windows UI: services.msc → restart VMware NAT Service and VMware DHCP Service.

What this taught me (real‑world skills)

• How web servers run on Linux
• How ports and firewalls affect accessibility
• How VM networking (NAT) works
• How to isolate problems by layer: App → Firewall → Network → Host services

This systematic approach applies to:

• An EC2 instance that won’t load
• A Docker container that isn’t reachable
• A service timing out in production