---
layout: "intro"
page_title: "Networking - Getting Started"
sidebar_current: "gettingstarted-networking"
description: |-
  At this point we have a web server up and running with the ability to
  modify files from our host and have them automatically synced to the guest.
  However, accessing the web pages simply from the terminal from inside
  the machine is not very satisfying. In this step, we will use Vagrant's
  networking features to give us additional options for accessing the
  machine from our host machine.
---

# Networking

At this point we have a web server up and running with the ability to
modify files from our host and have them automatically synced to the guest.
However, accessing the web pages simply from the terminal from inside
the machine is not very satisfying. In this step, we will use Vagrant's
_networking_ features to give us additional options for accessing the
machine from our host machine.

## Port Forwarding

One option is to use _port forwarding_. Port forwarding allows you to
specify ports on the guest machine to share via a port on the host machine.
This allows you to access a port on your own machine, but actually have
all the network traffic forwarded to a specific port on the guest machine.

Let us setup a forwarded port so we can access Apache in our guest. Doing so
is a simple edit to the Vagrantfile, which now looks like this:

```ruby
Vagrant.configure("2") do |config|
  config.vm.box = "hashicorp/precise64"
  config.vm.provision :shell, path: "bootstrap.sh"
  config.vm.network :forwarded_port, guest: 80, host: 4567
end
```

Run a `vagrant reload` or `vagrant up` (depending on if the machine
is already running) so that these changes can take effect.

Once the machine is running again, load `http://127.0.0.1:4567` in
your browser. You should see a web page that is being served from
the virtual machine that was automatically setup by Vagrant.

## Other Networking

Vagrant also has other forms of networking, allowing you to assign
a static IP address to the guest machine, or to bridge the guest
machine onto an existing network. If you are interested in other options,
read the [networking](/docs/networking/) page.

## Next Steps

You have successfully configured networking for your virtual machine using
Vagrant. Read on to learn about
[setting up shares with Vagrant](/intro/getting-started/share.html).