Parallels - Access Visual Studio 2012 Express Server in OSx Host

Question

I have Parallels 8 with a Windows 7 virtual machine and Visual Studio 2012 installed within.

I am attempting to access the IIS Express server built into Visual Studio 2012 from Firefox on OSx (or any other device on the local network iPad/iPhone etc...).

• The URL given by Visual Studio is usually localhost:4468/default.aspx.
• The IP of the Win7 Virtual Machine is setup as 10.211.55.3
• The IP of the OSx host is within the standard network range of 192.168.1.102

However it is not as simple as calling the VM from it's IP and just including the port. 10.211.55.3:4468.

I have attempted several different tactics from postings around the net, but with no avail. One posting included the use of Fiddler used as a port forwarder but this was very difficult to follow since the posting was several years dated.

Any assistance is appreciated and thank you for your time in advance!

Answer 1

I develop using .Net in a Windows 7 instance within a parallels VM and connect directly to it when working on iOS Apps in XCode.

When I'm trying to make an IIS Express site visible to the external host (OSX) I follow Scott Hanselman's instructions here: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/WorkingWithSSLAtDevelopmentTimeIsEasierWithIISExpress.aspx - particularly the applicationHosts.config settings, the netsh commands and the firewall rules.

When I'm using OwinHost.exe I do port mapping from Parallels to my Windows port (like localhost:4001) by using the Parallels port mapping with a shared network setup. You find this from the Parallels Menu: Parallels Desktop > Preferences > Network Tab.

Then I can map localhost:4001 in OSX to point to say, 10.211.55.10:4001 and debug iOS apps directly on a .NET MVC Api with breakpoints