How to SSH into VirtualBox Linux OS?

While learning some of the Linux commands we may want to use SSH commands to login into a remote Linux system and we may not have a dedicated Linux system to play with. In this post I will explain how I am using my Linux OS installed on VirtualBox to SSH from Windows OS.


 


1. Install openssh-server on Linux OS in VirtualBox
sudo apt-get install openssh-server 

On some Linux distros (ex: Fedora) the openssh server won't start automatically.
You can enable it to start automatically using the following command:
  systemctl enable sshd.service 

Now you can restart the VM or start the service in the current session itself using
  systemctl start sshd.service

2. Shutdown your Linux VM if it is already running.
Select Linux VM in Virtualbox and go to Settings -> Network.
In Adapter 1 tab Enable Network Adapter is selected.
Go to Adapter 2 tab and check Enable Network Adapter.
For Attached To option select Host-only Adapter and click OK.

3. Start your VirtualBox Linux VM Open Terminal and run ifconfig command
eth1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:27:7e:ea:89 
inet addr:192.168.56.101 Bcast:192.168.56.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 
inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fe7e:ea89/64 Scope:Link

Now from you Windows OS you can use Putty to connect to your Linux OS usinng SSH as follows: ssh username@192.168.56.101

Enjoy :-)