Hello, I am very new to linux an I am trying to learn. I have a computer that is running windows 7. On that computer I have installed Virtual Box which is running Ubuntu Server. On the Ubuntu Server I have installed apache2 and php5. If I look at the /var/www I am able to see the index.html which contains the sample "it works" file. I am trying to now connect to this local host using firefox via Windows 7 browser. I have already tried using ifconfig to get the ip address. When I tried to connect from the Windows Browser it timed out. What am I doing wrong, how can I do this?

In VirtualBox, in 'Network' settings for that VM make sure network adapter is set to be attached to bridged adapter (rather than NAT), boot up VM and check what IP your DHCP server (presumably your home router) has assigned to it. Then in Windows stick that IP as a URL.

(And it's not 'localhost' in that context)

OK, this is working great!! However what would I do if I had an apache server also running on my Windows Machine. How do I tell the browser which one to point to? Would it get assigned a different ip? Also I know apache is for mysql database. If I wanted to connect to an Oracle database, what would I use instead of apache?

Thanks for your Help!

"However what would I do if I had an apache server also running on my Windows Machine. How do I tell the browser which one to point to?" - that's your localhost if you are connecting from the machine Apache is running on (i.e. Windows). Or you can use IP 127.0.0.1 (which is the same as localhost) or you can use your LAN IP (usually something like 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x).

"Also I know apache is for mysql database" - no. Apache is a web server and has nothing to do with MySQL which is a database server. You can use any other web server instead of Apache - Nginx, Lightpd, IIS etc. To connect to a database server your application uses a connector/module like php5-mysql.

"If I wanted to connect to an Oracle database, what would I use instead of apache?" - see above, this question does not make sense (Apache can still be used, connecting to Oracle DBs is not dependent on a web server in use).

OK, I am still confused about one thing. Why is it that when I shut down my vm and virtual box, I am still able to connect to my local host and view the "it works page"? If apache is running on the vm and the vm is shut down, apache web server would also not be running right?

Localhost - is your local machine (a local host). So when you enter 'localhost' in a browser's address bar, you connect to port 80 of that machine where the browser is running on.

"If apache is running on the vm and the vm is shut down, apache web server would also not be running right?" - right, but you are not trying to connect to VM, are you, if you are connecting to localhost

Ah, I see now. Thanks for being so helpful. I have one more question. I am trying to upload files to Ubuntu Server via WinSCP which is on Windows. I have used the hostname command in Ubuntu to get the correct hostname, and I know my username and password are also correct but it when I try to connect it says connection refused. Could I by using the wrong port number(22)? If so, how do I know what the port number is?

Never Mind, I forgot to install ssh. Sorry my bad.