diff --git a/src/shell/lisa_shell b/src/shell/lisa_shell
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 598d423c052382fecab6c25b22e55246edbfe87d..57a9ae483233f88f63e95b18f422b76e1a22c4ab
--- a/src/shell/lisa_shell
+++ b/src/shell/lisa_shell
@@ -170,7 +170,15 @@ rm -f $PIDFILE 2>/dev/null
 
 function lisa-ipython {
 CMD=${1:-start}
-NETIF=${2:-lo}
+
+if [ "x$2" == "x" -a $USER == "vagrant" -a -e /vagrant/src/shell/lisa_shell ]; then
+    # NETIF not set and we are in a vagrant environment.  Default to
+    # eth0 as loopback won't let you connect from your host machine.
+    NETIF="eth0"
+else
+    NETIF=${2:-lo}
+fi
+
 PORT=${3:-8888}
 echo
 case "x${CMD^^}" in