Chapter 4. Virtual Hosts

A web server system supports multiple web sites in a way similar to a person who responds to her given name, as well as her nickname. In the Apache configuration file, each alternate identity, and probably the "main" one as well, is known as a virtual host (sometimes written as vhost) identified with a <VirtualHost> container directive. Depending on the name used to access the web server, Apache responds appropriately, just as someone might answer differently depending on whether she is addressed as "Miss Jones" or "Hey, Debbie!" If you want to have a single system support multiple web sites, you must configure Apache appropriately.

There are two different types of virtual host supported by Apache. The first type, called address-based or IP-based, is tied to the numeric network address used to reach the system. Bruce Wayne never answered the parlour telephone with "Batman here!" nor did he answer the phone in the Batcave by saying, "Bruce Wayne speaking." However, it's the same person answering the phone, just as it's the same web server receiving the request.

The other type of virtual host is name-based, because the server's response depends on what it is called. To continue the telephone analogy, consider an apartment shared by multiple roommates; you call the same number whether you want to speak to Dave, Joyce, Amaterasu, or George. Just as multiple people may share a single telephone number, multiple web sites can share the same IP address. However, all IP addresses shared by multiple Apache virtual hosts need to be declared with a NameVirtualHost directive.

In the most simple of Apache configurations, there are no virtual hosts. Instead, all of the directives in the configuration file apply universally to the operation of the server. The environment defined by the directives outside any <VirtualHost> containers is sometimes called the default server or perhaps the global server. There is no official name for it, but it can become a factor when adding virtual hosts to your configuration.

But what happens if you add a <VirtualHost> container to such a configuration? How are those directives outside the container interpreted, and what is their effect on the virtual host?

The answer is not a simple one: essentially, the effect is specific to each configuration directive. Some get inherited by the virtual hosts, some get reset to a default value, and some pretend they've never been used before. You'll need to consult the documentation for each directive to know for sure.

There are two primary forms of virtual hosts: IP-based virtual hosts, where each virtual host has its own unique IP address; and name-based virtual hosts, where more than one virtual host runs on the same IP address but with different names. This chapter will show you how to configure each one and how to combine the two on the same server. You'll also learn how to fix common problems that occur with virtual hosts.