Virtual Hosting is the process of hosting and maintaining more than one server on the same computer or IP address. It is particularly being done by groups and organizations who want to have their own domain but prefer to share a common web server. Virtual Hosting is categorized into two methods, Name-based virtual hosting and IP-based virtual hosting.



Name-based virtual hosting is the kind that employs different host names but utilize a common IP address. For instance, when a user type into the address bar the site that she wants to visit, the browser identifies and subsequently populates the complete URL that the user wants. This is made happen by a server that determines which web site and which page the user prefers to go, as dictated by the header that she specifies. IP-based virtual hosting, on the other hand, is that kind that employs different IP addresses through systematic configuration of several physical networks or usage of virtual interfaces being supported by today's modern operating systems.

Apache Server was one of the pioneer web servers that developed the dream of a great Information Superhighway. It began supporting IP-based virtual hosting, and then eventually come up with name-based virtual hosting methods. Until today, it continues to provide solutions for better and more efficient site hosting, and discover new techniques to improve the World Wide Web.

Setting up a Virtual Host:

When you want to surf a particular site, more often than not you only type in the keyword of the site in the URL box and the whole address is later being populated by the browser itself. This happens because the header that you put in the address bar is transformed into an IP address employed to locate the web server hosting the site. When a web server, an Apache server for instance, receives your site request, it determines the address that you type and goes to its programmed page, as the web administrator of the site has configured Apache web server to do so.

Setting up an Apache Virtual Host is easier than a piece of cake. The address in which Apache can be configured is through [/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf.] Now if you type this in your status bar, a window will open and show a directory of Apache IP addresses and virtual hosts. This is the file where you can add your own virtual hosts. Once you already configure this file by adding different sites you want to host, Apache will accept requests from users and direct the right pages of the domain's sites to the users who request for it.